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Personal pain Mitchell* knows the personal pain HIV/AIDS can cause. The youngest of three children, Mitchell* lost his father when he was very young. His mother struggled on to provide for her family but eventually also died, from AIDS. Mitchell and his siblings moved in with their grandmother, but money was tight. The elderly lady could barely provide for herself, let alone three teenagers. Not long after becoming orphaned, Mitchell started suffering from various infections. Skin rashes, diarrhoea and malaria sapped all his strength, and his weight dropped to a dangerous level. He was so ill he could rarely attend school. Volunteers from World Vision’s Blantyre Urban Area Development Programme (ADP) learnt of Mitchell’s deterioration and contacted some distant relatives. Together they arranged for Mitchell to have an HIV test. The test returned a positive reading, indicating that his chronic illness could be attributed to AIDS. Mitchell’s doctor said the boy would be able to take anti-retroviral medication to counteract the advance of AIDS, but he would need to increase his weight to a more healthy level before he could begin. So Blantyre Urban ADP provided the family with nutritious foods including eggs, milk and maize flour. The ADP’s home-based care team visited him on a regular basis to check on his progress. In October, three months after finding out his HIV status, he was well enough to start the medicine. By December, Mitchell was responding well to the medication and was able to return to school. He is making great progress in his studies, and is placed 12th out of 70 students. Mitchell’s grandmother is very pleased with how he is doing, and grateful to World Vision for their assistance. * Not his real name |
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