UNICEF trip to Bolivia 2

We met a ‘saint’ in the form of the extremely engaging missionary, Aristede Gazzotte, who came to Bolivia from Italy sixteen years ago. At first he worked with children abandoned in the streets. With the help of his parish in Italy, he ended up buying a piece of land. Two years ago Aristede started Casa del Los Ninos with two children and only one room. Today, he has built 48 houses and supports 168 children, some abandoned, some with HIV and AIDS and others severely handicapped. The sounds of hammering and building were going on around us as we walked the property. Gesturing about him he stated simply, “ All this was not possible without God.”

Always smiling, his bright blue eyes lit up whenever he saw a child. Seeing him approach, the children enthusiastically called out,” Ari, Ari!” and ran towards him. With obvious affection he scooped up a child, reaching deep into his pocket for a Kleenex to gently wipe a runny nose, or remove a tear and whisper an encouragement to another. I could feel his tenderness and love as he dealt with each of them. He told us, “ I first came here as a missionary. I am now here as a brother.”

We stayed to sit with Matilda, a vibrant, young mother. She had contracted HIV from her husband, a migrant worker. When he found out, she told us, he blamed her and abandoned her when she was pregnant. She transmitted the disease to her daughter, Erica, now six years old. The little girl was asked to leave her school. Her teachers were afraid they might catch it from contact with her and threatened to leave the school if she did not leave. Even explanations from the government on transmission wouldn’t convince the teachers at the school. They felt the government was lying and finally expelled her. Erica is now one of the many children taken in with warm affection by Ari and doing well in school at Casa del Los Ninos.

In Bolivia, the attitude towards HIV and AIDS reminds me of the United States more than twenty years ago. As more and more workers migrate in and out of the country the cases of HIV are increasing rapidly. The public, especially the poorest, have little information about the disease, often thinking it cannot happen to them. UNICEF works closely with the government to train personnel and help educate the public and bring awareness on transmission and prevention.     (more on next page)

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