AIDS takes its toll

This morning we received word that Mbele, the woman who likely had AIDS, died. She had been at Grand Pol to visit the traditional healer for a few weeks and came back yesterday. We don’t know how her baby is. If she has gotten some nutrition, she may still be living, but now the question is who will care for her and does she also have AIDS. Yesterday, we saw Mbele’s sister, Jeelo. She had some vague complaints that were hopefully related only to a viral syndrome and we gave her a refill on iron supplements. She says she is faithfully taking the papaya leaf tea that we suggested for malaria prophylaxis. I really hope that works for her. I also saw her visit my teammate’s house and come away with a small jar of white powder. I found out later that it was milk powder. I wonder if she bought it for her niece who she will most likely be caring for now.