accessibility & help

HIV homecare true stories

We work in partnership with other Red Cross National Societies around the world to help people living with or affected by HIV. Often, we work through volunteers from within the communities we're helping. These are some stories about those volunteers and the people they've helped:

 

Londaka is one of 1.4 million children orphaned by AIDS in South Africa. Pink is her favourite colour, like it was her mother’s.

Mertie, 44, is a volunteer in South Africa, supporting people with HIV – she knows what they’re going through, as she’s HIV positive herself.

After losing all her children, Florence, 75, now cares for all six grandchildren and the Red Cross provides them with vital support.

She may be living with HIV, but Boniswe Petronella Maphanga, 30, has a radiant smile, a gentle sing-song voice and a joyful attitude to life.

Mapotso volunteers within her own community to help support people affected by HIV and fight fear and stigma.

Meshack’s job is to educate men in his Lesotho community, many of whom can struggle to take on board sexual health messages, about HIV.

Kindman, a Zimbabwe Red Cross volunteer, provides homecare for families affected by HIV and AIDS, many of them small children.

When South African Skhumbozo was diagnosed HIV positive, people didn’t want to know him. But we helped him start living his life again.

Since his mother died of an HIV-related illness, Mlondi’s grandmother has taken care of him, with support from the Red Cross.

Beauty was in denial about her diagnosis for TB and HIV, but our South African volunteers helped her get treatment.

Dikeledi, 18, lost her mother to AIDS, but we’re helping her aunt support her, with food, blankets and schoolbooks.

When Zode was diagnosed with HIV, her neighbours banished her from her village in Ethiopia. Our volunteers helped her build a new house.

We helped Meleke and his wife Bufkadu when they were diagnosed with HIV. Now Meleke is helping others living with HIV in his community.

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