I was fortunate enough to attend a national public health conference during the first part of this week. The conference was in Cape Town, which worked out great because my sister Karie and her family were flying in to Cape Town the same day I was leaving to come back to PE. I was able to schedule myself on the same flight. First, let me spend a little time with the conference. No, I'm not going to bore you with details of South African public health. I'll save that talk for a day when my dad and I can sit on the beach and talk "health ed." The most exciting part of the conference was the beginning of a national movement by Treatment Action Coalition (TAC), an AIDS activist group, to hold the South African government accountable for the widespread AIDS problem in this country. See, South Africa has the world's highest percentage of population with AIDS. It is estimated that over 25% of the country's adults are infected, with the rate rising to over 40% in rural areas and 65% in certain townships. That is a MAJOR problem, especially considering there is no cure for the disease. Of those infected with HIV in this country, most will die with 2 or so years. Compare this to the U.S. where the longevity from time of infection to death can be well over 10 years. One of the major reasons for this has to do with the public health care that lacks in this country. It is the present Minister of Health's view that no public funds should be used on antiretroviral drugs, which happen to be medicines that can help infected persons from progressing to full blown AIDS and death. It is not a cure, but a course of treatment that has been found to be promising in helping improve the lives of those who are HIV infected. Well, the Minister of Health does not want to support this or from what I can tell, any known medical treatment approach. Rather, she has been chastised for consulting what many would consider to be "quack" healers. The public health buzz is that if she supports treatment for AIDS, then the government officially sanctions that AIDS is a problem and then must be accountable from a public health perspective in doing something about it. Apparently the Minister of Health does not even acknowledge that HIV causes AIDS. Being the country with the highest percentage of AIDS, it is no wonder that many here are quite irate with the government's lack of involvement in the AIDS crisis. Hence, the movement of the TAC to confront the government and hold them responsible. I was privileged to be front row at the initiation of this movement. That's because the Minister of Health was the opening keynote speaker for this conference and when she was introduce, about 50 people came forward with signs that read "Wanted for not stopping 600 HIV/AIDS deaths every day" with her name and picture on the poster. The protesters were shouting "murderer" and other like names and would not let the Minister speak for at least half an hour. They then insisted on reading a statement, which was quite good and insightful. The Minister was unable to refute any of their claims and proceeded to carry on with her canned speech. This was a great example of civil disobedience at its finest, complete with police and riot gear. Fortunately the protest ended peacefully. I recently read in the paper that the same group had confronted the President of South Africa as he prepared to give a speech dedicating a new medical clinic in one of the townships. The same tactics were used to attempt to draw the public eye to the government's lack of response to this vital and critical health issue. I support their political activism 100%, if not in action, then in silent approval.

The rest of the conference was anticlimactic in comparison to the events of the opening session and I found myself spending most of my time getting excited for Karie and her family to arrive. I met them at the airport as they debarked from the international customs area. It was great to see familiar faces, especially those of family. It had been nearly 3 months since we left the U.S. and we have been getting anxious for spending time with loved ones from home. So, seeing Karie, Rich, and the smiles on the kids' faces was a great joy. Our flight to PE followed the southern coast and it was a beautiful clear day. We were able to see the route we would be driving over the next couple of weeks. Very cool. Our time in PE with Karie and family was short, as we were set to start a 2-week trip to the Western Cape 3 days after they arrived. So, in typical Bensley fashion, we tried to jam what we could into those few days. This included a trip to Addo. "Hey Karie, you'll LOVE Addo. I mean, every time you turn around there is a herd of elephants just waiting to cross your path. No, really, it is so great. The kids will love it." I've been to Addo five times in the past 3 months. I've seen herds of elephant every time, except once. Guess which time it just happened to be? Yep, the time that we had a car full of all sorts of wondering eyes. However, it was a fun time and we did get to see a herd of Zebra dart across the road, a troop of monkeys, a jackal (which we hadn't seen before), and all sorts of antelope. More importantly, the kids had a great time. The kids had an even greater time seeing some lions at Seaview game park (just outside PE) where they got a chance to actually pet some lion cubs. It is more of a breeding park, where they are trying to breed tame lions. Seems a bit oxymoronic, doesn't it. Tame lions. Ah, so what. The kids were thrilled. The day after Karie and family arrived, Kara, Rich, and I went out to visit with some schools to see what they do in terms of art education. This turned out to be a great experience for all three of us. Rich actually got to teach a lesson at Pendla (the township school I wrote about earlier), Kara helped out with the Grade 1's (who don't speak a lick of English) and in the school "library" (which is the old bathroom with a few books in it), and I got to again help solve some plumbing issues. We also visited Missionvale Care Centre school, which I also wrote earlier about. Unfortunately the entire community was involved in a funeral of one of the prior students who had died of cancer and so we didn't stay too long. It was odd seeing a traditional catholic funeral, complete with priest and the whole nine yards, in the middle of a black, dirt-poor township. Rich also got to visit with the art teacher at Kara's school, which, as you know if you have been following this adventure, is a suburban traditional school.

Jack also had his birthday party while his two buddies, Tristen and Josh, were here. Much to Jack's joy, having his two cousins with him at his birthday party in South Africa took the cake. I can hear it 10 years from now: "Jack, where was your 7th birthday party?" "I don't know, somewhere in Africa." "What did you do?" "I don't know. Opened gifts probably." "What did you get?" "I don't know. Probably some toys or somethin'." "Who all came to your party?" "Tristen and Josh." You just can't buy that kind of bond. Karie, as you read this, just remember the $10,000 or so you dropped on this trip was well worth Jack remembering that Tristen and Josh were at his African birthday party. Yeah, easy for me to say, since it wasn't my money that was dropped. But hey, it's just money. You can't take it with you when you go. But you can take with you the knowledge that your two cousins came halfway around the world to be at your birthday party.
Here come the Romans!
Rich and teaching buddies at Pendla
Kara helping at Pendla library
Ostrich on her nest
Jackal
Wildebeast
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