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Spotlight
on...
 In
every issue of SONDELA, we will feature a story
on an ordinary KZN community member who is doing
extraordinary work in the struggle to reverse
the HIV/AIDS epidemic. There are many such people
offering their unfailing support and care. In
most cases, they give their time and energy purely
for love. Such heroism cannot go unsung - so SONDELA
will sing loudly about it, one hero at a time!
In this edition, we meet:
Mrs Doris Mkhosi from
Bergville
Since 1999, when she received training in home-based
care (HBC) through a WorldVision programme funded
in partnership with the Health Department, the
shy, gentle Mrs Mkhosi has been going out to visit
homes in the area around Bergville in the uThukela
District.
 For
over a year, she has been caring for a terminally
ill man and his 10-year-old daughter in her own
home. Her patient's wife had died of HIV/AIDS,
and their daughter had left school to take care
of him. Once Mrs Mkhosi had given them both a
stable home, the child returned to school, and
the man, who had been gravely ill, enjoys greatly
improved health. Mrs Mkhosi has counselled him,
he has been tested for HIV and accepts his status.
The young girl is very well and happy to be back
at school.
This family is Mrs Mkhosi's first "HBC intake",
and it was a brave step, since her husband is
a retired teacher and there are no members of
her family providing them with income. This responsibility
is a full-time job for her, as she has to cope
with the added burden on her own household and
her outreach visits. Mrs Mkhosi explains: "I
committed myself to this, so I manage my time
carefully. I do all the family's housework including
seeing to the patient, so I can still go out to
other homes after that."
Mrs Mkhosi says that when the constant contact
with illness and despair drains her mentally and
emotionally, it is her spiritual faith, and the
conviction in her patients' right to die with
dignity, that sustain her. A volunteer friend,
who understands and shares the same experiences,
said she felt "naked in horror and heartbreak"
when she saw the final stages of AIDS during a
visit to Emmaus Hospital near Bergville.
There are pressing practical issues that need
solutions. Mrs Mkhosi explains that when her patient's
wife died, there was no birth or death certificate,
and only the patient had an ID document. As a
result, it is difficult to get a birth certificate
for his daughter, and so have funds released by
the Department of Social Development for a grant.
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Note: For orphan registration,
one needs the child's birth certificate
and the parent's death certificate. Many
social workers are burdened with getting
these through the Department of Home Affairs,
and many community members are unclear about
how these processes work. Once we have accurate
information available, HIVAN will publish
details in SONDELA and on our website, of
NGOs and FBOs running HIV/AIDS projects
focusing on certification. For information
on the types and values of Social Grants,
see from page 5 to 6.
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"There are other problems," says Mrs
Mkhosi. "My patient has recovered and he
has gained weight, but still has no energy, so
he needs to get to the clinic, and the transport
costs come out of my pocket. I took the man to
the pension pay-point to register in August, but
when we returned every month after that, there
was no pay-out." At the time of writing,
no payment had been made.
Towards the end of our interview, Mrs Mkhosi
began to cry softly. She said that her tears were
those of joy, at hearing some hopeful news there
were NGOs working to assist in obtaining documents
for HBC patients. But it was we who felt moved
to be talking with her - for it is reassuring
to know that an angel such as Mrs Doris Mkhosi
walks the earth around Bergville, spreading love
and light as she goes.
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