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female
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anonymous
writes:I'm going away on a trip to Africa next week to help in an orphanage, with 98% of the children there HIV/AIDS carriers, there.I was just wondering if anyone has any tips in helping me pack, prepare, and how to deal with what i'm going to see there.Thanks,x Reply to this Question
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reader, anonymous, writes (19 March 2008): Hi, firstly wow.....what a fantastic thing to be doing for the kids, secondly although you dont want to treat them any differently if they are infected with AIDs or HIV you must be aware that your own health is at risk and as of yet, it is incurable. So the main thing is wearing gloves if you are dealing with cuts and sores and being careful around syringes and other medical instruments that may have been in contact with any bodily fluid.
Apart from protecting yourself, they are just kids, how you react around them will all come naturally. As for preparing yourself, this is very difficult, even more so when it is children you are working with. Try not to feel sorry for them, there lifestyle is completely normal to them, they dont feel sorry for themselves, they simply get on with it. They live with the cards they are dealt. My friend says if she went again she would fill a suitcase with lots os simple wooden toys as the children she worked with had nothing but a ball to play with, so that might be something you would like to do.
Take a camera, you will beable to look back of pics in years to come and think about what a wonderful thing you have done.
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female
reader, superhoopschick  +, writes (19 March 2008):
 bring a water filter... i knw someone that lived there. Um, its alot different depending on the part of africa u go to. Some areas are good and others are just horrible. some people are really nice while others are mean. Crazy drivers for cars, lol. umm..yea, umm..really depends where you're going. not every single person is practically infected, but it is just easier to get infected there because the disease is more common there.
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