Struggling for Life in Tanzania
- By Joanne Miya
The Uzima Center located in Mwanza, Tanzania has two main programs: one for orphans and vulnerable children, the other for adults and children living with HIV/AIDS. In order for services to be available to those in need, there are several things that have to come together. Obviously funding is necessary in order for us to be able to provide medicine, food, school uniforms, books, etc. What many people forget is that it takes a committed staff to make all these services happen. Joanne Miya, a Maryknoll Lay Missioner and the director of the program at Uzima Center, tells us how Mary Fabian dedicates endless hours to visiting adults and children who are HIV positive, going from house to house, rain or shine. Joanne shares with us the following, “Mary knows what it is like to deal with the stigma of being HIV positive since she herself is living with HIV. Shortly after her third child was born, Mary began showing symptoms of AIDS. The child died and her condition worsened. Her husband refused for her get medical care.
