Assisting HIV/AIDS-affected households in Zimbabwe
NYANGA, Zimbabwe, Aug 31, 2011. By Bertha Shoko, on http://www.unicefusa.org.
Ambuya Sylvia Nyawera is an
elderly woman from Dombo village in the rural Nyanga area of Zimbabwe,
about 186 miles east of Harare. She sits cross-legged in her small
kitchen, palm on her cheek, looking miserable.
After spending the weekend with her son John, a schoolteacher in
another part of Nyanga, Nyawera is alone again. She has no one to look
after her or to keep her company in the absence of either her son or his
wife.
When they aren’t with her, Nyawera has no caregiver. She grows her
own food in the small field around her homestead and still does her own
household chores.
Young People We Care
© UNICEF video
Ambuya Sylvia Nyawera with Young People We Care volunteers in the
kitchen of her home in Dombo village, located in the rural Nyanga area
of Zimbabwe.
"My other children died a few years ago after falling victim to this
disease [AIDS] that is killing many young people these days. If they
were here, they would take care of me," she explains. "John does his
best, but he can't be here all the time to take care of me because he
has to work and also take care of his family."
Nyawera is among the many older people in Zimbabwe who have been affected by HIV and AIDS,
losing their children to the disease, and now have no caregivers. Some
are themselves caregivers of orphans left behind by their grown
children.
Although Nyawera feels a deep sense of longing for her late children,
she has been blessed with more “children” who visit her at least three
times a week through the Young People We Care (YPWC) program. She looks
forward to the company she gets from the members of the YPWC club in
Nyanga.
Easing the burden
© UNICEF video
Young People We Care volunteers sort potatoes they harvested for
Ambuya Sylvia Nyawera. The higher-grade potatoes are used for
consumption while the lower-grade ones are left for seed in the next
planting season.
An initiative of UNICEF Zimbabwe, the YPWC program began in 2005. It
is part of the effort to help ease the burden of care in households
where there is illness or where an elderly person has no caregiver.
YPWC also gives young people information on HIV prevention, care and treatment, and trains them in skills that prepare them for adulthood.
This past farming season, YPWC members helped Nyawera plant and
harvest about 20 bags of maize, her biggest crop in five years. They
also assisted her with planting and harvesting potatoes, thereby
significantly improved food security in her household.
"Without these children I really would not have harvested much. These children worked hard. God will bless them,"says Nyawera.
An enriching experience
Being part of a YPWC club also benefits the young volunteers. The
Nyanga club is composed of 10 young people who are out of school.
One of them, Hilda, 18, is living with HIV. She was infected at birth
and recently started treatment. As a result of illness, Hilda sometimes
cannot join her team for home visits, but she never misses a chance
when she is well. She loves to sing and often uses song to help cheer up
the sick people she visits.
Hilda says being a volunteer has allowed her to come to terms with her own HIV status.
"Before I became a member of the YPWC program, I had very little
knowledge about HIV and AIDS," she recalls. "Now I understand that I can
live a normal and productive life even though I am HIV-positive."
Part of the solution
© UNICEF video
Young People We Care members fetch water for Ambuya Sylvia Nyawera in Dombo village, located in rural Nyanga, Zimbabwe.
With support from UNICEF and many others, YPWC continues to make a
difference in communities across Zimbabwe. Through intensive life-skills
training and other support, several thousand YPWC volunteers have been
equipped to help their own communities.
"The role that the YPWC clubs is playing in communities cannot be over emphasized,"says UNICEF Representative in Zimbabwe Dr. Peter Salama.
"As a result of HIV and AIDS, the burden of care remains very high in
many communities," he adds. "For example, one in four children has been
orphaned, mainly by HIV and AIDS. Young people represent a critical
element of the solution, and we need to continue to honor their skills
and energy."
|