CIC: HIV and AIDS

Kagera HIV and AIDS counselling and orphan support project

A bright future beyond HIV and AIDS

Tanzania has one of the highest rates of HIV and AIDS in the world. Latest figures show that an estimated 1.4 million children and adults in Tanzania live with HIV and AIDS. But these figures don't tell the whole story. Many people have also lost loved ones from AIDS, while others are caring for someone who has the virus.

HIV and AIDS in the Kagera region

The first cases of HIV and AIDS in Tanzania were found in the Kagera region, in northwest Tanzania. Here, HIV and AIDS have had a devastating impact on the community, more so than in any other part of the country. The high death toll from the disease has left behind more than 200,000 orphans. For many of these orphans, education has taken a back seat as they have been forced to look for ways to make a living instead of going to school.  It's not uncommon to find children as young as 12 years of age having the responsibility of running a household and taking care of younger siblings.

World Vision's CIC: HIV and AIDS fund is supporting a community-led project in Tanzania's Kagera region, located between the Rwandan mountains and Lake Victoria and about 1340km by road from the nation's capital, Dodoma. The project is providing counselling services and vocational training for children and young people orphaned by AIDS and people living with HIV. Last year, World Vision helped orphans and vulnerable children from more than 2700 families access primary, secondary and vocational training education.

The gift of giving back

Rhonda, whose parents died of AIDS, is one of the many to have benefited from the project. She received training from World Vision to help her cope with stressful situations, build meaningful relationships, make healthy lifestyle choices and set goals for her future. She also received support to complete her secondary school education. Rhonda's experiences have given her a passion for helping other orphans achieve their goals. After working at a local training centre to teach villagers different ways to earn money for their families, Rhonda is now enrolled in an undergraduate degree at university majoring in sociology.

Teaching sustainable farming practices

The project has also sponsored agricultural training to help orphans and people living with HIV and AIDS sustainably manage their farms. One couple set up a small farm in Nshamba for growing vegetables after attending the seminars. The project provided them with cow dung to use as fertiliser for the soil and locally-bred chickens and piglets which they reared as a valuable source of nutritious eggs and meat. By selling their produce, the couple is now able to provide food for their family all year round and pay for such things as school fees and medicine.

Breaking down barriers

One of the major goals of the Kagera project is to raise public awareness about how to reduce the spread of HIV and AIDS and the social stigma attached to it. The results of this community-led initiative so far are encouraging, with a drop in the number of communicable diseases like malaria and HIV and AIDS (i.e., diseases which can be transmitted from one sufferer to another). The project is giving people living with AIDS a greater voice in their community. In the words of one man: "through the project I have gained the capacity and confidence to tell people about HIV and AIDS without any fear as before."

How can you get involved?

Your contribution to the CIC: HIV and AIDS fund has helped to improve the lives of many orphans and vulnerable people living with HIV and AIDS. Below are just some of the other ways your donation has made a difference:

• More than 69 community groups are now up and running in the Kagera region to help people living with HIV and AIDS generate income for themselves and their families. More than 460 community leaders have been trained to run these groups.
• Each year, an average of 970 orphans and vulnerable children in Kagera receive basic need items such as soap, bedding, nutritious food, and support for their education.
• Quarterly support sessions have provided 640 people living with HIV and AIDS with food, bedding and trauma counselling.
• In the past year, forty-four new community care coalition committees, elected by villagers, have been set up in Kabuga, east of Rwanda's capital Kigali, to support and care for orphans and vulnerable children and people living with HIV and AIDS.
• More than 3000 community members and four AIDS education clubs in Kabuga have been trained in family planning and the prevention and control of malaria, sexually transmitted diseases and HIV.