Chipo Baloyi's mother and father both died of AIDS. At only 17, Chipo is responsible for the welfare of herself and five younger siblings, aged 7 to 13. She somehow manages to take care of her family in a country where families and communities can barely fend for themselves, much less care for the growing number of AIDS orphans.

Chipo's family had to sell all its livestock to care for -- and then bury -- her dying father. Nine months later, her mom fell victim to the same "strange, unnamed" disease.

Zimbabwe has the dubious distinction of having the world's highest rate of HIV infection, at 25 percent. One of every five children there has lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS.

"There are now very few families in the country that have not been affected directly or indirectly by AIDS," says Patrick Makokoro, project development officer with Mercy Corps Zimbabwe. "Many families in Chipo's village have lost loved ones to AIDS, but because of the stigma associated with the disease, people do not discuss what caused their deaths."

Mercy Corps is providing seeds and farming advice to about 50 of the village's most vulnerable households, including Chipo's, and soon will procure goats for two dozen orphans. Chipo's story, told here to Mercy Corps' Makokoro, illuminates the everyday struggle of AIDS orphans, and shows how Mercy Corps is helping them build a better life for themselves.

My Story By Chipo Baloyi, as told to Patrick Makokoro

My day begins very early in the morning when I light the fire and heat the water for my two small brothers and three younger sisters to bathe in before they go to school. If we have access to maize meal, I cook a pot of porridge for them to eat. After seeing them off to school, I start my daily household chores: sweeping the yard, cleaning the dishes and washing the linen soiled by my young siblings. Since it will still be cool, I then go out to the garden and water.

Chipo's family had to sell all its livestock to care for -- and then bury -- her dying father. Nine months later, her mom fell victim to the same "strange, unnamed" disease.

My father was the first one to pass away, in October 2002. He had been sick for quite some time, and we had to sell off some cattle and goats to pay his hospital bills. We also visited traditional healers to get local medicine for his ailments, but all this was in vain. After he succumbed to this strange, unnamed disease, we had to sell two more heads of cattle to pay for the funeral expenses and to pay some people who had done different services for us. This left my family with nothing.

Within six months of my father's death, my mother started suffering from the same symptoms that had attacked my father. She made numerous visits to the traditional healers to try and find a solution, but again, this was in vain. In August 2003 - exactly nine months after my father's death - my siblings and I were robbed of our mother and were left to look after ourselves.

HIV/AIDS is not an open topic for discussion in the village but, after discussions with neighbors and distant relatives, it became clear to me that this is what my parents had succumbed to. With no one to share our sorrows with, and with relatives coming in to take the little property we had (it is custom for adult relatives to assume the deceased's property), we soon realized how difficult life could be.

I am the eldest of a family of six. The two youngest children go to school (courtesy of a government-established social welfare program that covers school fees for orphans and vulnerable children). My other brother and sister move around the community trying to piece together temporary jobs, such as fetching water or herding cattle. They may earn a small amount of money to buy food and household necessities such as salt, maize meal, cooking oil and soap, but such jobs are not easy to find. Even when my siblings do get work, the money isn't enough to provide for our basic needs.

I get so tired and stressed when I think of the workload I'm faced with on a daily basis. My only comfort is that I am now able to grow my own food, which will help me care for my siblings, and that I'm no longer dependent on donors who come with food to the village. All this I have been taught to do with the help of Mercy Corps.

We have received a lot of support from Mercy Corps. For more than a year, I was unable to grow food crops for the family because we did not have the seeds or a donkey to help till our small plot of land. In December 2004, I was selected to be part of a Mercy Corps-supported agriculture project. I was given some maize seed, sweet-potato cuttings and cowpeas to plant in our small garden. I was very happy that this project came about, because apart from giving me seeds, Mercy Corps also taught me how to cultivate the crops that grow from them. I have also attended some workshops where I have expanded my knowledge of food production. Ward facilitators and agriculture extension officers trained by Mercy Corps visit us on a weekly basis and tell us how to get the best yield from our crops.

The only problem I have faced is that I am the only one in my family who has been involved in cultivating, planting and watering the crops, since my brother and sister help my uncle tend to his cotton fields. I get so tired and stressed when I think of the workload I'm faced with on a daily basis. My only comfort is that I am now able to grow my own food, which will help me care for my siblings, and that I'm no longer dependent on donors who come with food to the village. All this I have been taught to do with the help of Mercy Corps.

The community leaders have also seen fit for me to be part of the goat-raising project being initiated by Mercy Corps. In exchange for working the garden of a widow in the village, I will soon receive two female goats. These goats will provide milk to my family and give birth to other goats, which can be sold for cash that I will then use to pay school fees for my siblings and buy food and clothes.

I am surely grateful for the help I've received through these two programs. My future and that of my brothers and sisters is now brighter. We have been afforded the chance to prove that with hard work and some assistance, we can survive and prosper.




Contributed by Chipo Baloyi, as told to Patrick Makokoro, Project Development Officer for Mercy Corps Zimbabwe.

To read another Global Envision article about AIDS in Zimbabwe, see Progress in Zimbabwe's HIV and AIDS Battle.



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