Living, working and thriving with HIV in Tanzania
21 November 2008
Hawa's story
When you meet 44-year-old Hawa Makuza it is hard to believe that
five years ago
she was on her deathbed.
Hawa is from USA-River in the Arusha region of Tanzania. In 2003 she fell
seriously ill and tests showed she was HIV-positive. Her husband had died a few years before, leaving her with two
children and little means of getting an income. Too sick to do anything but
lie in bed, she asked for assistance from the village government where her
husband had worked.
But the village chairperson refused to assist, telling her that she was
already sick and dying so there was no point in helping her.
Shocking as this response is, it is not uncommon in Tanzania. Many people in
the country, particularly in rural areas, are still being stigmatised for
being infected with HIV. This is mainly due to lack of proper knowledge of
how the disease is transmitted and who is most at risk of being infected.
Women are often the biggest victims of stigmatisation, particularly widows
with orphaned children.
Undaunted by the village chairperson's words, Hawa turned to the Catholic
Church for help. There she got food, medical care and, more importantly,
advice. The Church recommended she approach one of the groups set up by VETAID
for people living with HIV/AIDS. She joined a group called "Tumaini",
one of 28 such groups established by VETAID.
Things look up for Hawa
Once Hawa joined the group, she received intensive training in
vegetable gardening, small animal husbandry and health and nutritional
education. She was given a pregnant goat, four chickens and a rooster as a
basis for starting her own income-generating activities. VETAID also helped
her start her own vegetable garden.
Hawa’s life has improved drastically. She receives a steady income from
selling eggs, milk and vegetables from her garden and has managed to set up
a savings account in the local community bank.
"Now I can send my children to school," she says proudly. "I have even been
able to renovate my house, which was in such poor condition it was almost
falling down." Her family’s health has also improved because, as well as
selling what she produces, her family eats it too.
Hawa's improved life, however, did bring her more trouble with the same
village officials who had shunned her during her illness.
"They questioned where I got money to do business and renovate my house
while I was dying," explains Hawa. "They didn't believe me when I said I had
earned it myself."
Despite no evidence to back up these suspicions, Hawa and her sons were arrested for theft. Luckily, VETAID's programme includes the provision of a lawyer, which enabled Hawa to take her case to the District Commissioner. In the end, the truth was established and she and her sons were set free.
Helping whole communities
VETAID's work is
having a great effect not only on those infected with the disease but on their
communities as well. People who were once sick and a burden to their
families are now thriving and fending for themselves. Community members are realising that those who are infected with HIV are not automatically
'dead', but can continue to be productive members of society if they are
given the right support.
And in a surprising turn, the village officials who had once stigmatized Hawa and others like her are now looking to the groups funded by VETAID for help and inspiration.
Impressed by the income-generating skills of the Tumaini group members, they have expressed an interest in introducing these skills to other people in the village. In addition, the group has been called on to assist the village government to establish a savings and credit society. Hawa and her fellow Tumaini members are proof that a diagnosis of HIV-positive need not be the end to a busy and fulfilling life.
Facts and stats
- VETAID is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) working in partnership with the Catholic Arch Diocese of Arusha and the Pastoralist Indigenous NGOs Forum to promote the rights of people living with HIV.
- Through its Civil Society Challenge Fund, DFID has given VETAID more than £430,000 for a period of three years (2005/6 to 2008/9) to do work that promotes the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS.
- VETAID provides training in income-generating activities (especially through its farmer field schools) and the management of community banks, gives seed money for running awareness-raising campaigns and peer education, and provides legal aid to people living with HIV and paralegal training to village governments and elders.
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