Just like Texas, the word large defines this continent. Coming in on a plane at night, looking down at the few scattered, tiny spots of light on a large black canvas, is a reminder of the large spaces between villages. Room to roam, and lots of room for development (and a great need).
Large also defines the rainstorms. Tonight the heavens opened and just plain dumped water for an hour. We were sitting in a restaurant and the water started coming in under the door jambs, and through the lights in the ceiling, and in between the window frames. The street turned into a brown river of water, ankle deep. I did not think, because I could not imagine, what it might be like at that moment to experience that same rainstorm under a corrugated iron roof, in a mud hut, in the villages.
Today we spent the day catching up on GAIA’s activities. Tomorrow, I will go see the freshly painted clinic. Then we’ll talk science (with Ousmane) and plot and plan and see what we can do better.
We are optimists, we, the GAIA Mali team. We have tested thousands of women for HIV infection. We have provided an opportunity for HIV prevention to hundreds of mothers who were found to be HIV positive. Although we lost many mothers in the beginning (for fear of being stigmatized), they are now coming back because the word is out that GAIA is making it possible to live with HIV. 26 patients (only 5 were being followed in February). We’re adding five new patients per month. The acceptance of HIV testing has gone back up to 98 %. The clinic is running out of HIV tests, so we have to buy more. Our Here Bolo peer education program has created that demand.
I feel fortunate to be here, to have a chance to work with these wonderful team members. There is so much to be done, and so much optimism for the future. The AIDS problem in Mali is Large. What do we have to fight with?. Large smiles. Large capacity for discomfort. Large desires – as big as anywhere else in the world, for health, for well being, and for a roof that does not leak over one’s head.
Love from Mali,
Anne De Groot, MD
GAIA Scientific Director and Founder
The Warren Alpert School of Medicine of Brown University