Siachitema, Zambia

There are many people like Saliya in Siachitema - she has six children dependeant on her who have lost their parents

In Zambia many children have been orphaned as a result of AIDS.  It’s not easy for extended family members to take care of them, because of their own economic hardships.

The number of deaths can be partly attributed to people’s reluctance to find out their HIV status, for fear of stigma and a lack of support services in their area.

In Siachitema Area Development Programme, the picture is not so bleak, thanks to the work World Vision is doing with people like Mweete.

Mweete is a 34-year-old widow with five children, who discovered she was HIV positive in 2006. She had been ill with what she thought was malaria, but wasn’t responding to treatment. She visited every traditional healer, trying to find a cure, and soon her savings were gone. Finally, a doctor recommended she take advantage of World Vision’s voluntary HIV testing and counselling service. After three counselling sessions, Mweete agreed to an HIV test.

“It took a long time for me to take the test because of fear of knowing the truth and I thought I could just not handle the results,” she says.
In fact, Mweete says knowing her status has opened up new channels of hope in her life.

“I was linked to a support group by my counsellor. This improved my health because I received help from the support group.  I am able to access antiretrovirals at Choma General Hospital on a monthly basis as World Vision provides me money for transport. Little did I know that there are medicines that can improve my health status, so much that I am productive again,” says Mweete.

Mweete has gained weight since she started the antiretroviral treatment and has been healthy enough to work in her garden and grow enough food for her family.
World Vision also supports people living with HIV in Siachitema by providing beans and cooking oil as a source of protein, as well as energy supplements.