its only wednesday the 8th

Its only Wednesday 8th of April, so i am guessing my time here is going to be more of an experience then i could have ever imagined.

To day was my seond day at the AIDS centre and already I can feel the intensety of working here in Hill Crest. This morning I went straight out to pick a patient up from her home with Nochlanla one of the care staff. The girl we collected did not look well, but she was awake and her reactions seemed fine, I realised this as I manouvered the car to the side of an extreamly creatored and sandy trak which lead away from her home. A branch from a tree sprung in though the window, but she ducked out of the way, luckily. When we returned to the AIDs clinic we learned that the shop which sells craft work produced by the people working for Hill AIDS charity had been robbed, at gun point. I had only just leaft when two armed men ran into the shop and took around 9000 rand, which is about 600 pounds. It didnt really seem to bother any one too much, although the girl in the shop was a little shaken. Later this afternoon I had to take a young girl of twenty back home. She has started a course of Anti retro virals (Drugs which fight HIV) and they are working well, she seems very happy and has put on weight. The young girl and her mother walked us to the door and shouted "Syia bonga" which means thankyou always. This felt great, a young girl who was raped by her step dad, is infected with HIV/TB and has just left an intence clinic, still had happienes in her heart and can somhow find it within her self to smile and give thanks. We traveled a short way through the town ship to pick up the next patient. The house was the usual, breeze block and cement walls, which only became visabl after the dust from the track had settled. I parcked the car right at the door and we went in. I could see three men sitting watching TV and a couple of chilldren walking about the house. Nochlanla bent down and began talking, then I noticed, layed on a rug, wrapped in a blanket, on the concrete floor, covered with flys was a girl. We tryed to get her to sit up but she could not even find the strength to lift her arm. I held the girls head while nochlanla positioned her legs so we could carrie her, she was dead weight, but skin and bone hardly weighs anything, we carefuly as possible layed her on the back seat of the car and we made our way back to the clinic. The jouney back to the clinic was one which i will never forget. I wanted to let Nochlanla know that i have never seen a person so close to death beafore, but I couldnt speak, I felt like exlpoding in to tears but knew that the pain i felt no longer mattered. I have never felt this way before, but for some reason the intensety of all the pain and loss seems to leavel out the beauty of the land which surrounds us. Today was an experience, please keep reading because im sure these experiences will grow. Thanx