I wasn’t asking to be silly, and I wasn’t asking because I was morbidly curious.
I was asking because I felt an explosive need to protect him. Sure, he was slimy, he was shrill, and he would be the bane of my teenage years, but, in the moment he took his first screeching breath, I felt an unconditional love for him, and the millions of children he represented.
Keller was born a healthy baby, but, despite the doctor’s reassurances, I thought that he would break at any moment- he was just so small, fragile, and helpless. As he grew, I grew with him. Having never been surrounded by children (I was an only child, and the youngest in my extended family), I had always viewed them as a nuisance. But, through Keller, I came to realize the extent of a child’s innocence and defenselessness. I had stopped thinking of them as annoying, and began thinking of them as precious and something to be valued. I felt an unexplainable desire to watch over and protect every child who was born into damaging circumstances.
1. This is a recent photo of Keller- there's such life and excitement etched in his face. The idea that there are thousands of kids around the world who do not know this joy breaks my heart.
It was like a wolf had been asleep in my soul for 15 years, was woken by my brother’s piercing cries, and is now howling for action. There is no longer a vague sense of detached compassion within me. Before my brother’s birth I had assigned myself to multiple causes (global warming, nuclear warfare, the death penalty), because I needed to belong to something that reminded me my suffering wasn’t comparable to the plight of thousands around the world; despite this desperate need to belong, I never really felt passion for these causes. I never felt that my individual crusade to stop these events from happening would have had any long-term, lasting effects. I knew that trying to effect change in issues like halting nuclear proliferation would help no one. No matter how many protests I attend, petitions I sign, and letters I write, countries will continue to advance their nuclear arsenal.
However, now there is a fierce passion within me that recognizes childhood as an unalienable right. Reading about children who are forced to suffer from the actions of adults, theoretically their guardians, enrages me. Children should not have their innocence crudely snatched away. They should not have to be fatalities of war- whether they are being forced into military service or victims of persecution and genocide. They should not be trafficked for sex or labor, and they should not have to live with diseases like HIV. They should not have to confront poverty, starvation, or abuse, and they should not have to seek answers to questions that are beyond them.
2. A drawing by a child solider
My brother has only cried from fear once, and it was because he saw me hysterically screaming about a cockroach in my hair. The confusion and terror on his face was enough to ensure I never overreacted in his presence again. I cannot imagine a child his age living in a war zone, surrounded by death. Who comforts them when their parents disappear? Who soothes their terror? Who explains what it all means to them?
3. This photo was taken on Christmas two years ago. Keller was crying because my mom was opening one of his boxes. Though his tears are a result of a temper tantrum, I can’t help but think of this face when I read about children living in disadvantageous circumstances.
However, what differentiates my devotion to children’s causes and the ones mentioned above isn’t the degree of fervor I feel for them, but it’s the hope that children’s causes inspire in me. Stephen Covey says, passion is “the fire, the desire, the strength of conviction and the drive that sustains the discipline to achieve the vision” [1] . I think the later part of this quote is referring to hope. For example, regardless of which children’s cause I champion, I can effect change on a communal, state, national, and international level. Whether I am touching one life or hundreds, I am comforted by the thought that children represent a new generation. And, even if I cannot tangibly change the world for everyone, at least I can help make a better tomorrow for some children.
However, to say I’m championing children’s causes would be to assign myself to very general tasks. As I mentioned before, there are a lot of children’s issues one can dedicate oneself to, and, from my experience working with Amnesty International, I know it can be overwhelming and discouraging to attempt to tackle all of the issues. So, as of today (I say this because my future changes daily), I’ve chosen to pursue an avenue that allows me to entertain two of my passions: children and microbiology.
According to The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) there are “over 2.5 million children infected with HIV” [2] (90% of them from Sub-Saharan Africa) [3] , 420,000 more children are infected yearly [4], and “15 million children under 18 have lost one or both parents to” Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) [5]. By dedicating myself to AIDS research I can help save the lives of thousands of innocent children who are forced to live with this painful and terrifying disease.
4. Microbiology is essentially the study of microbes (viruses, bacteria, fungus, and protozoa). AIDS is a virus.
Most children who are diagnosed with HIV where infected in one of two ways. First, they may have gotten it from their infected mother through her blood or breast milk [6]. UNICEF is currently working on a Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission Project (PMCT) which sets up a 4 tier system for communities. The first tier works with community structures to spread awareness of MTCT (mother to child transmission). The second tier provides counseling to women who are infected with HIV, so they can make informed decisions about their future reproductive life. The third tier works on coaching infected mothers on how not to pass the virus along to their children; it demands HIV testing be available in all healthcare units that provide antiretroviral drugs. The fourth tier calls for better integration of HIV care in rural, underdeveloped countries, for only ten percent of infected, pregnant women are utilizing UNICEF’s PMCT [7].
5."A woman, who is HIV-positive, lies next to her newborn child in V.V. Hospital, in Bangalore. The HIV status of her newborn is not known." – UNICEF
The second way HIV is transmitted to children is through rape. There is a prominent belief in Africa that sex with a virgin- specifically a baby or a child- can “cure” HIV. According to worldnetdaily.com children are the victims of 41% of reported rapes in Africa. Moreover, it is believed that a large percentage of sexual abuse goes unreported [8].
I find it the greatest injustice that children who die from AIDS, particularly the ones who don’t have access to antiretroviral medication, are never given a chance to live and overcome the trials of their circumstances. By dedicating my life’s work to AIDS I know I can help alleviate the suffering of the thousands of children afflicted by this virus. Whether I’m in the lab working on a cure, part of a non-profit marketing team promoting awareness, or serving as a counselor in a remote Congolese village, I know that the hope my passions inspire in me will be a driving force behind my contribution to tomorrow’s generation.
Three years ago I felt a certain detachment when it came to the world: it wasn’t that I didn’t care, or that I didn’t want to work for a greater cause, rather I didn’t know what the right cause was.
However, Keller has given me an insight into the world of children’s causes, which has inspired me to, in the words of Joseph Campell, “follow (my) bliss, and (not) be afraid.”
6. Though this video doesn’t relate directly to children with AIDS, it captures the essence of my passion: helping protect children.
[1] Stephen R. Covey, The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness. (New York: Free Press, n.d.), 47.
[2] UNICEF, “Children and HIV”, http://www.unicef.org/aids/index.php.
[3] UNICEF, “Preventing Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV”, http://www.unicef.org/aids/index_preventionyoung.html.
[4] UNICEF, “Children and HIV”, http://www.unicef.org/aids/index.php.[1] UNICEF, “Preventing Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV”, http://www.unicef.org/aids/index_preventionyoung.html. [5] UNICEF, “Preventing Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV”, http://www.unicef.org/aids/index_preventionyoung.html.
[6] UNICEF, “Preventing Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV”, http://www.unicef.org/aids/index_preventionyoung.html. [7] Anthony C. LoBaido, “Child-rape epidemic in South Africa: Fueled by widespread belief that sex with virgin cures AIDS”, December 26, 2001, http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=25806.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS:
1. Personal Photo
2. http://www.amnestyusa.org/child_soldiers/gallery.html
3. Personal Photo
4. http://pro.corbis.com/search/searchFrame.aspx
5. http://www.unicef.org/aids/index_preventionyoung.html6. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwDy-mEJ3mUKI
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