Philomene is HIV positive and takes care of 6 children at her home. She feels better when she eats well, and says that she can work harder when she eats well. Her favorite vegetables are carrots and squash, which she now grows in her new home garden, thanks to David.

Goodbertha has had difficulty eating since she began treatment, but diverse vegetables mixed with potatoes, she says, encourage her to eat more. Her favorite vegetables from her home garden, with thanks to the support of Mitch, are carrots and beets. Thanks to Mitch, Goodebertha is on the path to good health!

Jose lives with her son, his wife and her eight grandchildren. She has been HIV positive for five years, and has been taking ARV medication for almost three years. She knows that nutrition is just as important for herself, as a grandmother, as it is for the growing grandchildren she cares for. Thanks to Mitch, Jose will now be planting a home garden for the entire family–with the help of her grandchildren of course!

Beata lives in the middle of Kigali with her three children, and thanks to the support of Mitch, she has started growing vegetables which make her feel a lot stronger while taking her anti-retroviral medication. She also appreciates the fact that she no longer buys vegetables in the market, since she started growing them all herself.

Thank you , Mitch!

Dorothea is a single mother with one child, and she just started anti-retroviral treatment a couple of months ago. Having food that she grows herself gives her confidence to take her medicine. Thanks to Mitch, she now has vegetable seeds, a papaya seedling and a moringa seedling, though her favorite vegetable is amaranth, known locally as “dodo.”

Francoise separated from her husband after she found out she was HIV-positive and now takes care of their six year old daughter alone. She has been on ARV medication for almost three years. She likes joining in on the work in her cooperative’s garden, not only for the shared harvest, but for the shared community. Her young daughter did not have much of an appetite until she began to introduce fresh vegetables and moringa into her diet.  Now she says her daughter is growing healthy and strong. “Murakoze” (thank you in Kinyarwanda) to Moira for the home garden!

Marie has been HIV-positive for 12 years and has five children. She has been on medication for four years. Nutrition is something she can do, an action she can take independently, to improve her health and life, which she finds is an empowering concept. With appreciation to Moira for her support, Marie is now planting many vegetables–moringa, papya, along with many other vegetables.

Beatrice is a single mother with four children. She joined the cooperative after finding out she was HIV-positive.  She is happy that she has met others in the community facing similar problems and that they are now sharing their solutions. She has been on medication for three years and when she doesn’t eat well, she has headaches, nausea, and vomiting from her medicine.  When she eats well she has no problems. Her favorite nutritious dish is fish with vegetables. Thank you Moira for this support!

Rose is a single mother with six children. She joined her cooperative after she found out she was HIV-positive, in order to be supported by others in the community facing similar struggles. She says “good nutrition is important for my CD4 count: when I eat well, my CD4 count improves.” She lives in the center of Kigali without any land, but is planning on planting these new seedlings and vegetable seeds in sacks, tires and containers. Many thanks to Susan for giving Rose this seed support.

Evariste has six daughters and two sons.  He and his wife are HIV-positive and know that growing food to keep themselves and their family healthy is important. Since he’s been a member of his cooperative, he gets so many vegetables from the community garden that he no longer has to buy them in the market. His favorite vegetables are carrots and spinach. Thanks to Susan, Evariste will now be able to plant a home garden for his family!