Archives: December 2009

Why we're still on about HIV...

By Craig Borlase

Another article about HIV and AIDS? Haven’t we been here already? What’s the point of going over all this old ground?

Let me tell you a story. It’s about Gloria. See her picture? Isn’t she great? Check out that grin – she’s got to be a bit cheeky, don’t you think?

Gloria is thirteen. Five years ago both her parents died of AIDS-related illnesses. Five years before that, when she was just three, Gloria was diagnosed HIV positive.

At Tearfund we don’t like making statements that are all dramatic. But there’s no other way to put this; Gloria’s life has been devastated by HIV.

She’s not alone. In her village of Fombe, Malawi there are many, many others whose lives have been destroyed by HIV and AIDS. Eight years ago – somewhere between her diagnosis and her becoming another of the 13 million children orphaned by AIDS in Africa – Gloria lived in a village that was on its knees, brought low by too much suffering and too little support.

But then Eagles, Tearfund’s partner in the area, stepped in. Thanks to the support of churches in the UK and Ireland, we were able to support Eagles as they in turn helped to mobilise the church to transform the village. They have helped people to grow crops that survive the changing climate, dug wells that provide fresh water and helped build clean toilets that prevent disease.

And the church in the village – now ten times the size that it was back then – has taken the lead in accepting and supporting people living with HIV. People just like Gloria.