2006.09.06: September 6, 2006: Headlines: COS - Swaziland: AIDS: HIV: Argus-Courier : Through the Peace Corps, Alyson Peel was prompted to move to Swaziland in 2005, and is now vitally involved in a group called Young Heroes, which provides for children orphaned by HIV and AIDS
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2006.09.06: September 6, 2006: Headlines: COS - Swaziland: AIDS: HIV: Argus-Courier : Through the Peace Corps, Alyson Peel was prompted to move to Swaziland in 2005, and is now vitally involved in a group called Young Heroes, which provides for children orphaned by HIV and AIDS
Through the Peace Corps, Alyson Peel was prompted to move to Swaziland in 2005, and is now vitally involved in a group called Young Heroes, which provides for children orphaned by HIV and AIDS
“For me, the Peace Corps is a more straightforward approach right now, something tangible and with purpose — a direction, a place to walk, a way to keep the heart open,” she said.
Through the Peace Corps, Alyson Peel was prompted to move to Swaziland in 2005, and is now vitally involved in a group called Young Heroes, which provides for children orphaned by HIV and AIDS
Working Toward Peace
Former Petaluma resident finds calling as Peace Corps worker
By Makala Keys
Argus-Courier
Petaluma, Calif.
September 6, 2006
A feeble, sickly father of four lies dying on a mat, his limbs grotesquely swollen and his stomach protruding as vital organs shut down and the whites of his eyes turn a feverish yellow.
Yet, a smile separates the lips of his humble mouth.
The man, Babe M of Swaziland, Africa, fought for the life of his children after the death of his wife, never stopping for rest until his dying days. And Babe M’s experience is one of many that has touched former Petaluma resident Alyson Peel as she continues to serve in the Peace Corps there.
After the death of her 19-year-old son, Joel, in 2003, Peel was vulnerable and yearning for a new direction.
“In the center of a very broken heart are moments of absolute and profound grace. The universe itself becomes quiet, as if to honor your loss, and there follows a stillness, a peace, a place where only your breath exists. My work, then, has become finding a way to keep the heart open, to keep it from collapsing in on itself at birthing, an emotional black hole that takes everything and has no light of its own,” Peel wrote in one of her journal entries.
Peel has a doctorate from the University of Florida’s graduate program in neuroscience, but her heart has steered her away from science professions and has drawn her to Peace Corps work.
“For me, the Peace Corps is a more straightforward approach right now, something tangible and with purpose — a direction, a place to walk, a way to keep the heart open,” she said.
Willing to do anything and everything to make a contribution, Peel is dedicating her life to helping others. Through the Peace Corps, she was prompted to move to Swaziland in 2005, and is now vitally involved in a group called Young Heroes, which provides for children orphaned by HIV and AIDS.
“Our goal is to keep the orphan families alive, healthy and living together on their homesteads and in their communities, where they have the greatest sense of security and safety, by helping them to get the basic necessities they lack,” Young Heroes manager Steve Kallaugher said.
HIV and AIDS, as well as other epidemics, are devouring the residents of Swaziland at an alarming rate. Four in every 10 people are HIV positive. Where a decade ago, life expectancy was 61 years, it has rapidly declined to 37 years.
Families are deteriorating and children are starving as sorrow continues to intensify. Devastating conditions have left sickly parents unable to care for their impoverished children. Tragedy strikes daily, making it hard to have hope upon each setting sun, and yet Swaziland residents find ways to prevail.
Peel shares her experiences in an online live journal that is profound enough to draw tears, apeel.bravejournal.com. She works with children who cherish the love of family members like gold, children who are thankful for the ground beneath their feet and the grace of another day.
Babe M, who was only 30, is survived by his four children who are currently being cared for by Young Heroes.
“As I was talking to Nokwanda (Babe M’s oldest daughter), I was trying to tell her what a good man her father was and how I was lucky to have known him,” Peel said. “My throat closed completely -- I was not even able to whisper out the words -- and the tears just flowed, silently, endlessly.”
Young Heroes asks sponsors to make a year commitment to provide monthly donations for food and clothes. They have found over 175 sponsorships for a total of 700 children. It costs $19.95 a month to feed a child, and $29.95 a month for food and clothing. One-time donations of any amount are also gratefully accepted. For full information on how to become a sponsor, visit youngheroes.org.sz
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Story Source: Argus-Courier
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Swaziland; AIDS; HIV
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