10.05.2010 AIDS - a TREMENDOUS fight
In 2009 we provided the Welgelegen RGD (Regional Health Service) station with many goods such as bandages, medicines, tube feeding materials, incontinence goods and clothing. Sister Dams, who is in charge of the station, cares for women and children who are infected with the HIV virus or have AIDS. AIDS is a big problem in Surinam. It's a massive taboo so virtually undiscussable. This foremost is the reason why Sister Dams wants to help these people.
From the very first moment we met her, Sister Dams stole our hearts. She is a fantastic woman who champions the cause of women and children with AIDS and on whose behalf she fights all manner of institutions on a daily basis. 90% of those visiting her clinic live below the poverty line. These people have a special attestation of poverty, but that only entitles them to minimal health care. Sister Dams is very happy with all the materials we have already sent her in the past year, because there is little or no money to buy the aid materials mentioned above. On top of poverty, women and children are often also being discriminated or even cast out in Surinam. This is a big part of the battle Sister Dams is fighting; against the injustice experienced by women and children who are ill.
Due to poverty many of Sister Dams' clients live in pitiful circumstances. The state only provides them with SRD 130 (about EUR 32,50) per month. When these women also have children, it should come as no surprise they are unable to manage.
Pretty soon after we started talking to Sister Dams we were already convinced we had to spend the money given to us by the Hilversum congregation on baby food. Women who are infected with the HIV virus or have AIDS give birth to perfectly healthy children. However, these children can still be infected through breast feeding. This is why Sister Dams does her best to prevent these women from breast feeding their children. This is no easy fight, however. In Surinam people are unaccustomed to use bottle feeding. In fact, babies receive breast feeding much longer than they do here. With the support of Hilversum we were able to purchase 72 cans of baby food.
After Sister Dams had seen a girl die on the floor of her truly pitiful home, Rob Jansen and another supporter got the idea to rent a house especially for women and children who are terminal. With Rob's help and materials provided by Stichting Corantijn, such as furniture, a hospital bed, bed linens and tube feeding materials, this idea became reality. Now a terminal child is lovingly taken care of and doesn't have to lie on the floor. She can die in a dignified way. We were very touched when we saw a beautiful picture of a girl from before she had become terribly ill. The same child who is laying in a hospital bed now is swollen from all the fluids she is retaining. She looks nothing like the beautiful child she had once been. To help this girl we began looking for tube feeding materials as she is unable to eat at this stage of her illness.
For this reason we have been talking to Mr. Anand Autar of Nutrisur. Marion (our secretary) had already been in contact with Nutricia in the Netherlands about the possibility of them supporting terminal AIDS children with tube feeding materials. Nutricia Netherlands in turn contacted Nutrisur, a distributor of baby- and medical food in Surinam, requesting them to allow Stichting Corantijn to buy tube feeding materials at cost. During our talk with Mr. Autar we noticed how touched he was by what we told him. He was prepared to sell the tube feeding supplies for even less than cost.
We have also been allowed to buy baby food (which is sometimes provided on doctor's prescription by the state) from Nutrisur for the same price, on an unlimited basis and without prescription. This means a lot less red tape. Normally baby food is SRD 13.75 per can. Considering that the families in question live on SRD 130 per month, it comes as no surprise that these people are unable to afford baby food. We can now purchase it for SRD 4.75 per can.
We are tremendously grateful for Mr. Autar's charity! And that goes for Sister Dams as well.
Every few weeks Sister Dams organises a meeting for 80 or so women and children with AIDS or who are HIV infected. During these meetings they are given professional advice about how best to deal with their illness. The women can ask all the questions that come to mind and they all receive answers. Sister Dams needs sponsors for these meetings so that she can welcome the women with food and drink. She also wants to be able to provide them with clothing, food, baby food and diapers. So far, the meetings are largely being sponsored by Stichting Corantijn. Because we also received money from the Veenendaal congregation we were able to buy another 192 cans of baby food to be handed out at one of these meetings.
When you see the gratitude of these people, there is really nothing you can say. I wish everyone who supported us could see this!! As for Sister Dams. I have seen her give one or two women of her own money because she knows how much they need it. She truly has an AMAZING HEART and deserves all the help we can give her in her fight against AIDS!
Clara Anbeek
