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One man's loss is another man's gain
Gwanda, Uganda
Peter, 47, is married and has eight children between the ages of one and 11 years. So far his family has escaped HIV/AIDS and, indeed, has profited from it. Five years ago, his houshold relied totally on family labour and owned no cattle. Today, the same household is able to hire labour and owns 20 head of cattle as well as a boat with a motor and a television. Peter says his rise in fortune was possible due to his beer brewing and hard work on his farm. He is a so-called progressive farmer, convinced of mulching and composting and open to new ideas such as growing tomatoes as a cash crop. No doubt his efforts have made a difference, but his family has also benefited from the pandemic sweeping the region by buying cattle from HIV/AIDS-afflicted households that were short of cash to pay medical bills. And the motor boat Peter now owns -- a symbol of his new-found wealth -- was bought from a family that could no longer afford to keep it because the husband, a fisherman, had died of AIDS and the remaining family members did not know how to manage the fishing business.
- Case-study: The high price of HIV/AIDS
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- Case-study: Women join hands and provide a pillar of support
