Imagine that you are visually impaired, living in an impoverished area with few monetary resources, and have little access to education.  How would you learn to protect yourself from HIV/AIDS?

The Kondwa Children’s Foundation is supporting the HIV/AIDS Infor-Tech Africa (HAITA) project in its efforts to educate the visually impaired populations of Zambia.  A Lusaka based NGO, its mission is to “provide adequate support, awareness, and bridge the gap of unequal distribution of HIV/AIDS literature…particularly the visually impaired community”.

HAITA is seeking a braille printer to produce HIV/AIDS educational literature for the visually impaired. With your help, KCF intends to purchase a printer and ship it to Zambia by October 2008.  Every dollar you give will be matched (up to $3,000) thanks to a recent grant we received from the Tides Foundation. 

There are many ways you can help:

• Run a race and donate the proceeds.
• Hold a yard sale
• Hold a bake sale
• Ask a local band to donate proceeds from their next concert
• Set up a donation jar at your local grocery store or eye doctor’s office
• Make a donation to KCF earmarked for the Braille Printer Project.

by Marie Vagedes, LCSW
A little less than a year ago, I had the opportunity to join with a group of primary school teachers working in Lusaka, Zambia through the Kondwa Children’s Foundation volunteer trip.  This opportunity for connection took on the form of a 6-day workshop that my dear friend and colleague Leah Berger and I facilitated at the Kondwa Day Centre for teachers working at area schools within N’gombe compound. 

The workshop focused on grief and loss issues in children.  The material for the workshop was drawn from our combined personal and professional experiences. By drawing on my past work with Hospice, and Leah tapping into her expressive arts training, we were able to develop a well-rounded and culturally-sensitive workshop that surprisingly benefited not only the Zambian teachers, but ourselves as well.

Grief and loss are universal.  I believe this is why whenever discussion is opened on this topic that people begin to relate on a deep and intimate level with one another.  I have seen this to be true no matter the culture, religious belief, gender, ethnicity, or age.  Of course, just as anything in life, there are many individual differences in the human response to grief. 

Just as we can say that a leopard and a tiger are both cats, it is also true that there are many differences among them.  Similarly, all people of the world experience grief and loss, however, the expression it takes on can have many distinctions.  Because of this truth, Leah and I were able to connect with our group of teachers on a deep and meaningful level.  And although much of the material was intended to be educational in focus, it was not surprising that the emotions of joy, sorrow, anger, and fear were to some extent felt and expressed throughout the workshop.  With our words, we were able to elicit the deep emotions of grief and loss and then to normalize these emotions by offering healing and understanding.

Leah and I balanced traditional classroom teaching with experiential activities.  The teaching topics included wanted and unwanted changes in life, our reaction to change otherwise known as grief and mourning, developmental stages of children and how this affects their experience of loss and expression of grief, and practical interventions that can be used with children. 

One activity that stands out in my mind took place near the end of the workshop.  We split the larger group of forty people into smaller groups of about six people.  Each person was asked to think of an issue that the workshop material brought up for them, particular issues faced in the day-to-day life of each participant.  Then one by one each supporting member of the group was asked to provide feedback about how they would handle the situation.  Each supporting member would begin by stating, “If I were in that situation I would . . .” and then offered his or her suggestion.  The small group discussions were very interesting but they also served the purpose of letting the teachers know that they were not alone in the challenges they faced and that by coming together and talking of the difficult situations, they could help and support one another.

I was so very impressed with the dedication and commitment the teachers displayed.  After working their regular school day, each would arrive at Kondwa Day Center with smiles and a readiness to learn.  Through their willingness to take this time and to be open to listening to what is a difficult topic for most of us, they showed strength and courage.  I am confident that because of these qualities, they will be able to take what they learned and give understanding and hope to the children with whom they work in the community.  I saw not only an intellectual understanding of grief and loss occurring, but also an emotional learning.  Through their willingness to talk about their own experiences with loss and death, they begin to give children the permission to speak of it as well.

Knowing and accepting that “change is truly the only constant” is the only thing we can count on happening in life.  As long as we tip toe around the topic of grief and loss, we are not accepting life on life’s terms.  We are not accepting ourselves.  Alternatively, when we can face it and accept it with courage and strength, we learn how to take care of ourselves and to support each other through life and death.  It is my wish that this message is being spread through the teachers of Ngombe compound that attended the workshop.  I thank the Kondwa Children’s Foundation for providing me with this awesome opportunity to join with them.  I thank also the teachers and ask them to remember, “Laugh when you can, cry when you have to”.