Seeing Through the Partner's Lens
Promoting Dignity Through Sensitivity
By Dr. Theresa Glaser
CRS Volunteer, The Gambia
HIV TESTING: Volunteer Theresa Glaser tests blood for HIV. In the background, Sr. Alexis delivers a sample for testing. The Sisters of St. Joseph of Annecy team, a CRS partner, launched an outreach voluntary counseling and testing center in the village of Garawol, The Gambia. This gives people living far from its main service location in Basse the opportunity to be tested for HIV, when they otherwise would not be tested because of the difficulties and expense of traveling to Basse.
After a pretest counseling session, either the counselor or nurse draws the client's blood. Theresa centrifuges the sample, which entails spinning it to separate cells from serum, and then spots a portion of the serum onto a test strip. After ten minutes, the result can be read on the test strip. The counselors hold a post test counseling session once the result has been determined. Photo by Patricia Glogowski for CRS
I saw through the eyes of sensitivity today. A CRS partner was my teacher, representing poignantly what it meant to honor the dignity of people.
Seven of us loaded a vehicle with materials for delivery to remote villages, as part of the Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC)component of our work in and around Banjul, The Gambia.
Before our departure, we met at the house of Sister Alexis, of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Annecy, a CRS partner, and assembled the hygiene kits which would be distributed to each person on our list. The kit included a toothbrush, toothpaste, a towel, two bars of laundry soap, one bar of medicated soap, one bar of facial soap and baby oil. Sister Alexis purchased three cases of chicken from the supermarket and called ahead to make sure the ferry was operating. We packed up bolts of material to be sewn into school uniforms, school supplies, snacks and drinks and, loaded ourselves into the vehicle and were on the road by 9:00am.
To say the roads we traveled were rough is something of an understatement. They were, in some cases, nonexistent. Our driver maneuvered skillfully and patiently. An African music tape played as background as we rolled and rocked and jarred our way to villages, passing big horned cattle, goats, chickens and donkeys, and even a baboon.
In all, we visited seven villages. In the village of each child, the responsible adult, often the grandmother, was given 900 Dalasi for the support of the child over several months, and if the child was school age, she or he received several meters of material the appropriate color of the school uniform, an additional sum of money to buy shoes and to pay the stitching costs for the uniforms, and school supplies. The family was given a meal portion of chicken.
Sister Alexis told the driver to stop the car because she believed, by watching the woman's gait, that she was ill. We stopped, greeted the couple and asked about the woman's health. She explained that she was ill.
Needless to say, we were warmly welcomed in each village. So far we have received gifts of groundnuts still on the vine, a watermelon straight from the field, and a live chicken!
One of the more interesting stops was to a village called Diabugu Tendi, which means "last place before crossing the river." It is a river village, remote, peaceful and beautiful. We chose this village to stop and have lunch near the river. Several people showed off their fishing skills, collecting fish in a large net maneuvered by two people through the water.
HEALING AND HOPE: The Sisters of Saint Joseph of Annecy HIV and AIDS Care and Support Project team, on a return visit to a woman, is pleased to find her nearly healed of a skin ailment that had persisted for several months. Left to right are the woman (name withheld), and team members Almaame Sise, a home-based care nurse, and Theresa Glaser.
The work in which we were participating was impressive, but even more so was the sensitivity apparent in the team members to the people we encountered. In particular, I noticed two examples of Sister Alexis' fine tuning to people in need. While driving, we passed a man and a woman. Sister Alexis told the driver to stop the car because she believed, by watching the woman's gait, that she was ill. We stopped, greeted the couple and asked about the woman's health. She explained that she was ill, but that she was taking medication. They did not require any assistance.
Later that day, at the river village, there were about 20 children who had accompanied us to our lunch spot. Sister Alexis pointed out a young boy at the riverside who looked sad. She asked our nurse (who is fluent in the local language) to talk with him and find out if this was the case. As it turned out, he was about 12 years old and had never had the opportunity to go to school. Having watched us deliver school supplies to his younger siblings had made him sad.
And so the team acted on this information. We then drove to the school and related the story to the headmaster. We paid school fees and supplies, including the cost of a pair of shoes, for the sad young boy, and were assured that every effort would be made to find a classroom suitable for him.
When the day ended, I was elated for having been a part of it, and grateful to the team.
