Caritasnews magazine

Summer 2007

Teleza with her grandson, Gabriel.

The human toll of HIV/AIDS

Anna Orchard visited Tanzania recently as part of a Caritas immersion experience. She writes of the impact HIV/AIDS is having on the country.

Tanzania is a peaceful country which attracts thousands of tourists each year. They come to climb Kilimanjaro, to travel through the game reserves and to visit the UNESCO listed, exotic island of Zanzibar. Yet it is also one of the poorest countries in the world, with an estimated 50% of the population living below the poverty line, and has one of the highest incidences of HIV/AIDS.

The HIV/AIDS pandemic has ravaged Tanzania, leaving few families untouched. The estimated percentage of the Tanzanian population infected ranges from 3% to more than 44% in certain areas. The worst affected are those aged between 15 and 45, that is, those of working age.

“A number of factors have contributed to the particularly high incidence of HIV/AIDS in certain social groups,” said Oliva Kinabo, Program Officer for Caritas Tanzania.
“The existence of traditional sexual practices such as widow inheritance and polygamy, the extent of rural poverty and economic hardship, migration of workers following seasonal work, trafficking of women, and the lack of HIV testing and awareness all contribute to the pandemic”.

The village of Idende, in south west Tanzania in Makete district, has been particularly hard hit. As we arrive, we are greeted by the women of the village,
singing and waving bunches of native flowers. Many are elderly with care worn faces yet they are full of life. Children from the local primary school join us. Those who are of middle age are conspicuously absent. Soon we learn why.

The children, many of whom are orphans, begin to sing for us and their chanting is translated. “HIV/AIDS is a killer disease, if we cannot change our attitude we will all die from this disease.”
Teleza Sanga (pictured right with 3 year old grandson) does not remember when she was born but those who have known her since their own childhood tell us she must be at least 80 years old. Her face is worn and leathered by the sun, but her body is still strong and wiry. Teleza lives in a traditional mud brick home, a small fire burns in the central room next to which an ancient woman with opaque eyes crouches; this is Teleza’s mother.

Of Teleza’s six children, four have died as a result of the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
Teleza takes care of four of her orphaned grandchildren, aged from three to eleven years, and her elderly mother.
Each morning Teleza prepares the family’s food and ensures they have eaten before she goes to her small plot of land nearby to farm her vegetables where she works all day.
“Life for me is very difficult as even this house does not belong to me… my own house was damaged in a storm and I cannot pay for it to be repaired. If the owner returns we will have nowhere to live.”

I ask Teleza from where does she draw her strength and she replies, “I depend on God because we are surviving. I have great hope for the country”.
Teleza’s story of a grandmother caring for orphaned children is an all too familiar story throughout Africa and raises the question, who will care for the children when the grandparents die?
Due to HIV/AIDS, families are struggling more than ever. Finding ways to address both basic health issues associated with the disease as well as the multiple socio-economic challenges facing people living with HIV/AIDS are matters of urgency.

To address these issues, Caritas Tanzania, in partnership with Caritas Australia, is establishing an Integrated Community Development Program for the region. The project will focus on improving access to water and sanitation, environmental sustainability, food security and care and support for orphans, vulnerable children and people living with HIV/ AIDS. Education on the causes, effects, management and prevention of HIV/AIDS will be an important component of the program aiming to mitigate the devastating impact of HIV and AIDS in Tanzania.