Photo: Jon Hrusa

The medical advancements the Foundation has funded and supported throughout the years have created an irrepressible new emotion for those infected with HIV: Hope. All over the United States and around the world, adults and children are learning to live with the mental and physical effects of this life-shattering disease, and they're doing so with strength and grace. Learn about the various ways HIV/AIDS influences daily life from firsthand accounts written by friends of the Foundation. We wouldn't be surprised if their stories inspire you to join in the fight against pediatric HIV/AIDS and illness.

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More Stories of Hope

The Dlamini Family
Swaziland

Photos courtesy of Jon Hrusa/EPA

Zanele and Mfanzile Dlamini live at the top of a hill, on a winding dirt road outside Mbabane, Swaziland. They share a tiny house with their one-year-old daughter, Phiwayinkhosi, whom they call Phiwa.

Mfanzile (L), Zanele (R), and Phiwa Dlamini share a meal outside their home in Swaziland.

Zanele is 24 years old and Mfanzile is 28. Life has not been easy for either of them.

When Zanele was a child, her father was often ill and her family had little money. She attended school sporadically and her classmates often made fun of her because she had no shoes.

As a teenager, Zanele went during school holidays to live with her sister in another town. She met Mfanzile and he started asking her out. She ignored him at first, but Mfanzile won her over when he gave her a pair of shoes and money for a new school shirt. Her father passed away that year, but Zanele was able to continue her studies with Mfanzile’s support.

In 2005, 20-year-old Zanele became dizzy during school exams and was taken to the hospital. She discovered she was pregnant. During her pregnancy, Zanele also learned that she was HIV-positive. She told Mfanzile about her HIV status but he was unreceptive to the news. Mfanzile did not get tested for HIV.

Zanele dropped out of school and gave birth to a baby girl, Tema. But unfortunately she did not receive treatment to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV, and Tema was never tested. When she was a year old, Tema became sick suddenly and passed away.

The time after Tema’s death was difficult for Zanele and Mfanzile, but they continued to see each other. In 2007, Mfanzile became sick and Zanele took him to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation-supported Mkhulamini Clinic. Mfanzile finally agreed to be tested for HIV and learned that he was positive. Zanele and Mfanzile are now both receiving antiretroviral (ARV) treatment to control the virus. They married in 2009.

Zanele prepares to give Mfanzile his daily dose of ARVs.

Zanele gave birth to Phiwa in 2008. Phiwa is 14 months old and has so far tested HIV-negative, thanks to the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) services that Zanele and Phiwa received at the Mkhulamini Clinic. Phiwa will be tested for HIV once more at 18 months to confirm that she is negative.

Zanele, Mfanzile, and Phiwa face many challenges. They are shunned by much of their family due to their HIV status. Their one-room house has just one single bed. Zanele fetches water from a spring in a ravine a half-mile away, balancing the 55-pound water jug on her head while carrying Phiwa on her back.

Zanele, with Phiwa on her back, fetches water from the spring near her home.

Mfanzile earns less than $100 a month as a night watchman, and the couple farms crops on their meager plot of land. But they have barely enough money to pay for food and the monthly trip to the hospital to collect the government-supplied ARVs that keep them alive.

Mfanzile takes a break from farming to play with his daughter.

But the Dlaminis have hope — you can see it in Phiwa’s eyes. Thanks to the support they receive from the Swazi government and the Foundation, Zanele and Mfanzile are healthy and strong, and Phiwa has the chance to grow up free of HIV.

Zanele plays with Phiwa in a field near their home.

 View more photos of the Dlaminis.