Grace's Story
Grace is a 32 year-old Kenyan woman. AIDS killed
her husband, is
killing her, and has infected two of her three
children. She lives
alone with the secret. Her own young children aged
8 and 6 don't know
they have the disease. They wouldn't understand it
and would probably
tell the neighbors in innocent conversation. Grace
found out she had
HIV when she was pregnant with her last child.
Several months prior,
her husband had died of a mysterious infection.
When the pregnancy
clinic told her she had HIV, it became clear to her
that her husband
died of the disease and had given it to her. She
enrolled in a research
trial to stop her unborn child from receiving a
similar fate. Despite
her best efforts, her daughter acquired HIV and now,
with AIDS wearing
down her strength she must find a way to support
them all. Up until
now, she was their only hope.
The Tumaini Project
Tumaini is the Swahili word for hope. We have
decided to call this
program Tumaini. The two thousand dollars the Slum
Doctor Programme has
contributed will go towards saving Grace's family.
We are going to make
it last as long as we can. When we informed Grace
that that sponsors in
the U.S.had donated money to treat her, she was
initially hesitant,
unsure of the side effects of the medication and how
long the support
would last. But when we found out her children were
similarly infected
and told her we wanted to treat them as well, she
was determined to take
the medication. She is their only means of support
and now there would
be hope for the children too.
Thanks to all of you we have begun treatment. It is
one step on a long
road that will twist and bend, but I am happy to say
we have taken the
first step. As you see, Grace is willing to share
her story. She
understands that you wish to get to know her better.
I am sending
photos of her and the antiretroviral medications in
front of her. We
are bringing in Grace's children next week to
evaluate them and
determine whether they will need to begin treatment. Similarly, she
would like to know you. If you can, send photos of
yourselves. She
would like to see your faces too.
Michael
You can help others like Grace. For more information,
visit the Tumaini Project webpage.
