Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Meet Woo, one of the first children to attend Vhusthilo Mountain School.


Currently in 8th grade at Ridgeway College (an independent Secondery School), she continues to amaze us with her kindness, inteligence and generousity.  Here is her story.


Vhuhwavho Nevhungoni was born on Woman’s day 1999 in Siloam hospital, Limpopo Province. Her mother worked as a domestic cleaner for the Holiday Inn in Johannesburg, South Africa.  In June 2002 she returned to the village suffering from HIV/AIDS related diseases and in December 2002 she died leaving her 2 year old daughter in the care of her aging grandmother who was staying in a hovel on the outskirts of Fondwe village.  

In April 2002 the nursing sister from Fondwe clinic brought her to my mobile home where a pre- school for orphans had been started at the beginning of that year.  The sister was worried as the granny was too old to care for her properly.  Vhuhwavho (Woo) was an unresponsive, sickly child, and after a while I took her to my own doctor who first diagnosed Kwashiorkor (a chronic protein deficiency) and T.B.   She had weepy, smelly ears due to infections, constant diarrhoea and would not walk as she was used to being carried on her granny’s back. A few weeks later she was diagnosed HIV positive, and the doctor said she would probably not live longer than a few months.

Before going onto the ARV drug regime, she had to complete a 6 month T.B. regime, and because the granny could not cope with the Monday to Friday medicine schedule, she stayed with me during the week and then went home to her granny for the weekends.  At 4 years of age she started the ARV drug regime which was paid for by a sponsor from England as the S.A. government was not yet rolling the drugs out to the local hospitals. As the health of her granny declined she spent more time with me, and when the granny died in September 2005, I approached the family to ask if I could foster her on a permanent basis.

From an early age she learned to measure the daily ARV syrups and knew which pills to take.  As they had to be taken at the same time twice daily she would take them when the 6 am and 6 pm news were on the radio/T.V.  Local doctors were impressed with the rapid improvement in her health, and she was often called to the local AIDS clinic to talk to youngsters who were defaulting on the strict drug regime. We realised that if she could be so responsible for her own regime, then it was possible to “empower”  other children to do likewise (essential as most of the children had aging and traditional guardians who were not only suspicious of the modern drugs but also afraid of the horrific stigma associated with HIV/AIDS).  We therefore decided to start hosting regular workshops for children on the ARV drug regime. Separate workshops are held for the caregivers, and speakers from the hospital (nutritionist, social workers , doctors etc) would talk to them about all aspects of HIV/AIDS.

When I first started spending time with this little girl, I noticed that she would turn my head so she could read my lips, and that she often did not hear people greeting her on the street.  The first time I mentioned my concerns the Dr. told me to leave it for the moment as his main priority was improving her health and getting her stabilised on the ARV drugs. In 2010 I took her to a specialist to have her hearing tested and I was appalled to learn  that because of the chronic ear infections she had suffered as a toddler the ear drums were badly perforated,  and that she only had 38% hearing in her right ear and 28% in the left. The Dr. was amazed that she had coped so well at school. The Church of Scotland donated funding for the first operation and a new ear drum was attached to her right ear. A few months later the audiologist tested her hearing and I was ecstatic when he told me that she now had 99.1% hearing in that ear. A year later the operation on her left ear was unsuccessful as one of the inner bones, the anvil, had calcified and had to be removed. He was hoping to replace it with a plastic one at a later stage, but  after the  third operation the specialist told me that there was nothing he could do to improve the hearing in that ear. I was devastated but my child was unconcerned and even tried to console me by saying it was not a big problem and that she still managed very well at school. Her only worry was that for years she had had to be very careful not to get water in her ears and wanted very badly to be able to swim. The specialist therefore had a special earplug  made which means she can now swim.  

 In 2009 Woo was invited to the UK to talk to the congregation of the Scottish Church in Greenock about her status and the ARV workshops.  She also appeared on La familia, a local T.V. program, where she spoke openly about her status and encouraged other children to live positively with HIV.  In June 2011 she was featured in the Natal Sunday Tribune as one of 9 inspirational South Africans under the age of 30 who are making a positive impact on society. She was one of the members of the Vhutshilo Children’ s ARV support group who participated in the October 2011 “Children Say” Yezingane Network survey (Coordinating Civil Society Action on Children, HIV and AIDS).  Earlier this year Woo, with 3 other youngsters and caregivers, participated in a panel discussion organised and facilitated by TVEP (Thohoyandou Victim Empowerment Program) and attended by health workers from three local Wellness clinics. They spoke about the success of the VMS Children’s Support Group model and the possibility of starting the workshops at other clinics. A step-by-step Children’s Support Group Guide has since been produced and is ready to roll out to interested parties.

Woo was one of the main speakers at a celebration held at Siloam hospital on World AIDS Day and is a main cast member in the drama produced by the children’s support group which will be used as a tool to educate and encourage children from other support groups.

This year she was awarded a scholarship to attend Grade 8 at Ridgeway College (an Independent Secondary School) in Louis Trichardt as part of their Sumbandila Scholarship Trust which is for children from rural schools. Woo loves every aspect of her new school and is a conscientious and diligent student.  She is a weekly boarder as it is too far to travel every day, and although a happy boarder, she cannot wait to get home on a Friday.  She would like to start an ARV support group for children in Louis Trichardt but has been told to wait ‘til next year.  This first year is difficult as she has to work extra hard to bridge the academic gap between her rural government school and the Cambridge curriculum at Ridgeway.

Woo is compassionate and kind, and never forgets that she was fortunate to break out of the cycle of poverty and live positively with HIV. She regularly visits her aunt, uncle and cousins in Fondwe village,  gives her old clothes to friends in need and often hands out her delicious homemade biscuits   Her favourite saying when seeing less fortunate or sickly children is “there but for the grace of God go I.”

I, personally, count my blessings that I decided (against the well meaning advice of friends and family!!) to foster this amazing, well adjusted youngster, and know without a doubt that she will continue to have a positive influence on the lives of her HIV positive peers. 

Suzi, Woo's mother.