Unsung heroes in HIV struggle

voices, crowned with the innocence of youth, blend with the conscious stoicism that comes with maturity in song as inmates at Tamuka Foundation in Kuwadzana Extension Harare make known their condition and station in life.
From a boy aged seven months old, to adults aged about 25 years, the singers are not only united by their being orphans whose parents have died of Aids-related illnesses over the years, with some of them living with HIV.
They also are united by the vision and love and care of Veronica Kwati who along with Joylene Chimbadzo and Alice Zvirevo formed Tamuka Foundation to help people living with HIV, the orphans they leave behind when they die, abandoned children, among others in HIV/AIDS-related predicament.
And by the way, the place where they are housed and cared for, House Number 11358 Kuwadzana Extension is nowhere near a palace, being a modest house in this dusty suburb which is not spared the inconveniences of water cuts, electricity load shedding among other ills.
Yet for people who are often stigmatised and abused in society, and whose material and immaterial needs have noone to cater for, they are right to trust their senses.
“The word ‘Tamuka’ (meaning we have risen) represents hope,” says Kwati, popularly known as “Madzimai Vhoro.
“We offer a new start, a new beginning to those who would have lost hope.
“It all began when I met Joylene in 2001. Her husband had died of Aids and she faced a lot of problems emotionally so much that it was feared that she was now disturbed.
“I talked to her and advised her to undergo HIV tests. After that I realised that she was normal and had been burdened emotionally.
“We joined other women at Chiedza Home of Hope who were supported by the Zimbabwe National Network of People Living Positively where they were involved in counselling and projects. From there we formed the Kundai support group.”
The support group, involved in empowering people living with HIV also incorporated those who were HIV negative.
The number of people involved would soon grow that other groups were formed from it.
The National Aids Council trained the women in care-giving, business management and counselling.
As the women worked in the community they also housed children whose parents could no longer care for them and some whose relatives excused themselves and surrendered the children into the support group’s hands.
There were also child-headed families who needed to be helped.
In the process, lives were unfortunately lost.
As numbers grew, the women established a branch in Kuwadzana 2 and some of the activities that the women embarked on including raising awareness, income generating projects, public testimonies and fighting stigma.
Then Madzimai Vhoro converted her house into a centre for her growing flock.
She told The Herald: “I also rented another house nearby where some older boys and girls slept. There is also another one that we use as an office.”
With the place to call home, comes the everyday demand of life as the about 30 children look up to Madzimai Vhoro.
“We do not have any assistance from outside,” beside an occasional donation, Madzimai Vhoro said.
“We make do with what is available and the kids know that. We support ourselves,” she said.
Madzimai Vhoro and eight other volunteers are engaged in various small projects that include sewing and garment whose products they sell outside the country and soya bean processing.
The cross-border traders bring in wares they sell here, mainly at Mupedzanhamo flea market for the sustenance of the project.
The centre has its own music and dance groups, which perform for a fee at functions.
Madzimai Vhoro recently secured second-hand sound equipment.
The list of deficiencies is long: they only have to make do with a small and medical kit for the whole centre, they rely on a rickety 1974 Nissan truck for transport during various activities, sometimes they fail to raise rates and rentals and the children often have to make do with the recreation other children enjoy.
The centre also pays school fees for 120 children in the community.
Yet out of seemingly daunting odds the centre and its inmates survive.
“I am inspired by suffering and own experiences as I grew up without my father who died when I was young,” said Madzimai Vhoro.
She declared: “I’m not in this for money but out of love. That is why I am not very upset when our proposals for funding are turned down.
“So far we have made countless proposals that have not been successful,” she related adding that her hope was that when they register as a public voluntary organisation they would get some financial support but this still was elusive.
In Bulawayo, the Million Memory Project like Tamuka Foundation, demonstrates the paradox of those doing the “dirty” work lacking money while those office-based flashy organisations have all but virtually do nothing on the ground save for a few photo opportunities for the benefit of funders.
A survey conducted by The Herald showed that most high density suburbs host one or more of grassroots or home-based and organisations dealing with orphans whose parents would have succumbed to Aids-related illnesses as well as adult support groups.
However, in a miscarriage of justice, and funding, these organisations usually lack funds and resources and operate on a voluntary and philanthropic basis.
This contrasts sharply with their well-heeled counterparts in the NGO sector where making proposals that w ill have donors falling over each other is appears to be the preoccupation, and actual work on the ground is made up of superficial visits to the grassroots.
“Perhaps we are not good at presenting our proposals,” Mr Trevor Chirimambowa founder of Million Memories Project at Bulawayo’s Mpilo Hospital told The Herald.
“Maybe funders should get to the ground to see what organisations do before they award funds rather than concentrating on looking at project proposals only,” he suggested pointing out that it was unfortunate that some flashy and well-resourced organisations were doing nothing tangible to help the community.
He has seen countless proposals being not successful to bring financial support.
He said: “One other problem is that they look at the quantitative aspect and look at the numbers. But for ourselves we are more into the qualitative approach.”
The Million Memories Project is a support group for youth aged between eight and 25, which helps those who visit Mpilo hospital for anti-retroviral therapy with psycho-social support.
This involves providing physical, social, mental, spiritual and emotional needs of the 1 500 children who need such help in and around Bulawayo.
About 30 youths visit the centre everyday.
Mr Chirimambowa, a trained counsellor, along with other volunteers who are mainly HIV positive youths also go into the community engaging parents of children to foster understanding of the latter’s needs.
“We mainly concentrate on the emotional needs of these youths because they are usually neglected.
“Our work here is qualitative and you have to see how far you have gone in helping the child,” he said.
Everyday Mr Chirimbambowa engages youths in discussions where areas that need to be discussed are identified in each individual.
As groups, some topics that are discussed include disclosure of HIV status, adherence to drugs and sexual reproductive health.
Million Memories Project’s work also involves creative art and the so-called memory book where youths write their memories and thoughts as a way to confront and cope with them and provide an emotional outlet.
“There are so many children needing help and we are overwhelmed: we are a small organisation but the work we do is big.”
The centre has also identified the need to motivate youths by getting them places for vocational training in auto-electrics, garment construction and cutting and designing with 19 youths set to benefit this year.This comes with challenges.
The centre has to make do with very little financial support, most of which comes from abroad. While venturing into the community, Mr Chirimambowa and his volunteer band have to hitch-hike, sometimes getting two kombis, as they do not have transport for the centre.
This is the only way they have to get to the youths as far from the city centre as Pumula South, Cowdry Park and Emganwinwi.
Often, such kind of work done by dedicated people is rewarded with an occasional food hamper or voucher to shop at a local supermarket.
“This is good but it is critical to help such organisations with long-term projects,” says one HIV activist and newspaper columnist.
She says although they might reach a couple of grassroots organisations, where the actual work is done, the moneyed organisations do not help the former by providing consumables.
This is a view shared by many that have seen HIV/Aids become a major money-spinning venture. The administration of funds for orphans and vulnerable children falls under the Department of Social Welfare.
There have been various policy frameworks within this has been operated including the Programme of Support, and the two phases of national Action Plan for Orphans and Vulnerable Children.
However, only registered PVOs are eligible for funding, a cumbersome process that at the moment is taking very long.
And even then, just like at Tamuka, funding does not come any easy what with the rigors of project writing the skills and requirements which most grassroots organisations and home-based support groups lack.
Their roots, unfortunately, cannot even tap outside like established groups.
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