Jennipher
I write this on 29th March 2020. The UK and the world is a very
different place, even compared with a few weeks ago. In Zambia they
only have 20 or so confirmed coronavirus cases, though the true
number is likely to be much higher - they too are introducing
measures to try to reduce the spread of the virus.
However, I want to continue providing outines of my friendships with
people I meet in Zambia. Here I will say a little about Jennipher,
her family, friends and clients.
Today Jennipher is not well. I met her in 2004 soon after she had
started taking medication for HIV/AIDS. Zambia had just started
providing the drugs and Jennipher was one of the first to be put on
the treatment. She had agreed to disclose her status and from that
time began to encourage others to be tested and to be treated with
the anti-viral medicine.
Jennipher has a determined and forceful personality, formed from a
difficult life, requiring a fight just to survive. She has been there
and experienced the difficulties which led her to the bars and the
disease she now lives with. She talks from this experience and has
been able to help hundreds of people to start living positively with
the disease.
When I first met her however she seemed quite timid and in very low
spirits. She came to the hospital guest house where I was staying and
asked for help. As is my usual approach, I did not provide any money,
but tried to listen. I was in Monze for 4 months in 2004 and as time
went on Jennipher would see me around the hospital and approach me. I
learnt a bit about her life and she leant a little about mine. After
a couple of months she told me that she needed to re-thatch her house
before the rains, otherwise water would get into the mud walls and
her house would collapse. She also had an idea about a small business
making and selling soured milk. She needed the equivalent of about £5
to finance these two projects. She caught me on a good day and we had
come to know each other a little, so I gave her the money. Next time
we met she was smiling and seemed to be a different person. To be
honest I didn't care what she did with the money - it was worth £5
to see her smile!!
Since that time so much has happened. Jennipher has established many
AIDS support groups. From being regarded as a nuisance, she is now
very highly regarded among the health professionals and has helped
move services such as testing nearer to the people. She has saved
many lives.
Jennipher moved to Pemba - about 35 Km south of Monze and was given
a piece of land where she grows maize and vegetables, she has a
growing family and established a pre-school class. Her life still has
many challenges and unfortunately she has experienced many deaths
among her clients and also in her family.
Jennipher has always been willing to take in children from family
members who have died and more recently from her clients. When I
first met her she was looking after Sandra, Selina and Osward -
nieces and a nephew. One day, after our friendship had been
established, she told me Osward was having fits and needed to go to
the hospital. In Zambia you cannot ring for an ambulance, so I
borrowed a pick-up and headed for Pemba. When I arrived it seemed
that he was responding to malaria treatment and no longer needed
hospital treatment. Unfortunately, a couple of days later, the
condition worsened and Osward died.
Sandra spent a lot of her time looking after Selina who was four or
five at the time and doing the housework instead of attending school.
When the opportunity arose I was able to help her back into school.
She completed her schooling and gained her grade 12 certificate. She
then trained as a nurse and took on a position in Livingstone.
Unfortunately she became ill and, despite surgery in Malawi, she too
died.
Since I have known Jennipher and her family, there have been several
children who have joined the family - most have probably been
infected with HIV/AIDS from their parents. I have come to know them
and have felt the grief with Jennipher, when they have died. Baby
Twambo, a toddler Chimunya, who fell down a well, Mike, who was
training as an engineer and Raquel a lovely teenager, also died.
Jennipher has shown me some of the challenges, but also the joys of
life. Emmanuel and Obadia were children whose parents died in
childbirth and who Jennipher was willing to take in if I would buy a
few months supply of dried milk. What a privilege to be able to give
a chance of a reasonable life for children will little hope - both
children are growing up strong and well and are at school. Jennipher
and Maggie, who are also children of clients, have joined the family.
Selina - a two year old child when I first met her is now a mother
herself, her daughter Maria is named after a friend of mine who died
a year ago. Selina is about to finish her schooling and hopes to
train at the local agricultural college. Maria is also being looked
after by Jennipher.
Some years back Jennipher mentioned that she could get a borehole
driiled and a handpump installed for the equivalent of about £200. I
was sceptical! My understanding was that a borehole would cost at
least £2,000 - £3,000 and a handpump on it's own would be about
£400 - £500. Anyway I decided it was worth the risk and found the
funds. A year later Jennipher showed me the pump which was installed
a kilometre or so from her house, but in a suitable place for her
support group. It had been designed to make it easy for disabled
people and pregnant women to collect water for themselves. Instead of
a stagnant pool a whole community now has fresh clean water to drink
and can grow their own crops. Again what a privilege to be able to
help this come about.
Over the years I have visited Jennipher's family and support groups
and she is a very regular visitor to my house when I am in Monze -
often introducing me to clients she has brought for treatment at the
hospital. Her house has grown, in no small part due to her cousin
Soloman who came to live with her some years back and is a great help
looking after the crops, erecting buildings and even taking care of
the children. In 2014 Jennipher spent 3-4 weeks in the UK with Dilys
and myself, meeting my family and friends and seeing as much as
possible of life in this part of the world.
Friendship is extremely rewarding, but also brings challenges. I have
experienced so much over the years from my friendship with Jennipher
- life in all its richness, but also its poverty and distress. I am
very grateful for the opportunities. It is a privilege to spend time
with someone who is very close to death and it is a great joy to
hold a smiling child on my knee - thanks to Jennipher I have
experienced many such moments.
