We're Back!

Dear Friends,

“Siyabonga siyanconcosa” is Zulu for “Thank you, thank you very much” (actually, I’m guessing on the spelling of the second word/phrase—I learned it out-loud). Your support for the trip I took to KwaZulu Natal, South Africa is greatly appreciated by me and the people who shared their stories with me. I have hope that the radio stories and articles I generate will help draw attention not only to the profound struggles that region faces due to HIV and AIDS, but also to the bold, faithful, and incredibly loving work that some people are doing as they fight that overwhelming tide. There is so much more to do, though.

Honestly, I am scared out of my wits to think that I have the chance to maybe move people to action, if I do my stories well enough. It’s hard enough to write a decent story about an emotional issue without resorting to cheap, sentimentalized manipulation.

Some of the things that strike me as issues that will either inform or become my stories are the immense nature of the problem of AIDS orphans (11.6 million in sub-Saharan Africa, and growing by the day); the way that issues of nutrition, poverty, infrastructure, education, and racism (and the mistrust it breeds) all affect the way AIDS spreads; the lack of young, native men involved in either acquiring or providing care; and the way that AIDS both retains a stigma EVEN WHILE THOUSANDS are dying of it, and even more living with it, and also has become an accepted, non-dramatic part of life and death—such that I could watch a group of people laughing hysterically at an amateur scene played out of a man, despairing over his diagnosis as HIV positive, instead being killed by a passing truck. How does AIDS become, not a punch line, but the SET UP to a punch line?

I will begin my work on my stories right away this week, and logging of my 30 or so hours of recorded sound will be the bulk of my up-front work. I had hoped to get some of that transcription done when I was still in country, but our schedule was so packed, and the emotion of the things we had seen was so raw and muddled in my wounded heart, I didn’t get any of that done.

My vision currently (again, without having truly logged my tape, nor having talked to our news director about what HE thinks would be best) is for five or so 4-minute stories, plus maybe a 10- or 20 minute documentary-style program that would fit into our news magazines here on IPR. I haven’t decided if I will write articles for the paper on the same things as my radio stories, which would take more time and delay the impact, or if I will use the paper articles and radio stories to feed off and support each other (which will take even MORE time to coordinate topics and broadcast/printing schedules) and build understanding and momentum within the space hanging between them. It seems to me, currently, that the second option would be best. I wish I were a better written-journalist, to better see how the medium should most effectively be used. I also want to make sure I am doing enough work for the station to justify its investment of my time and your investment of your support. I take that last part especially seriously.

I thank you again for the investment you made. I will do my best to make sure you see a return on it, and soon. I hope my stories and work will encourage people to make a difference in the AIDS epidemic, however they so choose. One of the things I saw most clearly in South Africa is that IT IS POSSIBLE to make a big difference. Find the people that know what needs doing, that have the gifts to do it well, and that are accountable, responsible, and visionary. Find those people, and get them what they need to do the job even better. I saw amazing people doing amazing work, and I saw what a difference the right kind of support for them can make. I’m still trying to figure out what I want to do, what I feel led to give, and to whom and how.

But I know my family and I will be making some changes. It would be dishonest of me to put together a bunch of emotionally-laden stories directed to breaking hearts and changing life decisions…without being willing to make those changes myself.

There’ll be more to say, and I’ll be sure to share as much with you as I can, even before my stories come together. You deserve that much, as a way to honor you for your support. I know your gifts will make a difference in KwaZulu Natal…and our community.

Thank you again for your trust, support, and encouragement. They mean the world to me.

Marcus

Ready to Depart

Tomorrow we leave for South Africa. I've been overseas before, but the older I get, the more real mortality feels. It's just a matter of time for us all. But I've written my "just in case" letters to wife and kids, recorded me reading Bible stories for my girls on CD, and printed up all my life insurance information. I'm as ready as can be!

Here are some of the things I've learned in the last few weeks, as the group has met and planned and trained in preparation for our trip:

I learned that there are more AIDS orphans in sub-Saharan Africa...11.6 million...than there are African-American kids in the whole United States. Imagine the Indianapolis-Metro area. Now multiply that 10 times--that's how many fatherless and motherless children there are in Africa because of this disease. What can be done with so many kids? What will be done when the grandmothers, who are caring for large numbers of them, become too enfeebled to do so? Nobody's got a good plan for this, that I've heard yet.

I learned about the tradition of izibongo (closely related to the Zulu word isibongo, for "family name"). Izibongo is, in essence, the family-tradition of praise-poems, or panegyric/encomium. Each clan will have its izibongo, detailing not only the triumphs but also the flaws of its famous leaders.

I learned about the troubled history of the area known now as South Africa, with the native Xhosa, Zulu, and other tribes, plus the Dutch (Afrikaners or Boers), then the British...and now the latest class, some of mixed race and some from India or other South Asian nations, which occupy an interesting middle-ground. I also learned that my wife's Great-Grandfather was a prisoner of war in one of the Boer Wars.

When Geoff Wybrow, the founder of LSA, heard that I'm related to a man who fought in the Boer Wars (and he's an absolutely FEARLESS guy), he slowly turned from the board where he was writing notees for us and said, "I...wouldn't mention that, if I were you." Comforting.

I learned that the typical Zulu is much more reserved, in terms of sharing personal information, with strangers than the typical American. That'll make my job of getting good interviews more challenging. I'll need to do a lot of mirroring, listening, and reflecting before I start to earn the right to ask penetrating questions. That's disappointing to hear since I don't have much time to build such a relationship, but it will be what it will be.

I learned the three basic 'clicks' of Zulu, and I learned that I've really only got a shot at correctly pronouncing two of them. The 'lateral' click only ever results in a full-stop for me. I can make the click, but I can't do it in a word and move on to the next syllable!

I learned our three signals for security: 1 whistle--everybody back in the car, NOW! We're going! 2 whistles--split up, scatter, run and hide; the men with guns are here. Then, if we get carjacked, of course we'll give them the car and anything else they want...UNLESS they try to take a hostage. If they take a hostage, yell, "Code Red!" At that point, we ALL get back in the car and force them to kill us all. Carjackers aren't serial-killers--they're in it for easy profit.

I learned what Ricoffy tastes like (chicory coffee). The answer: not as bad as I'd heard from Jay, our group leader...but not really good.

I learned that, for an American doctor in Indianapolis, his regular appointments with HIV+ patients are sometimes almost pro forma.

There's a lot more to learn, and I'll start tomorrow.

God bless, thanks for reading, and Lord willing, I'll write again in May!

Marcus

Some sobering numbers

I talked last week with Shawn Carney with the State Department of Health. I asked him about living with HIV/AIDS in Indiana, given the UN's call for universal, global access to treatment by 2010. "How are we doing here in Indiana?" I asked him.

The short answer is: not too bad, but it's at a significant price.

There are about 9500 people living with HIV/AIDS in Indiana, and the Department of Health makes treatment available to many of them without direct cost. That's significant, because although the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Indiana is nothing like it is in South Africa...the cost of treatment is quite high.

For the drugs alone, without medical insurance, Carney estimates a Hoosier living with AIDS would have to spend $18,000 out of pocket each year. That's not including lab-tests, monitoring, special care for other, related health issues.

In raw cost, not taking either insurance OR bulk-purchase discounts the state may get into account, $18,000 a year for 9500 people...means $171,000,000. Now, not all those 9500 people are using state assistance to get treatment. The HIV/STD division of the DoH's budget is only about $20,000,000. Still, it's a staggering amount of money.

Where are we now?

I was looking for a new angle on the story of HIV/AIDS work both here in Indiana and also in South Africa, and I came across an interesting fact.

In 2001, the United Nations made a declaration of commitment to working together on the problem of HIV/AIDS around the world. This commitment called for all nations of the world to work together and bring all their resources to bear to provide "universal access" to HIV prevention and treatment...and eventually to halt and reverse the global AIDS epidemic.

They had target dates, and two years ago in 2008 the UN reaffirmed its commitment to the projects and the timeline they had created.
The target date for universal access was 2010.

The target for reversing the epidemic is 2015.

I'll be seeking interviews with representatives from the Indiana State Department of Health, as well as the Indiana AIDS fund, to see how things are going for universal access here at home. I'll also talk with someone from Loving South Africa and perhaps a partner of theirs in Kwazulu Natal about how progress toward universal access is looking there. I'm curious what I'll find. Perhaps universal access in Indiana is accomplished and well-funded--perhaps not. Everything I've heard from Kwazulu Natal's poorest areas is that access is by no means universal, but I've not gotten hard figures.

The World Health Organization also recently posted some data about progress being made in some regions of the world toward slowing and reversing the progress of AIDS...but if memory serves, the data for sub-Saharan Africa was not nearly so positive. Still, they are some hard figures to consider.

In other news, I am pleased to say I have now TWO sponsors for the trip, and I haven't yet sent out any overt pleas for support. Thank you very much to J & C, as well as H & J. I appreciate your trust and support very much.

Thanks for reading,
Marcus

Time to start in earnest

It's only 3 and a half months until we're scheduled to leave on the trip, and there's a lot to do. My first preview story went well, I think, although it was difficult to decide in which direction to take the story. It could've looked and sounded a lot different, and been more about the specifics of Vusi's work, or what LSA does with and for their partners...but in the end I chose to be more general. By the end of the day today, I expect the first feature to be posted to the IPR website: bsu.edu/ipr on the front page.

I'd like to do at least one more story prior to the trip, perhaps with Geoff Wybrow, LSA's founder and a native of South Africa. He's passionate and straightforward; he takes the AIDS epidemic personally, and he gets animated when he talks about what is or isn't being done, and why. And then you start asking yourself, "What am I doing?" Or more accurately for most of us, "What am I NOT doing?"

The worst question you ask yourself, though, is "Why?" I make 'pitches' for support for public radio as a part of my job. I remind people that, as a rule, we will make time and find money for the things that are important to us. Where is our treasure? That's where our heart is.

So, where's my treasure? Not a pleasant question when you consider what impact a small amount of money or time can have in a place as desperate as Kwazulu Natal, where poverty, unemployment, crime, and HIV/AIDS loom so large.

So what do I need to do to get ready for this trip? I need to buy my recording gear. I'll be taking three small field units (in case one or more get stolen--a distinct possibility), and I've never worked with them before. The time to learn how to use them is BEFORE I get on the plane. Then, given the recent failed attempt to destroy an airplane in midflight and current levels of panic over airport security, I wonder how best to ensure I can indeed take my gear with me! It's compact, electronic, and unfamiliar. A few calls to the TSA are in order.

I also need to start getting my immunizations scheduled. I'll talk to my physician about that later this month. Fundraising begins soon, too, to pay for the trip. Thankfully, I'm already started, thanks to a generous couple who heard the first feature--thanks for the encouragement, H and J! [I'd mention their names, but I haven't asked their permission.] There's a long way to go to raise all the funds, though.

There's also LSA's own training/orientation meetings that will help get the group ready for what we'll see.

And most importantly, I'm expecting to come back from this trip a changed man. It will probably mean changes for my family as well. I don't know what those will look like, but my wife and I have already talked and...whatever comes of this trip, we'll embrace those changes together, unified. I am a truly blessed husband.

Thanks for reading,
Marcus