Wednesday 20 June 2007- Day Nineteen

Today was a challenging day in the field. My partner and I went to an AIDS hospice in Alex. The structure was basically an abandoned mechanics warehouse that was converted into a hospice. The hospice runs with no funding, no payments to anyone and food donations from the local spazas. And yet everyone that we talked to there said that the government is doing a good job in response the HIV and AIDS epidemic in South Africa. I find this hard to believe. I am choosing to hold on to the positives that I can find: that there is a lot of participation, the people running these NGOs are overwhelmingly women, and something is being done to provide care for those who need it. The level of care and humanity in Alex continues to inspire me.