Free download from www.hsrc p ress.ac.za Reclaiming our lives Free download from www.hsrc p ress.ac.za Compiled by the FAO Sub-Regional Office for Southern and East Africa. The views expressed in this book do not necessarily reflect the views of FAO. Published by HSRC Press Private Bag X9182, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa www.hsrcpress.ac.za © 2006 Human Sciences Research Council First published 2006 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. ISBN 0-7969-2136-9 Cover and book design by Jenny Young Cover photograph by Kevin Wilson/Africanpictures.net. The cover photograph is used with permission and should not be taken as any indication of the subject’s HIV status. Production management by Compress www.compress.co.za | PB2464 Distributed in Africa by Blue Weaver PO Box 30370, Tokai, Cape Town, 7966, South Africa Tel: +27 (0) 21 701 4477 Fax: +27 (0) 21 701 7302 email: orders@blueweaver.co.za www.oneworldbooks.com Distributed in Europe and the United Kingdom by Eurospan Distribution Services (EDS) 3 Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, London,WC2E 8LU, United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0) 20 7240 0856 Fax: +44 (0) 20 7379 0609 email: orders@edspubs.co.uk www.eurospanonline.com Distributed in North America by Independent Publishers Group (IPG) Order Department, 814 North Franklin Street, Chicago, IL 60610, USA Call toll-free: (800) 888 4741 All other enquiries: +1 (312) 337 0747 Fax: +1 (312) 337 5985 email: frontdesk@ipgbook.com www.ipgbook.com Free download from www.hsrc p ress.ac.za Reclaiming our lives HIV and AIDS, women’s land and property rights, and livelihoods in southern and East Africa Narratives and responses Free download from www.hsrc p ress.ac.za Contents vi Acknowledgements vii Acronyms viii Map x Statistical information by country 1 Introduction Kaori Izumi 22 Narratives and responses: 12 Eritrea country profile 14 The bonanza is over Kidan Felomon 16 Kenya country profile 18 GROOTS Kenya 19 Investing in grassroots women Esther Mwaura-Muiru 23 Home-based care in Mathare Ann Wanjiru 24 From home-based care into business Lucy Muguiyi Njuguna 26 Dreaming of a piece of land Alice Karoki 28 One day when I get better Anna Ndonge 30 Anna goes on safari Joyce Wayua 32 Women video-producers becoming land owners Mary Njeri Kamande 34 AIDS took my son and my property Beatrice Wanjiru Muguiyi 38 Rwanda country profile 40 The Rwanda Women’s Network (RWN) 41 Women networking for peace Mary Balikungeri 43 Step by step on the road to recovery Rose Mukabalisa 46 South Africa country profile 48 The Women’s Legal Centre (WLC) 49 Making the law known and enforceable Sibongile Ndashe 51 Overcoming the stigma of HIV and AIDS Nomawethu Shumani 54 Swaziland country profile 56 Swazis Positive Living (SWAPOL) 58 SWAPOL’s agricultural cooperatives Siphiwe Hlophe 62 Tanzania country profile 64 Land of our own Pelagia Katunzi 66 No boy child, no land Zawadi Kaatano Free download from www.hsrc p ress.ac.za 68 Uganda country profile 70 The Bunono-Ihunga Association for Women Living with HIV and AIDS 72 If we had co-ownership of land … Constance Niwagaba 76 Sibabinywere Women’s Group, Kisasi, Ntinda, Kampala 77 Suffering is not dying … Edivina Kyoheirwe 83 HIV has given me a longer and more meaningful life Flavia Kyomukama 87 The Memory Book Project 88 Liberated from secrecy, accountable to our children Beatrice Were 90 Zambia country profile 92 The Justice for Widows and Orphans Project (JWOP) 93 I am a widow living with 16 graves Theresa Chilala 95 Recovering grabbed property Peter Kanunka 98 Zimbabwe country profile 100 Grave exhumed, house demolished, granary burnt Marvis Hadziucheri 102 Recovering my property, recovering my life Rudo Chiwandire 104 The Zimbabwe Parents of Children with Disabilities Association, Harare Branch 105 Disability, poverty and HIV Theresa Makwara 108 The Farm Orphan Support Trust (FOST) 109 Women without property Lynn Walker 112 Afterword Kaori Izumi 114 Endnotes 115 References Free download from www.hsrc p ress.ac.za Acknowledgements We would like to thank all the contributors to this book who kindly shared their experiences with us. Sadly, some of these contributors passed away while the manuscript was being drafted. We would also like to thank all the women’s organisations and support groups for giving us the opportunity to meet women from their membership. We owe our special thanks to Esther Mwaura-Muiru, Flavia Kyomukama, Sibongile Ndashe, Beatrice Were, Lucy Muguiyi Njuguna, Theresa Makwara, Siphiwe Hlophe, Mary Njeri Kamande, Pelagia Katunzi, Worku Zarai and Lynn Walker.Their initiatives and experiences enriched our knowledge and perspectives for future interventions to support women. Maude Mugisha and Eric Tumwesigye in Uganda provided us with updates on two women’s groups living with HIV and AIDS in Uganda and the latest news on Constance and Edivina over the last three years. We are grateful to Cherryl Walker for her comments and editing, and to Simon Chislett for his patience in managing the production process. Birte Sholtz kindly commented on legal issues affecting women’s property rights in the document. Thanks to Angeline Matoushaya, Lalage Katunga and Nelson Marongwe for their assistance and to Ken Dixon for his editing role. This book is dedicated to Anna Ndonge and Precious Kyarisima, 1 two young widows who passed away in 2004, in the hope that life for their children when they grow up will be better than their mothers’ and that they may have a decent shelter to live in, a piece of land to grow food upon and a property of their own. Kaori Izumi, Ph.D. Land Tenure and Rural Institutions Officer FAO Sub-Regional Office for Southern and East Africa Harare, Zimbabwe, 2006 vi Free download from www.hsrc p ress.ac.za Acronyms and abbreviations AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome ARVs Antiretroviral drugs BRTI Bio-Medical Research and Training Institute COHRE Centre for Housing Rights and Evictions DART Development Anti-Retroviral Therapy FAO Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations FOST Farm Orphan Support Trust of Zimbabwe GDP Gross domestic product GROOTS Kenya Grassroots Organisations Together in Sisterhood HIV Human immunodeficiency virus JWOP Justice for Widows and Orphans Project (Zambia) Ksh. Kenya shilling NGO Non-governmental organisation OVC Orphans and vulnerable children PLWHA People living with HIV and AIDS PMTCT Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission Therapy RWF Rwanda Franc RWN Rwanda Women’s Network SIDA Swedish International Development Agency SWAPOL Swazis Positive Living Tsh. Tanzania shilling TACAIDS Tanzania Commission for AIDS UNAIDS United Nations AIDS Programme UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation UN-HABITAT United Nations Human Settlements Programme UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund UNFPA United Nations Population Fund UNIFEM United Nations Development Fund for Women Ush. Uganda shilling VSO Voluntary Services Overseas VSU Victim Support Unit (Zambia) WLC Women’s Legal Centre (South Africa) WLSA Women’s Law Southern Africa and Education Trust YWCA Young Women’s Christian Organisation ZPCDA Zimbabwe Parents of Children with Disabilities Association ZWOT Zimbabwe Widows and Orphans Trust Z$ Zimbabwean dollar vii Free download from www.hsrc p ress.ac.za viii SOUTHERN AND EAST AFRICA | Free download from www.hsrc p ress.ac.za Angola Namibia South Africa Mozambique Tanzania Kenya Madagascar Mauritius Seychelles Comoros Zimbabwe Lesotho Swaziland Botswana Eritrea Rwanda Burundi Uganda Malawi Zambia Ethiopia ix SOUTHERN AND EAST AFRICA| Free download from www.hsrc p ress.ac.za Statistical information by country Eritrea Kenya Rwanda General statistics 2003 Total population (millions) 4.1 32.7 8.8 Life expectancy at birth (years) 53.8 47.2 43.9 Adult illiteracy rate (% ages 15 +) 43.3 26.4 36.0 GDP per capita (US$) 171 450 195 Human Poverty Index (HPI–1) value (%) 38.7 35.4 37.7 Source: UNDP 2005 HIV and AIDS statistics end 2003 Eritrea Kenya Rwanda Estimated number of people living with HIV Adults and children 60 000 1 200 000 250 000 Adults (15–49) 55 000 1 100 000 230 000 Adults (15–49) rate (%) 2.7 6.7 5.1 Women (15–49) 31 000 720 000 130 000 Children (0–14) 5 600 100 000 22 000 AIDS deaths 6 300 150 000 22 000 Orphans due to AIDS (0–17) 39 000 650 000 160 000 HIV prevalence (%) in young pregnant women – – 11.6 (15–24) in capital city Source: UNAIDS 2004 x [...]... trained dropped out The carers are supposed to work three days a week for limited hours, but we often end up working longer hours as we find our patients without having eaten for three days and without any water Carers look for money to buy water and food; often we use our money, which we should spend to buy water and food for our own family Sometimes I work caring for my patients until late in the evening... activities I sometimes participate in the informal business, such as selling vegetables, soap, and matches But, despite our efforts, our family is underfed Recently, we started receiving food aid from the government The illness of my husband totally impoverished our family I sold all our furniture and jewellry to support my family and pay for my husband’s medical expenses I had 70–80 g of gold, which... their basic rights to property, land, and livelihoods Sto rie s o f trage dy an d re s ilie n ce In the course of our journey to find women and children who have lost land, shelter and property, we met a widow whose land was taken by her brother-in-law because she refused to remarry him She now lives with, in front of her house, 16 graves of relatives which the brother-in-law has buried since 1994... fees, but my patients simply do not know that I have the same problem Our work is not sustainable as all the carers are totally worn out and more members are becoming seriously sick, becoming bedridden We have lost some of our carers, many of whom are also HIV-positive It is a traumatic experience each time your patient dies We meet at our Mathare Mothers’ Centre to counsel each other, giving each other... wenty-four women living positively with HIV and AIDS had formed a support group, started sensitisation on HIV and AIDS at schools and churches, and had initiated a drama group, while also engaging in handicrafts and small livestock projects Their performance was impressive The constitution of the group states: ‘We are a group of 3 women living positively with HIV We are determined to look after ourselves... affected are married women In 2004, our home-based care group in Limuru lost seven patients, and Mathare group lost four of their group members In the long term, we need a comprehensive policy to protect widows’ and orphans’ property rights in the context of HIV and AIDS In the short term, there is a need to provide people with livelihoods so that they can start surviving Our challenge is how to make donors... disaster in Kenya Thousands of lives have been lost from the scourge As home managers, women have disproportionately shouldered the task of nursing and feeding the sick family members To support their efforts, GROOTS Kenya has been conducting capacity-building workshops for training of trainers on HIV and AIDS home-based care However, despite the commitment, the weak resource base has become a hindrance... and communities, so that they can participate directly in decision-making that affects them and thereby improve their lives Many poor women are disinherited of their land and property because they have neither strong social-safety networks, nor information about their rights, nor the resources to help them pursue justice The activities of the organisation include: home-based care, child-care centres,... Her neighbour slowly encroached upon her plot in Korogocho slum A group of women from GROOTS Kenya in Mathare 19 slum travelled to Korogocho and petitioned the chief and finally managed to stop the encroachment When the mother died, the GROOTS Kenya women tried very hard to secure the piece of land so that her 12-year-old daughter could use it when she grew up This did not work, as the only document... with HIV and AIDS are also an important component of our programme In these sessions, women share their problems, which often are similar, and learn survival tactics and coping mechanisms from each other We are convinced that supporting these groups is an effective investment Women living with HIV and AIDS have proved to be excellent homecare givers Our home-based carers provide medical extension services, . Free download from www.hsrc p ress.ac.za Reclaiming our lives Free download from www.hsrc p ress.ac.za Compiled by the FAO. frontdesk@ipgbook.com www.ipgbook.com Free download from www.hsrc p ress.ac.za Reclaiming our lives HIV and AIDS, women’s land and property rights, and livelihoods