Continually Learning New Things Here

Last Wednesday (after the building dedication) the COG staff was invited to attend a meeting at St. Francis Medical Clinic.  COG has a partnership with this clinic so all of our children who get sick go here to receive free medical care.  The clinic was holding a seminar on HIV/AIDS and the stigma attached to it.  Headmasters from all around the area were invited to come.  The director of the clinic shared about some of things that St. Francis does.  They have a grandmother's (Jaja) project in which they support grandmothers who are now caring for their grandchildren due to AIDS taking away their children.  They also now have about 25 children that live at the clinic who are in stage 3 and 4 of AIDS so that they can get around the clock care.  They have about 10,000 patients and about 790 people on ARV treatment.  The director went on to talk about the word stigma.  He said it is not a word that is found in their Ugandan language so let us define what it means in English.  His definition was "a spoiled identity."  He talked about the fact that there unfortunately is still a stigma attached to AIDS in Uganda, many people do not think that is still a problem here but it is.  This is because it is not talked about!  The director appealed to the teachers in the room that they must be teaching their students about HIV/AIDS.  One of the COG staff spoke out and talked about how there are signs posted all around the schools here that talk about HIV/AIDS and about abstaining from sex, but nobody ever talks about it in the classroom so the children after seeing these messages posted so many times simply just walk by them without noticing them anymore.  He asked the teachers to please make this apart of their curriculum.  Another one of our COG staff spoke up about a child who's teacher basically announced to the whole class that he is positive.  Needless to say that little boy never came back to that school!  Could you even imagine having that "label" put on you?  When that label is put on a child here other children will stop being friends with them or they will make fun of them.  This is just unacceptable.  The director pleaded with the teachers to educate our children.  The director told all who were present in the room that these are our children that we are talking about, they are not any one person's child.  We need to work together as people who love and care about children to really find out their backgrounds and get to know them so that we can best care for them at school or wherever they are.  He reminded the headmasters that teaching is a vocation, the root of vocation means calling.  He told them as teachers they are called to love and care for the children.  He said you have a responsibility to care for these children because we all know the government is not going to do it.

Overall it was just really eye opening to hear the discussion between the clinic, COG, and headmasters in the area.  Throughout the day I could not stop thinking about the words spoiled identity.  I am SO glad that the clinic hosted a seminar such as this as these issues definitely need to be addressed.  Thank the Lord for these people who care so much about the well being of children who are so near and dear to Jesus' heart!