The Aniga Women's Initiative

Whilst sat in Benter and Michael's paradise home in Reru, Roz and I listened attentively, with a tear in our eye, to the story behind the Aniga Women's Initiative. It seems that no family is without the tale of woe that AIDS brings in its wake. Through ten years of watching loved ones silently suffer with the syndrome, Benter said she felt as though she had to raise awareness and educate the community about this deadly virus.

In every community we have visited so far, we have heard how fatal the notion of stigma can truly be. There are so many myths which surround HIV and AIDS, the main one being that as soon as you have been prescribed as HIV+ , you are all but dead. However, through seven years of hard work, Benter has established seven groups under the Aniga initiative, educated her husband's home-village and supported those living with HIV and AIDS.

Benter has been such an inspiration in Reru that two or three mothers have even named their children after her. With the vision to create 'a well enlightened and industrious generation for sustainable development' and with the mission to 'contribute to a process of HIV prevention, restoring hope and improving the quality of life, creating awareness on poverty education strategies through innovation in enterprise, education, health and agriculture', Aniga have changed the lives of so many.

We were very grateful to John for showing us around Reru and for teaching us about Aniga and its seven affiliates. From the industrious nature of the youth group with their well-crafted baskets and jewelry to the community-minded HIV+ widows caring for orphans, we were touched by the spirit of Aniga.

Jennie Warriner