Maxine Linell's Story
I have heard a great deal about the problem of Aids in South Africa. I have had strong things to say about the politics of the situation, the president's unwillingness to tackle it seriously, the greed of the international drug companies which takes treatment out of the reach of most people who need it here. I feel almost ashamed of coming from a country where people survive for years with Aids, with treatment provided by the state. I have agreed to run an experiential weekend with a group of rural Zulu volunteers, most of whom speak no English. None of them has experienced this kind of learning before. I have four words of the Zulu language. I can at least greet them in their own language: sawubona, which literally means 'I see you standing there~ I am quite unprepared for the reality on the ground.The course takes place over a weekend, from Sam till 1pm, as the volunteers have funerals to attend each afternoon, some of them Aids-related, All the volunteers have walked to the school where the course takes place, some of them for an hour or more. There are thirteen women and one man. It is raining, windy and cold. None of the volunteers has a raincoat, there is no heating in the classroom, and some of the window panes are missing. We bring a gas stove, water, tea, powdered milk, sugar and biscuits for the break. Big bags of biscuits disappear in minutes. The wind blows out the candle I have lit.
The volunteers work for a new project called Wozamoya, funded by the Dharmagiri Buddhist Trust in Ixopo, Kwazulu-Natal. They are becoming home care workers, going into village homes to help care for sick and dying people, many of whom have Aids but are unable or unwilling to acknowledge it for fear that their families may be ostracised. One volunteer is missing; her sixteen-year-old daughter is dying of Aids and she is sitting by her side day and night. The volunteers were chosen by their community, and the project is supported by the induna (chief) of the village.
4 - Sell & Society Vol 30 Number I April - May 2002