A Counselor’s Memorable Times at Ariel Camp 2009
By Claire Mutimukunda
Ngarama Hospital, Gatsibo District, Rwanda
July 31, 2009

Rwanda’s first Ariel Camp — a camp for teens living with HIV — was held from July 13 to 17, 2009, at a camp called Foyer de Charité in Rwanda’s Northern Province. Twenty-eight children — all of whom are HIV-positive and involved in EGPAF-sponsored psychosocial support groups in Rwanda — attended the camp, along with seven counselors. Here is one counselor’s story about her experience:

After attending the initial Ariel Camp counselors’ meeting in June, I couldn’t wait for July 13. That morning, I departed for Kigali with four children: Honore (13), Salima (15), Yvonne (13), and Cleophas (14). We were all very excited for our first day at camp.

We arrived at the EGPAF office in Kigali around 11:00 a.m. and waited for the rest of the group, coming from different areas around Rwanda’s Eastern Province, to join us. We had an enjoyable lunch at the office and then left on two buses for Remera-Ruhondo in northern Rwanda. We arrived at the camp site, which is run by Catholic nuns, at 5:00 p.m.

Children sing together at the 2009 Ariel Camp in Rwanda.

Ariel Camp, which was named after Elizabeth Glaser’s daughter, Ariel, made me discover so many new things: I observed how the children enjoyed being together and how they immediately adapted to the new environment. This camp helped them to better understand the problem they share and try to accept their situation. In getting to know each other and sharing their experiences living with HIV, the children were able to deal with their feelings of loneliness, stigma, and discrimination. They had the freedom to play with each other and just be themselves.

As counselors, we had an opportunity to discuss the different experiences of the children we work with and exchange new ideas and techniques for listening to the children and getting close to them.

The most interesting thing was seeing how happy the children were to meet other children from different areas of the country. Also, the nuns and the priest at the facility put a lot of effort and time into getting to know the children, and prayed with them every morning.

The children gather sticks for a camp fire.

The camp session called “The Family” was very memorable for me, and also very heartbreaking. The children wrote down four things that make them happy in their lives and four things that make them unhappy, and then each child shared his or her things with the others.

Some of the things that make the children happy are:

• Having enough food to eat,
• Meeting and playing with other children,
• Having an adult who cares for them and asks them how they feel every day; and
• Being treated like other children (who aren’t HIV-positive).

Some of the things that make the children unhappy are:

• Not having enough food to eat;
• Losing their parents;
• Getting sick; and
• Dealing with stigma and discrimination in foster families.

This session helped us as counselors to understand better the internal lives of the children, and has given us a way to approach each child and hear about his or her story. I learned more about the children’s personalities and have gotten insight into how to provide counseling to them.

Claire (second from right) and another counselor serve food to the children at Ariel Camp.

I also appreciated Sister Aurea’s teaching on the subject of “Hope.” This lesson awakened the children to feel free to express their plans for the future. I heard about one child exclaiming, “I shall be the president!” This is a sign of their hope for the future.

I will never forget the visit to Gisenyi, a resort town on the shores of Lake Kivu. I was very happy to see the children singing and chatting until we reached Gisenyi, and how excited they were to see the volcanoes, the lake, the boats, the beach, and the famous Bralirwa — a soft drink and beer factory.

Though the Ariel Camp was an exciting break for the children, they still need lots of support in their daily lives. Salima’s story particularly touched me. She is an orphan, and at 15 she cares for herself and her two younger brothers. All three are HIV-positive. Salima told me she likes being with other children and playing, praying, and singing together — things she rarely has time for at home. She also enjoys having an adult take care of her brothers. But she said she feels unhappy when she and her brothers do not get enough food to eat and when her brothers are sick.

I appreciated the dedication of EGPAF’s staff and their work to make Ariel Camp successful, and particularly the time they took to be close to us and the children.

Claire Mutimukunda is a counselor at Ngarama Hospital, which is supported by the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Foundation. She joined Ngarama Hospital in November 2005 as a social worker in the HIV antiretroviral treatment service. Claire has been in charge of the psychosocial care program for HIV-positive children at Ngarama since August 2008. She enjoys being with children and helping them with their problems.