Summer in the Kalahari has many faces. By late October it seems almost certain that the rains are going to stay away. The pans are empty with cracked dried mud which carries the footpints of birds antelope and cattle.

Thousands of zebra and wildebeest congregate at the waterholes in the dry Boteti river, playing a survival game. A quest for water and grazing, chased by elephants and ambushed by lions. It all translates into sound. At night, the trumpeting of elephants and the calls of the zebras. In the early hours of the morning the roaring of lions. At daybreak, carcasses near the waterholes and the cries of the vultures.

Then faint wispy clouds appear, then cirrus clouds, then thunderclouds and violent storms followed by soft rain that lasts for days on end. Trees turn green overnight, dense grass grows out of dry sand. The pans in the Makgadikgadi fill up. The zebras and wildebeest run into the green grasslands. Flamingoes settle in the great pans and start their breeding cycle.

The dry deception valley turns into a green grassland. Gemsbok, springbok and wildebeest congregate on the plains. Springbok fawns prance in the early morning light and drop their guard. A cheetah breaks her cover, picks her prey and snuffs out its brief life with one elegant sprint.

At the edges of the waterholes clouds of butterflies suck the moisture out of the mud.

A reminder that this is only a brief, transient paradise and soon the rains will be gone.

Having worked and travelled a lot in Africa, I became increasingly aware of the magnitude of the AIDS pandemic, ultimately the story behind the novel. The numbers are mind boggling: 22 million people living with AIDS, 61% of them women, 11million orphans, 5700 deaths per day, 2 million deaths per annum.

But these are only cold, clinical figures. They tell you nothing about the people involved, or the devastation caused on a more personal level.

I started writing this novel before antiretroviral drugs became freely available, and I tried to portray the human face of the pandemic. Also, the moral dilemma of having to care for people who are obviously dying, with no hope of access to drugs.

Since the publication of the novel, I have been working in Botswana where an excellent antiretroviral program was introduced in 2002. This, to say the least, has made an enormous difference, although I have to add that antiretroviral drugs can’t be used in isolation. Treatment must be backed up by Aids awareness programs, prevention of mother to child transmission, close attention to other associated infections like tuberculosis and obviously, social issues. Mother to child transmission in Botswana has been reduced to less than 4%, and the antiretroviral program is expanding rapidly.

Unfortunately, if one looks at the continent as a whole, the majority of people living with Aids still don’t have free access to antiretroviral drugs. There are hopeful signs that other countries are starting to follow Botswana’s example, however. In my opinion, it is immoral to deny people treatment for any reason and it is probaly true to say that this has become a human rights issue. The logistical problems in dealing with this pandemic are enormous, but even that should not be an excuse. The single most important factor in combating this scourge is the will to get stuck in and do something about it.

I hope those of you who read my novel enjoy it, and take this idea to heart.

***

PRESS RELEASE FROM SCHAFFNER PRESS

LOS ANGELES, CA- NOVEMBER 14h , 2007- FATHER MICHAEL’S LOTTERY: A NOVEL OF AFRICA by Johan Steyn , a debut novel concerning the AIDS crisis in Southern Africa, has just been named a Booksense Notable for January 2008.

The Booksense endorsement is the latest accolade bestowed upon this novel, which just hit the street in America with a SRP of $26.95. Highly acclaimed in South Africa upon its initial publication in trade paper, FATHER MICHAEL’S LOTTERY has received hearty endorsements from two Booker Award winners, Ian McEwan and Margaret Drabble, as well as glowing advance reviews.

The novel concerns the daily struggles, both tragic and comedic, of a rural clinic in the heart of AIDS-ravaged southern Africa. First published in South Africa by Kwa- Zulu University Press in 2005, it is a semiautobiographical portrayal of a doctor and his staff in their struggle in the fight against the disease as well as the ignorance and arrogance of the hospital administrators.

To launch the US publication, Schaffner Press will host two events in the Los Angeles bookselling community on Dec. 1st, International AIDS Awareness Day, at, Barnes & Noble at the Grove at 4pm and at 7pm that evening at Book Soup in West Hollywood. The presentation will feature a noted guest speaker and short video documentary about the author and the clinic where he works as chief medical officer in Botswana, as well as a phone-linked interview with him during which he will take a few minutes between his rounds that night to field questions from the audience. Collectible bookplates, previously signed by the author, will be inserted into each copy of the books sold at these events.

With this event Dr. Steyn will be able to interact with people halfway around the world, and never have to leave his clinic in Botswana where he works tirelessly as a medical officer. Publisher Tim Schaffner, remarked, “I am proud to be able to bring this book to an American readership as it holds such a vital message for us all, and very grateful to all involved who are helping to promote this crucial work.

The video documentary, produced jointly by Kwa-Zulu University Press and Brink Media, Int’l, will consist of an interview with the author by Stephen Coan, a noted journalist and critic, and a book and author discussion between Dr. Johan Steyn and local readers

Johan Steyn, a native South African, has worked and traveled widely across the African continent, and his detailed descriptions of the people, places, flora and fauna in the novel reflect his enduring love for his land. He is also a passionate aviator, mountaineer, nature photographer, artist and documentary filmmaker.

Schaffner Press, Inc. is an independent small press based in Tucson, Az., dedicated to publishing provocative and socially-conscious works of fiction and non-fiction, both reprints and originals. All titles are distributed for the trade by IPG: 312-337-0747 (www.ipgbook.com).

The doctors and nurses at a small hospital in an African town are fighting the uphill battle against the Aids pandemic, made worse by the interventions of Holmes, the budget-conscious superintendent, and his bungling sidekick, Thunderbird. The rebellious and profane Morgan thwarts every new rule in his quest to save his patients, most of whom are dying because they lack the resources to buy back their lives with over-priced drugs. His efforts are valiantly supported by the enigmatic Oumar, the likeable Kenyan, the beautiful Violet, and Rebecca, the battleaxe with a heart of gold. Then there is Mary, with her passion for birds, holding Morgan’s heart in her frail hands; Naledi, the success story, who is brought back from the brink of death; and Rastodika, the untameable spirit. When funds are needed for a kidney transplant, Morgan conspires with Father Michael; Dorcas, the shebeen queen; and Rachel, the whore, to make the rich Mr. B organise a Beerfest to pay for the operation. But then things don’t work out exactly as they had planned. Father Michael’s lottery depicts the complex human reality of Aids with a moving combination of compassion, humour and defiant indignation.Above all, in its vivid accounts of medical battles won and lost, it asserts the value of attempting to preserve life in the face of near-certain death.