The HIV virus infects 1,700 more people each day in Africa. One in six AIDS deaths is a child. Traveling with first lady Laura Bush in her goodwill Africa trip to discuss AIDS, poverty and genocide, the “Today” show’s Ann Curry talks to one family who has already lost two members because of the disease.
There is an unmistakable rhythm to Africa, one that has been forever changed by disease and death.
On the east coast of South Africa, just beyond the beaches of Durban in poverty stricken Lamontville Township, countless men, women and children are living and dying with HIV and AIDS.
Families like Dumisani Gasa's often live in secret with this deadly disease.
“A lot of people are getting sick and dying, and we don't even know what is going on,” says Gasa.
Gasa lost his father to AIDS when he was only 15 years old.
“We didn't know what was happening to him, and no one would tell us what was wrong,” says Gasa.
And recently, he lost a sister. Often, he cannot admit it was AIDS that struck, forcing him to try to support his whole family. He and 11 family members live in four rooms, in one quarter of a house, and the children sleep on the floor.
Life is brutal, here.
“My life is not good,” says Lucky Gasa, Dumisani’s brother. “I tried to looking for a job, but there is no job here in South Africa.”
Lontiwe Gasa, Dumisani's sister, is a 19-year-old mother who, like so many Africans, knows the horror of this pandemic — but does not understand it.
“We have so many orphans because of HIV-AIDS,” says Lontiwe Gasa. "They lose their parents every day. Some of the people aren't open about it. They are scared to talk about it.”
Scared to death, in fact. Now, without proper treatment, one in six AIDS deaths is a child. More than a half-million children have lost one or both parents. And about 1,700 new infections occur each day.
Progressive places like St. Mary's Hospital, a Catholic mission outside Durban, can treat some cases very effectively, if only people would admit they are sick and come regularly for help.
"Traditional beliefs are very strong,” says Dr. Steve Carpenter of St. Mary’s Hospital. “People believe that perhaps they have offended the ancestors, something has happened in the past, so they are looking for the cause of it.”
If families like the Gasas can defy their culture, face their fear of HIV-AIDS, and seek help, they may be saved.
“What we have really learned is that HIV-AIDS isn't a death sentence anymore, or it doesn't need to be. The most important thing for people to realize is that it is a disease,” says Carpenter. “It's a virus. It's not something you have done bad.”
Despite generations of denial, Dumisani Gasa knows this, somehow.
“I think, the kids, they are the only ones who can change this country,” says Gasa.
And his sister, already resigned to her own fate, has hope for her baby girl.
“I want her to choose for herself,” says Lontiwe. “To know what is right and wrong. To know everything that goes on in the world, so that she will be able to choose a future for herself, to know what to do when she is older.”
The “Today” show’s Ann Curry will continue to look at the challenges facing the continent, including poverty, terrorism and genocide, this week while traveling with first lady Laura Bush.