VeNews May 2005

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Lives Can Be Saved . . .
AIDS Is No Longer a Death Sentence

In South Africa, where as many as six million people are HIV positive, where AIDS has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands over the past few years and orphaned more than a million children, life-saving medical treatment is no less than a miracle.

Those who receive anti-retroviral medications, along with daily support to adhere to their treatment regimens, become strong and beautiful people once they pass the six-month mark. They talk of being saved from death’s door. They call it a resurrection experience.

For Vesper Society, supporting HIV/AIDS treatment is essential for the future of South Africa. A disease that has claimed so many lives can be stemmed through literacy and treatment monitoring.

“The world has the means to bring life to those who are dying of this disease,” says Mary Baich, president of Vesper Society. “We are discovering in a small yet significant project in South Africa that affordable medications combined with treatment monitoring and supervision can indeed save lives.”

Mary Baich and colleague Rich Watson journeyed to rural South Africa in March to witness the miracle that is the Masangane HIV/AIDS Treatment Program. Masangane is Xhosa for “embrace.” And the program does just that by pairing those who are HIV positive with family members or friends who are trained as treatment supporters. Together, they work daily on adherence to strict medication schedules.

Masangane has two treatment centers: one in Shiloh, a small village near Queenstown, and another at Matatiele, an agrarian town about 200 km away. Each center has one paid community treatment coordinator. One of these leaders was HIV positive and had a near-death experience before being treated for AIDS. She is now a vision of hope for her community.

The Masangane project grew out of an HIV/AIDS awareness program started in 1996 by the Moravian Lutheran Church, which has mission stations in the three communities. An orphan care program followed in 2001, with the Lutheran Communion in Southern Africa providing the initial funding.

When the monthly cost for life-saving anti-retroviral (ARV) medications dropped from approximately $780 to $60 per person, Masangane joined forces with the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) and started a church-based treatment program. Vesper Society is currently funding the ARV and clinical support for 60 people.

Today’s program is modeled after the successful treatment structure introduced by Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders). The project is unique because Masangane beneficiaries receive treatment from private doctors who are members of the HIV/AIDS clinicians’ society. Prior to this, medical care and ARV drugs were not affordable for the unsalaried South African. 

Inspirational Support

Much of the two Masangane centers’ work is geared toward reducing the stigma attached to HIV.  In cooperation with TAC, Masangane is training volunteers to be educators and counselors.

The one-to-one support of family and friends is critical. Treatment supporters have to help daily when patients start taking the medication, as many experience side effects in the early weeks and have to be motivated to continue with the medication.

“This incredible, mutual support is what really distinguishes the Masangane project,” Baich says. “What we witnessed were communities caring for their members on a daily basis, literally bringing their friends and families back to health.”

Support groups are key to the program. Participants get together once a week for fellowship, singing, and sharing of their successes and failures. This is where behavior changes are made over time.

Also, each person follows a schedule of daily inspirational readings. The Moravians have printed little booklets with Bible readings following the church calendar. Each day as the participants take their medications, they accompany it with an inspirational reading. In group sessions, they share readings and then sing uplifting melodies in celebration of life.

“The harmonious melodies lift the soul and probably the CD4 count as well!” Baich says. “They reflect the words of Jesus from John 10:10: ‘I have come to bring life—life to the fullest!’”

Baich adds, “With this Masangane project, AIDS is no longer a death sentence. It is now viewed as a chronic illness, like diabetes, or any of the chronic diseases. This program means life to more than 60 people. And the Vesper Society is privileged to be part of this miracle.”

 

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Vesper Society, a private operating foundation, promotes social justice locally and globally by addressing critical social issues including the provision of health services for the underserved.