The nearest well to Oumar’s village is seven kilometres away
Blinded by an accident ten years ago, João still teaches capoeira
Radio star Chan informs young people about HIV/AIDS
With help from Brazil’s MST movement, Adalton now has a home and some land to farm
Edith Banda
Age: 52
Home: Nkwazi
compound, Ndola, Zambia
Edith Banda had eight children with
her husband
Vincent. When one of her daughters died of an HIV-related illness,
Edith was left with her three-year-old granddaughter. She also cares
for three other children who were orphaned by HIV/AIDS.
Her story is very typical in Zambia, where a whole age group (15-49)
has been wiped out by HIV/AIDS. In addition to looking after the AIDS
orphans, she is a volunteer carer with the Catholic Diocese of Ndola.
Her visits have a practical purpose – she hands out
medicines.
But they are also symbolic – many communities ostracize those
with HIV/AIDS and Edith’s visits are a lifeline.
“In Zambia, we are all infected or affected. I do this work
because I feel I must. But it affects me when I see a person, who was
once laughing, now so sick,” says Edith.
Filed in: Africa, HIV/AIDS
HIV/AIDS in Zambia
Zambia
population: 11.3 million
population with HIV/AIDS: 17%
probability of dying before age 40: 60%
