Woke up this morning excited and ready to go volunteer at the children's shelter. It’s getting hard to believe that I will only be there for 2 more days and then off to start at my next placement. The time is flying by so quickly! It’s seems to be so easy to get attached to the children and infants. I feel like I am starting to get in to the routine of things and then it will be time for me to move on. I’m wishing I had more time here but am hoping to come back and work on a special picture project for them in my fourth week to help promote the shelter. I spent a lot of time with the infants and toddlers this morning feeding and holding them. I think it is important because they are rarely held for longer than their feeding time since there are so many of them and are often times even fed in their crib while propping up the bottle. I am a firm believer in the power and importance of touch in establishing bonds and connections and am happy to be present and peaceful with them while I am there. I spent more time with the children as well playing with them before they left on their field trip to a summer swimming pool…something they don’t get to enjoy very often and were thus super excited. I then met with my supervisor and other staff and talked about what they do and am trying to get the word out in the community about what they are about and promoting the services they offer. I am going to work at trying to come back in the afternoons some days in the coming weeks to continue to help by taking pictures of the facility as well as create a photo book for them to use as a resource for promoting the children's shelter.
We had two speakers come in and speak to us this afternoon about HIV/AIDS in South Africa. One spoke to what they are doing about it here and we also had someone who is living with HIV in the Townships of Cape Town and the struggle he is going through to access the resources as well as a clean, safe and sanitary place to live to avoid infections and compromising his immune system. South Africa has the highest rate of HIV/AIDS in the world. In 2009, an estimated 314,000 South Africans died of AIDS of which 284,000 were adults. This is such a huge epidemic down here that they believe is wildly under reported and thus inaccurate when looking at the actual statistics out there. The ripple effect of this disease is affecting so many here and although education is out there many people are in denial or don’t have access to get tested or a means of getting treatment because they are so poor or it is taboo to talk about it. Being untreated and untested only perpetuates the problem and spreads the disease. They are working really hard to go into Townships as well as in general and promote education, testing and resources to break down the stigma that currently exists here. It was really wonderful to have the opportunity to talk to two people who are so connected to this epidemic here in Cape Town and that were able to give such an accurate picture of what is going on here. I really hope that the education being provided as well as the new initiatives in many of the Townships providing free testing and education can help with the stigma attached to HIV/AIDS awareness.
On that note…better try to get some rest for my last day with the children for a while.
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