This distinct moment of realizing stays with me always, in my mind:
In Kigali, Rwanda in Spring 2007, I showed up for basketball practice with my girls' team on the outside court in the center of town. It was evident right away that we weren't practicing that day; the entire court, the grassy areas around the court, and the parking lot next to the court were packed with people, almost all women, mostly with a baby or two in tow, standing shoulder to shoulder, patiently waiting. A 14-passenger taxi van would show up, a group of people piled in, and the van left. There was a continuous stream of taxi vans, but it was obviously going to take a long time for all of these women to get wherever they were trying to go.
As I was standing there watching the crowd, irritated that I'd shown up for practice and it was clearly not going to happen, my teammate, who was standing beside me, put her arm around my shoulder and asked, "Do you know why all of these people are here?"
Me: "No, why?"
"They've tested positive for HIV. The government wants to bring them all together to discuss possible treatment options."
Just like that. Matter-of-fact. They've tested positive for HIV. Hundreds, if not thousands, of women and children right in front of my eyes, and they've all tested positive for HIV.
There's a difference between knowing and knowing. This was the first time that the true enormity of the disease, the epidemic of HIV/AIDS, truly hit me.
According to estimates by sites such as the CIA World Factbook (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2155rank.html), Rwanda is up there among the 25 countries with the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence in the world. If you continue to look at the stats, Africa's unfortunate position in the HIV and AIDS epidemic is clear; the 19 countries worldwide with the highest prevalence of reported infections are all African nations. Namibia, where I lived throughout 2009, is ranked number 5 in AIDS prevalence; it's estimated that 15% of adults age 15-49 are living with the disease.
But the country with unfathomable numbers that will definitely send a chill down your spine is South Africa. Estimates show that close to 6 million people are currently living with HIV/AIDS in South Africa. To give you an idea, that's one in five people countrywide, though that's not the truest statistic. In reality, the society is still hugely segregated, and the majority of individuals who are living with HIV/AIDS in South Africa are poor and black and live in the townships, slums designed by the ruling white from the 1950's-1980's, located outside of the city, where crime, poverty, and disease still run rampant, more than twenty years post-apartheid.
It was there, in the townships of Port Elizabeth, that a second distinct moment of realizing the true severity of the epidemic hit me. Rob's best friend Jim moved to Port Elizabeth in 2008. For two years now, he's been going to places where very few other whites go, caring for people that would have otherwise been forgotten, tutoring kids whose teachers don't bother to show up for class, lending money, providing a shoulder to cry on, and just being there for those who really, truly need it most. He's started a non-profit for Community Development: http://www.masinyusane.org/. It's not an HIV/AIDS organization per se, but with 25%-50% HIV/AIDS prevalence in the townships in which he works, HIV/AIDS testing, education, counseling, and awareness is very much a part of any day's work.
When I went to visit Jim in Port Elizabeth in April 2009, we spent a good amount of time in the townships. Each day, on our way to the neighborhood where he's most active, we passed a massive, expansive cemetery, covering an entire hillside. Most days, we were listening to music, or he was arranging his next meeting on his cell phone as he drove. Finally, there was a day we passed the cemetery and the car was quiet. Jim, who's one of the most upbeat and positive people I've ever met, spoke up, "This cemetery wasn't here when I arrived two years ago. HIV/AIDS, man..." and his voice trailed off.
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