The Foreign Service Journal, June 2004

58 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / J U N E 2 0 0 4 Last month, we presented some of the responses to our AFSANet invitation for Africa hands to share success stories. Here are more of those vignettes. Again, our thanks to all who contributed. — Susan Maitra, Senior Editor Bicycle Diplomacy John Osiri is a village elder in a remote region of west- ern Kenya, who is also the chairman of a rural AIDS sup- port group. He became HIV-positive after inheriting his dead brother’s wife, who had been infected by her husband. Osiri knew he could get the disease but was caught in a dilemma, as the culture of his Luo tribe dictates that the family line be continued through the practice of wife inher- itance. In June 2001, Osiri met an American photographer, Andrew Petkun, who had been documenting the human face of HIV/AIDS since 1999 throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Petkun was touring Kenya on behalf of Embassy Nairobi’s public affairs section, working with local photo- journalists. “We are sometimes visited by people who take our pic- tures and show their concern, but then they go, and we never hear from them again,” Osiri told Petkun. “If only we had a bicycle, so that we could visit other members of our group in the countryside whom we comfort…” “You come from the land of Mr. Bush,” Osiri continued. “All we ask is to live what is left of our lives with some dig- nity.” Petkun explained that working independently, without the backing of a charitable organization, he would be unable to help in a sustained way, but said he would tell Osiri’s story to anyone who would listen back in America. In addition, from his own pocket Petkun gave Osiri $100, enough money to feed the elder and his group for a month. Petkun kept his promise and told Osiri’s story to the peo- ple he lectured throughout the U.S. One State Department colleague in Washington was so moved that she offered to help pay for a bicycle, as did Embassy Nairobi employees. In March 2004, Public Affairs programmed Petkun once more, this time to travel with another group of Kenyan pho- tojournalists to visit urban slums and villages and to talk to sex workers, widows, students, orphans, as well as volunteers and scientists who are making a difference in the fight against HIV/AIDS. In three years, considerable progress had been made, with greater acknowledgement of the disease and positive actions being taken at numerous counseling and self-help centers throughout the country, with the commitment of the U.S. mission in Kenya, including USAID, the Centers for Disease Control, the U.S. Army Medical Research Unit and the Peace Corps. There was also hope and progress for John Osiri. When Petkun returned to Osiri’s village, the first words from a healthier and younger-looking Osiri were: “This is the bicy- cle.” He then proceeded to introduce his two-year-old son, Andrew Petkun Osiri. Richard Mei Jr. Information Officer Embassy Nairobi The Last Flight to Enugu: A Slice of Life in Lagos Anybody who knows anything about Nigeria and Nigerian politics, an admittedly deep and perplexing topic, knows that April 18, 2003, was the day before Nigeria’s pres- idential elections (and Good Friday to boot). Yet, I was fool- hardy enough to think that we could leave our place on Victoria Island at 2:30, make an intermittent stop on Ikoyi to collect my colleague Kate, her husband Larry and their 2-year-old daughter Sara and still make a 5:30 flight. Boy, was I naïve and in for some very interesting life lessons. … As we meandered toward the airport, we became increasingly entangled in a traffic standoff with what I would T HE A FRICA F ILE , P ART II: H ELPING TO B UILD S UCCESS M EMBERS SHARE MORE STORIES OF PROGRESS FROM AROUND THE A FRICAN CONTINENT .