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So Many Cases of HIV among Malawian Prostitutes
So Many Cases Like 21-Year-Old Dyna
Senga Bay, Malawi… “The gardener came running, explaining that a young woman was at the gate looking for help. He had advised her today was not the day for Clinic at the Gate, unless this was an emergency. He told me she just fell to the ground. ‘Madam, I’m sure it is an emergency.’ I ran to the gate where the young woman lay silent on the ground.”
Reporting is Samantha Ludick, the owner of Cool Running resort on Lake Malawi, and the operator of the Clinic at the Gate, one of the programs being supported by medical supplies from the Malawi Project and its contributors.
“I bent down as the young woman turned her face toward me, eyes filled with pain. Her face held a blank expression. I asked how I could help her. She tried to sit but could not get up because of the pain. ‘What is causing such pain,’ I wondered? She indicated a tennis ball size swelling of the groin area. I knew she needed serious medical attention quickly. I was able to give her pain medicine, thanks to supplies given to us by the Malawi Project. Then with the help of my staff we were able to get her in the back of the pick up truck, then we raced to the Salima District Hospital 29 kilometers to the west.”
Ludick continues the report, “A quick look and the doctor on duty agreed she needed to be admitted and the swelling needed to be opened and drained. We had failed to seek a guardian to come with her so I agreed to find the guardian and bring them back to the hospital. After the surgery I left her in the hospital for what was expected to be a week long stay with a regimentation of antibiotics.”
“When I returned to the house my staff informed me this girl, Dyna (last name withheld), is a single girl with no family. I would have to serve as her guardian. They were sure she had run away from Mangochi.”
“The next day I went to the hospital and found a smiling face as she greeted me with both hands and a really big smile. It was wonderful to see her smile. I sat beside her bed and listened to her tragic story. She told me she was in fact from Mangochi. Both of her parents were dead and a friend of her sister had told her she could get her work in Salima. But when she arrived she learned the friend was a lad of the night. She met a nice man who promised to take care of her. He was a pimp. When she got sick he threw her out. She had a sexually transmitted disease that remained untreated for months. She showed me the sores under her arms and told me how they would not go away. I saw the swollen glands that were as large as marbles. As she talked I saw her face slowly change, her smile fade, and sadness seem to overwhelm her. How would I be able to help this 21-year-old rural girl,” Ludick questioned?
“First things first,” Ludick describes the next steps. “I arranged for a counselor with whom she could confide. Then a HIV test, even though I knew what the result would be. It came back positive, a CD4 count at 118. Now I knew what I was up against. I had to get her on vitamins and that was possible because of a supply sent by the Malawi Project. Next we found her a little room nearby. We gave her food, bedding and other supplies thanks to Malawi Project. We’ll just have to take it a day at a time and see what happens next. There are so many situations like this one. So much sadness. So much need. Dyna is only one case of so many.”