Reality

Most days for lunch I eat at a small restaurant that serves Indian as a sit down meal, or light meals out on the patio. I alternate between the two. Anyway, when I sit out on the patio I am approached regularly by youth trying to sell me the latest DVD, CD, sunglasses or a variety of other merchandise. I politely reply, "No obrigado" (No thank you). One gentlemen sat beside me as I ate and browsed the internet and told me he had no job, and no money. I had heard the same disheartening story many times before, however, he then told me he was "living with AIDS". I hope my face did not give away my shock.

Before I embarked on my journey to Maputo, Mozambique I did receive a few days of training from my sending organization (VSO). In that training they made it very clear that it was impossible to distinguish between a person living with HIV / AIDS and one who was not. On a lighter note, they also showed two dogs and we were not able to differentiate which one was healthy and which one had rabies.

The reality of Africa is slowly settling in, day by day, as I learn to succumb to the harsh realities that millions of Africans deal with on a daily basis. The gentlemen (we will call him Geraldo) also told me that the reason he did not have a job was because employers were not willing to employ men infected with the virus for various reasons. He seemed well spoken, well kept, and all in all, a competent man.

I volunteered to try and find help for this gentlemen. He told me he will meet me again tomorrow to see what I could dig up. To be continued...