American drug company teams up with Botswana agencies to fight spread of AIDS

Mennonite Central Committee
Saturday, 19 February 2000

LOBATSE, Botswana -- The swish of grass slashers, the scrape of shovels, the beeping and droning of tractors, the clanking of large tent poles -- a flurry of people working to prepare for a big community event. Why all the fuss? Over the next three years American pharmaceutical Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) has committed $154 million Cdn./$100 million U.S. to combat HIV/AIDS in southern Africa.

This celebration on January 27 marked the beginning of BMS partnerships with two Botswana non-government organizations: Botswana Christian AIDS Intervention Program (BOCAIP) and Reetsenang, a drama group, the first beneficiaries of BMS funds.

Tsholofelo (meaning "hope") Counseling Centre in Lobatse, southern Botswana, will also receive money. My husband Art and I are coordinators of this center. We both also work part time as administrators with the national BOCAIP office in Gaborone, the capital.

Crowds gathered for this landmark event. Some 500 people joined local dignitaries, two ministers of government and leaders of the organizations receiving funds. TV cameras recorded the speeches, dancers and choirs. Laughter accompanied the drama by Reetsanang. The checks were handed over to great cheers.

But those were not the day's most important events. Grace, one of our Tsholofelo clients, was asked if she would consent to being interviewed by a TV crew. This was a daunting request, as only a handful of people in Botswana have publicly revealed that they are HIV positive. At first Grace was reluctant, but when she consented she said she was now free to do this openly, not hidden from the camera. With her counselor, Ben Kulube, Grace was interviewed for South African Broadcasting Company, her adorable 4-year-old daughter at her side.

One of our biggest tasks now is to support Grace, to give her the strength to withstand the alienation and adversity that may result because of her disclosure. Hopefully her courage will complement the Bristol-Myers Squibb fund, and benefit many in Botswana who, like Grace, live with HIV/AIDS.

For more information, or to contact Mennonite Central Committee, see their website at: www.mcc.org