European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 10, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse A woman a search for the meaning of Charil american Jayne traendly treks to Africa to meet the child behind the Check by Gary Pomeroy staff writer Jayne traendly spent $2,500 and travelled 5,000 Miles to Check on a $20-a-month investment in the worlds sixth poorest nation she hauled away millions in perspective. About 1 i years ago traendly saw a for the umpteenth time a a Magazine and for save the children a Connecticut based Community development Agency that aids poverty stricken people in Africa Asia latin America the Middle East and the . Quot something clicked Quot said traendly who lives in Wiesbaden. Germany and teaches English and computer seminars for the University of Maryland. Quot you get this idea at a certain Point that you want to give something traendly decided to commit $20 monthly. Quot i have a Job and it s not that much Money Quot she said. Quot if you can help Why not Quot save the children sent her Money to Malawi a country in Southeast Africa about the size of Tennessee she received several fact sheets on the area and a picture of the child she was sponsoring a girl named Esta Ndhlovu. Donations provide health care and education programs for entire communities but individual sponsorship of children Quot brings it Down to a level people can relate to Quot said Wendy Christian a save the children spokeswoman in Westport Conn Quot a traendly wrote postcards to Esta from locations in Europe Quot to give her an idea of the world Quot the correspondence was interpreted into the native language Chic Hewa by a save the children representative in Malawi and passed to Esta. The Girt now 8, responded through the staff member telling traendly about caring for goals singing and making Cornmeal. Last fall traendly began wondering what it would to like to visit Malawi Quot i had no reason to believe save the children was not on the level Quot she said. Quot but i wanted to Check it out. I wanted to visit the Little in March she made the trip. Though such trips Are rare. Save the children encouraged it and the local representative welcomed her with Quot open arms Quot traendly said the organization hosts two annual trips for groups of about 20 donors to visit its operation in Appalachia but Quot its quite unusual to visit overseas Quot Christian said. About 50 of the 100,000 americans who contribute to save the children visit foreign Field offices on their own each year Christian said. For fondly flaw from Frankfurt Germany to Nairobi a amps Gary Pomero Jayne traendly of Wiesbaden Germany wanted to meet the child she helps through save the children. Kenya and switched to a connecting flight to Lilongwe Malawi the nation s capital. There she was met by a save the children staff member an English speaking local National a and the two piled into a jeep and drove Quot on dirt roads for hours Quot to mba Lachanda the area where Esta and her family live. The next morning when they arrived at Esta s school a a single Story open air Sandy coloured Brick building a nearly All of the 850 students vied for positions to glimpse the visitor. She was escorted to Esta who was sitting with a Large group of children outside the school. Esta stood up approached and Shook hands but kept her head Down. Quot it s a sign of respect to adults Quot traendly said the pen pals and an entourage of faculty members proceeded to the school headmaster s office where traendly was Able to ask Esta a through an interpreter a Quot kid questions like a what s your favorite color and who is your Best Friend Quot most of the teachers spoke English and they seized the Opportunity to inquire about american education. Traendly said an cye opening tour of the primitive facility ensued. Most noteworthy among the missing materials were papers and pencils. At an afternoon Assembly the headmaster told the students that their guest taught american soldiers Quot a big a ohm went up in the room from the children who were amazed that a woman was telling soldiers what to do Quot she said. Afterwards traendly was taken to meet Estas family in the Village of Yabuka. The family of five a Mother father and three children a live in a Quot very clean partitioned Quot hut. A Kitchen hut is next to it. The father is a Farmer and grows Corn and peanuts. The family also has some chickens. Quot he grows what they eat and that a it Quot traendly said. Quot i Hadnot realized what real subsistence living her meal at the House a scrambled eggs and Rice a was prepared with food donated by villagers. Traendly followed local custom and ate with her hands. Quot it was fun actually Quot she said. Quot it Felt natural. Its a natural Extension of eating French As her eight hour visit to Esta s Home ended the family presented her with special gifts a big Bunch of bananas and a live squawking Chicken with its feet bound by a Cord. Traendly said that the warmth of the people of Malawi far overshadowed her monthly contributions. Quot All i had done was give my $20 but they made me feel so important. I Don t think it was the Money. It was the fact that someone knows they the hard part was accepting there is Only so much one can do she Zimbabwe aids hits the Little children by Scott Kraft the los Angeles times in 1 i Gago Phynous paediatric Ward of the government Hospital in mutate Zimbabwe Geol Foster me province s paediatrician is making his Early morning rounds moving from bedside to bedside by dozens of tired looking mothers in borrowed Hospital Robes All wailing and thusly by their Small children Sharon pm. A months old had been admitted the Day before. She breathes with difficulty and her Patchy hair and Loose Sron indicate weight loss. The swollen Lymph nodes f Ovstei finds under both the baby s and the Mother s arms strongly suggest aids. Two Beds away is Abed Migo 3 months old who is losing weight and also suffering from tuberculosis i his is almost certainly retrovirus Quot Foster whispers to a visitor. His is a retrovirus but the doctor uses the word retrovirus rather than aids or his to avoid frightening the Mother he moves on to 9-month-old Moses Chi Vunyun Moses has Thrush a Tanly common infant ailment. But ins Mother died a few ironic earlier and although the Fame y does t know what caused her death. Foster now this a was Alp a re going to do a blood test he in Quot the child s grandmother Quot to find out Why Little Moses to so sick Quot pret mole 9v5 months old is losing weight and has an abscess on his shoulder yet another symptom of a weakened immune system Quot this is the sort of thing we Don t expect to see in children Quot Foster says. Unless they have aids. What makes i Osier s daily discoveries in mutate s paediatric Ward so frightening is that they Are not unusual. As in Harare and Lusaka and Kampala and thousands of other cities and villages in Africa children Are dying of aids in Ever increasing numbers. Since 1987, Foster 38, has diagnosed 600 cases of aids in children in his 36-bed Ward. Few live longer than a year after the diagnosis. New cases Are appearing at the rate of 15 a month and the Ward s death rate has leaped from one in 20 admissions to one in 10, solely due to aids. If a child has aids the Mother must have aids and the father May Well also have the disease for most mothers and fathers the child a diagnosis is the first time they learn their own Fate. His positive mothers experts have found will pass the disease along to at least 30 percent of their children. And almost All of those w e e before their fifth birthday the remaining 70 Jav v though free of the disease Are certain to lose their mothers a and possibly their fathers to aids. The most difficult part of Foster s Job comes after the rounds when he closes the door of an anteroom in the paediatric Ward for private talks with his patients mothers. He asks permission to Tost some for aids and gives his test results to others. The task never gets easier. Goodlaw Muchi Mika 9 months old is folded into his Mother s arms As she listens to Foster. Goodlaw was losing weight and had pneumonia when he was admitted to the Hospital a few months ago. He and his Mother were both tested for aids. We have the results of your blood tests Quot Foster says waiting for a nurse to translate his English into Shona. Quot both you and baby Are positive for aids Quot Foster continues. Quot it s because of aids that your baby has not been gaining tears Well up in 22-year-old chips Muchi Mikat a eyes and two drops Streak Down her Cheeks. She lifts the baby s yellow Towel to dry them away. Seeing his Mother s distress Goodlaw begins to cry softly. She pats him absently her thoughts far away. Quot have you explained to her that the child is not Ever going to be Well Quot Foster asks the nurse. Quot she a avoided mentioning death Quot the nurse says. Quot but she Page 16 a the stars and stripes wednesday Juno 10, 1992
