SANTA
Santa is 65 years old. She is not HIV positive, but has lost two daughters to AIDS. She and her husband are now the caretakers of four young granddaughters. BRA provides free medical care and support to this family and to all the families affected by the loss of family members to AIDS. Santa and I sat together at a USAID/CONECTA-sponsored workshop. In a partner activity where each pair is asked to share their hopes for the future, she began telling me about her past. She told me how she welcomed each of her sick daughters back into her home to care for them while they died, despite the discrimination they faced; people refused to eat meals at her house; terrible things were said about her daughters in hushed voices; and old friends stopped visiting. Santa, a woman of deep religious convictions, told me how her faith in God helped her through this difficult time. I was profoundly impressed by her strength and compassion and grateful that she trusted me enough to share her experiences. Her hope for the future was to protect her granddaughters from what she could not prevent happening to her daughters.

These are only a few of the many lives that BRA’s HIV/AIDS interventions have impacted and we couldn’t have done it without the generous contributions of our partners, sponsors and volunteers. We know that the numbers of people with HIV/AIDS living in the bateyes and rural communities in the Dominican Republic are quiet high. We expect that the number of patients in our program with triple or quadruple this year. Still, we plan to offer the best possible services to each individual patient. Every story, every life counts to us. Thank you for your support.

SELENA
At five o’clock in the morning, Selena knocked on Susana’s door crying hysterically and begging her to purchase the bag of clothes and sheets she was carrying. The day before, she had tested positive for HIV and didn’t have any money to get to the capital for treatment. Susana brought her inside, made her some hot coffee, and calmed her down. Susana, BRA’s optometrist and a dedicated volunteer in the HIV/AIDS program, had encouraged her to get tested after she confided to Susana that she had Chancroid, a sexually transmitted disease. Selena is a 19 year-old girl who grew up in a batey near Sabana Grande de Boyá. An intelligent, highly motivated young woman, she is close to finishing school at a private academy in Sabana Grande de Boyá where she receives a scholarship. Susana, with her wonderful comforting presence, counseled Selena and talked to her about BRA’s AIDS program. In the past few weeks, the AIDS Patient Fund has paid for Selena to go to the capital for a treatment to cure her Chancroid. Through our partnership with the Clinton Foundation, Selena was able to get a CD4 test at Cinco Casas. Her count was very low and she started treatment immediately. Selena has a very positive attitude. She plans to return to school this fall and has reached out and made friendships with other young people in our program who are also living with HIV/AIDS.

GISELE, JEANNY, REMY, MARIE
Gisele lives with her family just minutes from Batey Cojobal. Her story is like so many of BRA’s HIV/AIDS patients. Dominican-born with Haitian parents, she has spent her life in destitute poverty. She has known that she was HIV positive since she was pregnant with the fifth of her eight children, but kept it a secret. Fearing that her abusive husband would kill her if he found out, she destroyed her test results. After years of secrecy Gisele, came to the clinic for a free confirmatory HIV test. What made her come? Perhaps it was because she and three of her youngest children were sick all the time or perhaps it was because of the numerous visits she received from Victoria Olguin, one of the dedicated health promoters working with BRA’s mobile clinic. Now, with BRA’s help, Gisele is starting to regain her life. Like all of our AIDS patients, she receives free medical attention from the mobile clinic. Every fifteen days, she travels to BRA’s Health Center in Cinco Casas with her children where they receive antiretroviral treatment. Her two youngest sons and one of her identical twin daughters also have AIDS. At Cinco Casas, they receive specialized pediatric care from Consuelo, one of the physicians working with the Clinton Foundation. Just a week ago, we rushed Marie to the local hospital to be treated with acute respiratory infection. The AIDS Patient Fund provided this family with food and transportation and covers the cost of medical emergencies like Marie’s illness. Gisele also receives counseling at Cinco Casas from a professional psychologist through the Clinton Foundation that is helping her confront her illness as well as the domestic violence she faces. Our program has also helped her connect to other women with HIV/AIDS who can provide each other with mutual support. When Gisele first tested positive, she sat in the Mobile Clinic weeping. She imagined that the future would be even worse than the present. Now because of BRA she has regained the health and confidence to care for herself and her children.