“Emerging From The Shadow of HIV/AIDS”
In any society, Maria Meki’s day would be a busy one. Mother-of-four Maria also cares for three orphaned children and a disabled husband who has been confined to bed for the past five years. She’s the breadwinner too, selling vegetables to keep the family going.
But for Maria, as for thousands of other women in Zimbabwe, there is no such thing as an ordinary day. HIV/AIDS is the dark thread that runs through everyday life, a life already complicated by social and economic breakdown and the dangers it creates.
Maria’s husband tested positive in 1996 and Maria herself was diagnosed in 2001. Her 13-year old son is also HIV-positive. All are taking the antiretroviral drugs that have converted a death sentence into a life sentence - a life with HIV/AIDS. As so often happens, Maria and her family live with the additional pain of rejection by her relatives.
‘When I told my relatives about my husband they started stigmatizing me. For a long time, I felt guilty about revealing our status,’ she says. But for Maria, HIV/AIDS is just another challenge in a life that started with challenges:
‘I lost both my parents when I was very young,’ she says. ‘My grandmother took care of me from two and a half years until I got married.’
Maria’s early experiences have turned her into a dedicated volunteer with young children. She joined the Shingirirai Trust in 2005 and has been learning to teach and help them ever since. The work has brought her a joy she didn’t expect to find in a life often overshadowed by adversity:
‘I love my work with the younger children and Shingirirai has trained me a lot in ‘reaching the inner child’ and counseling. I have a passionate heart with these orphans, some of them are HIV positive and are on medication. I want to work with them for life.’
We invite you to join forces with Maria and the Shingirirai Women as they work to regenerate their community in the face of enormous daily challenges. Your support of €10 each month for a year, a single payment of €120, or any amount you feel able to give, will help Maria to continue teaching and counselling the younger children in the Trust’s care for another year.
Thank You.
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