Mennonite
Central
Committee

Canadian Olympic skater sees hope in battle against HIV/AIDS

Gladys Terichow
August 22, 2006

The memory of a young woman suffering from AIDS in a Nigerian hospital lingers in Cindy Klassen's mind as she prepares for the World Cup speed skating competitions taking place in November.

"She was in her 20s—she was about my age," recalled Klassen. "She was just skin and bones. She could hardly move. She had a throat infection and couldn't eat. It was really sad. I had never seen anybody before in such a bad condition."

Although the woman was still very sick Klassen was surprised to hear the woman's health had actually improved since she had started receiving antiretroviral therapy.

She was equally amazed to hear her tour guide, Ezekiel, say that he had been just as sick as this woman before he started a nutrition and drug therapy program at the Faith Alive Clinic in Jos, Nigeria where he now works as a volunteer.

Klassen visits MCC HIV/AIDS projects

Klassen, the most successful athlete at the 2006 Turin Olympics, visited MCC projects relating to HIV/AIDS in Nigeria and Ethiopia in July.

"I didn't know what to expect from the trip but so many times I felt so much hope," said Klassen. "I hope I can help raise awareness that the battle against HIV/AIDS is not a lost cause. Positive things are happening. It is very encouraging."

Don Peters, executive director of MCC Canada, said he is grateful Klassen is using her success as an athlete to "lend her voice to the poor and the oppressed in the world."

Following Klassen's spectacular success at the Turin Olympics when she won five medals for Canada, MCC Canada invited Klassen to learn more about HIV/AIDS and MCC's Generations at Risk projects.

"Cindy's faith and faith story is so central to who she is—it is a very natural connection," said Peters, who was the school principal when Klassen was a student at Mennonite Brethren Collegiate Institute in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

"We don't want to place onerous demands on her," he added. "We are not asking her to be an expert on development issues or HIV/AIDS. We are not asking her to take her focus off her game. Her hard work as an athlete has given her a voice that other people don't have."

Klassen said her relationship with MCC is giving her the opportunity to skate for the sick young woman in the Nigerian hospital, other patients, staff and caregivers. Many caregivers, she noted, also have the disease.

The stigma of AIDS

Klassen met a woman whose husband had died recently from AIDS and fears she may have the disease as well. "When her husband died, her friends wouldn't come around. There is a stigma attached to people with AIDS—many people are too scared to tell their families."

Attitudes towards the disease are changing, said Klassen. More people are getting tested and sharing the results with others. She saw billboards that promote prevention and heard that more people are receiving antiretroviral therapy.

Inadequate nutrition

In Nigeria, she said, private donors cover the cost of medication at private clinics, but many people don't have access to treatment centres or cannot afford the nutrition needed to manage the disease.

"I met a family who didn't know where their next meal would come from—they couldn't pay for medication and nutrition," said Klassen.

The Ethiopian government, she said, provides free medication but many people cannot afford good nutrition.

A video of Klassen's visit to Nigeria and Ethiopia will be available for distribution through MCC this fall. Short video clips of her visit are already posted at aidscarenow.org.

 

aidscarenow.org

Generations at Risk — HIV/AIDS Projects