Clinic Day at IEC

I returned from Addis Abada, Ethiopia on Sunday February 22 after spending 2 weeks working with people affected by HIV/AIDS.  The experience was incredible and the people and their stories made a profound impact on my life. I'm going to attempt to re-cap some events and stories. 

As an audiologist, I was able to examine, clean, and diagnose disorders of the ears.  I cleaned out bugs, impacted earwax (don't use q-tips), parts of sticks, and cotton balls out of ear canals.  Due to the lack of audiologic and otologic care, a myriad of patients had perforated eardrums, causing hearing loss, pain, and an open cavity into the middle and inner ear. Unfortunately, surgery is required to repair the perforations, which is unattainable for these people. 

Clinic day at IEC (International Evangelical Church)

IEC has a project that involves helping people in the community affected by HIV/AIDS.  As a medical team, we spent a day providing medical services to people in their project needed medical assistance.   When I was not seeing a patient with ear problems, I was either playing with kids or talking with women.  At IEC, I was able to talk with 5 women and hear stories about their lives and I was able to share a little about myself.  

A woman I was able to talk with is a single woman with no children and no husband.  Her name in Amheric means "growing a garden."  A year ago, she obtained a job at a hotel to earn money for her family, and while working at the hotel she became "positive." I probed her more and she shared how she prostituted herself to gain money for family.  In trying to help support her family, she contracted HIV then subsequently became sick with TB.  She is now almost "healthy" enough to work again.

She continued to share with me that she did attend a church before she began working at the hotel and that she wanted to attend church again, but was afraid to do so.  I shared with her that we ALL make mistakes--we are not perfect people.  God loves for us is so incredible that he sent His son who is perfect to the world to live with us.  And even though people hated him and killed him, he died so that we might live.  By accepting His son into our lives, God sees his son, who is perfect--not all the mistakes that we have made. 

The conversation with her was incredible and completely touched my heart. Despite the shame, remorse, and guilt she had for giving up apart of herself to support her family, she continued to talk with me with a HUGE smile on her face.  She expressed excitement to be able to speak with me--a feringe (white person) who didn't know anything about counseling.  But I learned an incredible amount from this woman-she continues to persevere despite being "positive."