By Sifelani Tsiko
Harare,Zimbabwe (September 20 2006)
Gogo
(grandma) Jean Cornneck a mother figure and
pioneer of the Mother of Peace Community which
cares for orphaned children in Mutoko, about
144km east of Zimbabwe's capital, is a soldier
without a sword.
She has
seen many babies in her care die of Aids and her
heart skips a beat every time a baby at the home
falls sick. "These babies are gifts from God,"
she says passionately. "The more you live with
children, the more you love them. I get
distressed whenever a baby falls sick." Everyday
more babies hare given up by their mothers who
have the HIV virus that causes Aids while others
are found at dumpsites, toilets, bus stations
and other unimaginable places.
Some
babies who are admitted to the Mother of Peace
Community have full blown Aids, often
surrendered by the elderly people in this rural
district who are too poor to get milk formulas
which are very expensive and only available in
urban areas.
Gogo
Cornneck and her team have to grapple to nourish
the majority of the babies with teaspoons or
feeding tubes. They can't afford costly
intravenous drips for some of the babies who are
doomed at birth because they are HIV positive.
The
work Gogo Cornneck does is not for the
faint-hearted. She is involved in the overall
administration of the centre and often spends
most of her time with dying babies and others
who have grown up in the home.
She is
filled with a mass display of affection for the
orphans and often finds it difficult to turn
away babies as she grapples to find resources
and space for the growing numbers. "This is
God's work," she says in a gentle, kind voice.
"It is the grace of God that keeps us going. I
can't turn away babies in these sorry
circumstances. We have to take them aboard even
if we have little resources."
The
Aids pandemic continues to wreak havoc in this
southern African country despite some signs
showing a decline in the prevalence rate.Aids
has killed the able-bodied leaving the elderly
and children to cope with the tedious physical
labour of walking long distances in search of
food.
The
age-old African extended family system is now
showing signs of distress. This extended social
structure is no longer coping with aunts,
uncles, cousins and grandparents unable to care
for all the orphans produced by death of parents
from Aids.
Latest
official health figures indicate that at least
1,6 million Zimbabweans down from 2,3 million in
2003 are living with HIV/Aids.Of this figure it
is estimated that less than 200 000 children
between 0-14 years are infected with this virus.
The hardest hit is the 15-24 year age group and
only 20 percent of this group is aware of their
status. A latest health survey show that the
country's HIV prevalence rate declined from 34
percent in 2002 to 18,1 percent in the 15-49 age
group (the most sexually active and productive
group) by August 2006 despite the crippling
sanctions which has affected the country's HIV
and Aids programmes.
"We
should be proud of ourselves and this
achievements, but we should not let down our
guard," says Zimbabwe's health minister Dr David
Parirenyatwa. "Zimbabwe has taken HIV and Aids
as a movement. Everyone is involved and this
seems to be working." At least 42 000 people are
benefiting from the government's free ARVs
programme. It had planned to have 171 000 people
on the programme by the end of this year.
According to the latest survey, knowledge of HIV
and aids was found to be very high in most
Zimbabweans with 97,9 percent of women and 99,2
percent of men having heard of HIV an Aids and
the majority believing that it could be avoided.
Condom use among women stood at 45,7 percent
compared to 42 percent in 1999 while for men it
stood at a high of 71,2 percent up from 70,2
percent in 1999.
There
are 11 million orphans in sub-Saharan Africa and
the United Nations predicts that Aids will
produce another 12 million orphans in Africa
over the next eight years. An estimated 24,5
million people are living with the disease in
sub-Saharan Africa.
The
pandemic is now a burden and many homes are
battling to find resources to buy scarce basic
foodstuff like mealie-meal - the country's
staple food, cooking oil, bread and other
day-to-day needs.
Zimbabwe is going through a rough and difficult
economic patch.
Food shortages are widespread and homes for the
orphans continue to experience shortages despite
their getting first priority whenever food is
made available. Politicians too, have expressed
concern about the effects of HIV/Aids pandemic.
In a 2003 address to mark World Aids Day
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe urged all
people in the country not to lose hope in the
fight against the pandemic saying there is need
for all people to transform their collective
knowledge into practical measures to combat the
disease.
"I feel
deeply saddened by the unrelenting escalation of
the Aids epidemic in our country which continues
to cause enormous suffering, premature losses of
lives and as a result has a deleterious effect
on socio-economic development," he says.
Former
South African and anti-apartheid activist,
Nelson Mandela says the Aids pandemic in Africa
is still a crisis. "By all accounts we are
dealing with the greatest health crisis," he
once remarked in 2002. "By all measures, we have
failed in our quest to contain and treat this
scourge. And the disparities between its impact
in the developed world and the developing world
is a shocking reality that we cannot hide from."
But,
Gogo Cornneck is not deterred by the health
experts' alarmist figures, which paint a gloomy
picture about the pandemic. "We have no
remuneration in our work," she says. "We have
offered ourselves to do it voluntarily. We have
offered to do this free of charge throughout our
lives no matter how tough things may appear to
be."
The
Mother of Peace Community has more than158
children and the number fluctuates with deaths,
adoptions and family re-unions."Some babies die
of opportunistic infections while others are
taken back by the elderly when they are four
years old," she says.
"We
devote ourselves to looking after the babies
when they are still tiny. Our work never ends,
they keep coming." A number of children infected
with HIV/Aids are dying prematurely of
HIV-related opportunistic infections that can
easily be treated by locally manufactured drugs
and eating highly nutritious foods.
But
poverty and high cost of drugs has kept them
beyond the reach of the majority of the poor.
Pneumonia is a major killer of both adults and
children living with Aids in Zimbabwe. Gogo
Cornneck, a retired nurse, with the support of
other friends founded the Mother of Peace
Community in 1994 after realising the growing
problem of Aids orphans.
It
wasn't something she ever looked for. "Before I
retired, I knew what I wanted to do," she says
in motherly tone. "I wanted to work for the
Lord. I prayed about it." She is a humble woman
renowned for her love of children, generosity
and who escaped the trappings of wealth to
dedicate her life to the needy.
"I left
my business," she says. "I had a micro bus, a
catering business… I left everything and came
her to work for the Lord." "I chose to leave
money and to work for God," she continues. "I
looked at the problem our country is facing. I
saw the pandemic growing faster and faster and
we decided to start the Mother of Peace
Community in 1994.
"By the
end of the 1990s our nation was going down and
there was despair about the pandemic. Those
dying were leaving young children and this
touched my heart so much." Gogo Cornneck's
energies have not dissipated since then.
Everyday she does her duties and her voice
becomes hoarse trying to discipline children.
"This
is the face of Africa full of love and
compassion," says a World Health Organisation
official about her. To her, human beings are
more precious than money and bank accounts. Her
life enriches life and human experiences. She is
the Mother Theresa of Mutoko. Another elderly
mother from Mutoko says Gogo Cornnerk has the
love, compassion and selfless dedication to
children like an angel.
"She is
Zimbabwe's Angel of mercy," she cried. "If only
God could give us more people like her." And, no
wonder why she was awarded a Zimnat Insurance
Company Ordinary People's Award in December
2002 for her selfless devotion to caring
orphans.
Her
work has also touched the hearts of many people
across the world. A number of people in the US,
Britain and other countries have taken an
interest in Mother of Peace Community and some
of the orphans have been adopted by foreigners.
She is
gifted with natural humility and generosity, a
character rarely found in this world of greed.
As a mark of her selflessness and integrity Gogo
Cornneck donated her prize money to sustain the
humanitarian work she pioneered at the Mother of
Peace Community.
"I feel
very honoured…I appreciate it, but I would like
to emphasise that this glory is not for me," she
cried when talking about the award. "The Glory
is for the Lord. The award and the Glory belong
to the Lord. We are just tools of the Creator."
To her, "Man gives the award, God gives the
reward." There is an aura of simplicity around
her that defies the praise and fame she has been
accorded. "Extraordinary works are not for us,"
she says. We are being guided by the Holy
Spirit." Gogo Cornneck is a devout Christian who
has instilled upright morals in all the children
through prayer and her faith. She was born on
March 3, 1933 in Driefontein in the southern
part of Zimbabwe and trained as a nurse before
she attained a degree in social work in England.
She is
one of the unsung heroes of Zimbabwe's 1970s war
of independence struggle. At the peak of the
struggle in the 70s, she collected clothes,
food, drugs and other materials for guerrillas
and children in refugee camps in Zambia and
Mozambique.
After
independence, she preferred not to return to the
limelight of politics.
She is hardly a political figure in the
conventional sense but wants people to live a
happy life free from the malignancy of poverty.
A
reluctant heroine, she plays down her place in
history and the tough road she has had to
travel. A kinder, gentler side of her emerges as
she talks about things close to her heart -
children. "My husband passed away before we had
any children. At first I thought this was
unfortunate. However, it has turned out to be a
blessing in disguise because I now have the time
to take care of the children at Mother of Peace,
who I have come to care for as if they were my
own," she says, quietly recalling the tragedy
that once clouded her success.
_________
She can be
contacted on tel: (263) 072-2345 or
international dial 011 -263-72-2345. Time zone
when calling to Zim -PST+10 or GMT+2.
