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Spotlight on...
 In every issue of SONDELA, we will feature a story on an ordinary KZN community member who is doing extraordinary work in the struggle to reverse the HIV/AIDS epidemic. There are many such people offering their unfailing support and care. In most cases, they give their time and energy purely for love. Such heroism cannot go unsung - so SONDELA will sing loudly about it, one hero at a time! In this edition, we meet:
Mrs Doris Mkhosi from Bergville
Since 1999, when she received training in home-based care (HBC) through a WorldVision programme funded in partnership with the Health Department, the shy, gentle Mrs Mkhosi has been going out to visit homes in the area around Bergville in the uThukela District.
 For over a year, she has been caring for a terminally ill man and his 10-year-old daughter in her own home. Her patient's wife had died of HIV/AIDS, and their daughter had left school to take care of him. Once Mrs Mkhosi had given them both a stable home, the child returned to school, and the man, who had been gravely ill, enjoys greatly improved health. Mrs Mkhosi has counselled him, he has been tested for HIV and accepts his status. The young girl is very well and happy to be back at school.
This family is Mrs Mkhosi's first "HBC intake", and it was a brave step, since her husband is a retired teacher and there are no members of her family providing them with income. This responsibility is a full-time job for her, as she has to cope with the added burden on her own household and her outreach visits. Mrs Mkhosi explains: "I committed myself to this, so I manage my time carefully. I do all the family's housework including seeing to the patient, so I can still go out to other homes after that."
Mrs Mkhosi says that when the constant contact with illness and despair drains her mentally and emotionally, it is her spiritual faith, and the conviction in her patients' right to die with dignity, that sustain her. A volunteer friend, who understands and shares the same experiences, said she felt "naked in horror and heartbreak" when she saw the final stages of AIDS during a visit to Emmaus Hospital near Bergville.
There are pressing practical issues that need solutions. Mrs Mkhosi explains that when her patient's wife died, there was no birth or death certificate, and only the patient had an ID document. As a result, it is difficult to get a birth certificate for his daughter, and so have funds released by the Department of Social Development for a grant.
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Note: For orphan registration, one needs the child's birth certificate and the parent's death certificate. Many social workers are burdened with getting these through the Department of Home Affairs, and many community members are unclear about how these processes work. Once we have accurate information available, HIVAN will publish details in SONDELA and on our website, of NGOs and FBOs running HIV/AIDS projects focusing on certification. For information on the types and values of Social Grants, see from page 5 to 6.
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"There are other problems," says Mrs Mkhosi. "My patient has recovered and he has gained weight, but still has no energy, so he needs to get to the clinic, and the transport costs come out of my pocket. I took the man to the pension pay-point to register in August, but when we returned every month after that, there was no pay-out." At the time of writing, no payment had been made.
Towards the end of our interview, Mrs Mkhosi began to cry softly. She said that her tears were those of joy, at hearing some hopeful news there were NGOs working to assist in obtaining documents for HBC patients. But it was we who felt moved to be talking with her - for it is reassuring to know that an angel such as Mrs Doris Mkhosi walks the earth around Bergville, spreading love and light as she goes.
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