Faces of Hope

The documentary "A Generation of Hope: What It Means to Prevail in the HIV/AIDS Epidemic" highlights the resilience of children whose parents have died of AIDS. Following is some information about some of the people in the movie. Note: the children's ages given below reflect their age when the movie was was filmed (2001).

Loveness Zengeni
Loveness is a project manager with the grassroots organization FOCUS (Families, Orphans, and Children Under Stress) in village of Marange, an hour outside Mutare. A widow since 1993, Loveness, raising five of her own children, is a surrogate mother to dozens of orphans in and around her village. In 1999 Loveness spearheaded a poultry project to raise money for orphans' school fees. But in 2000, the collapse of the Zimbabwe dollar led a tripling of the price of chicken feed and the project had to be canceled.

Olivia Kaome
A mother to nine children, Olivia could not stand by as so many children lost their parents, and began volunteering with Marange FOCUS in 1995. "When I was at home, I saw how happy my children were and when I saw those children without parents, I felt pity. Since I've been working with FOCUS, I've seen how important it is to these children to have a mother's love." Nicknamed "The Preacher" Olivia's faith and enthusiasm are undaunted in the face the crisis.

Virginia Marange
Virginia became a volunteer with Marange Focus 1995. She looks in on as many as 60 children a week in addition to taking care of her own family. "When the children see me they come calling 'Mother, mother.'"

Choice Makufa
Choice is the Deputy Director with FACT (Family AIDS Caring Trust) in Mutare. She works to provide organization and support to over 150 volunteer women in the Mutare region."Some of the women are widows themselves. They say tomorrow it is my children who will need someone to look after them. They are very committed. Since 1993, we haven't had a single woman drop out of the program, except because of death."

Chedo Gowero (13)
No longer able to afford to go to school herself, Chedo takes care of her 10 year old brother and her grandmother. She works in neighbors' gardens or houses in exchange for food. Her brother is in school, but paying tuition is a constant problem. In the last year the price of kerosene has skyrocketed, so Chedo must spend much of her day in search of firewood, taking away from the time she can spend working for food or money. In spite of the hardship, she is devoted to her brother. "When he comes home after school, I make him dinner. After dinner I help him with his homework."

Marvin Chiremba (16), Venice Chiremba (14), Enoch Chiremba (12)
Marvin remembers a comfortable life when his parents were alive. "My father had lots of goats and cattle, and he would sell them so we would have food, school fees, and clothes. We would make trips to the city and to game parks. "My mother told me 'You have to study so you can get a good job.' My father told me 'You have to work hard so you can take care of your sister, your brother and your community.'" Though their parents are gone, Marvin, Venice, and Enoch are still guided by their words. Despite the cost, all three are still in school. Venice is number one in her class, Enoch is 10th out of 42.

Grande (grandmother) Tanda, Tefedzwa Tanda (18), Merry Tanda (15)
Grande Tanda has lost her three adult children and their spouses to the AIDS crisis. With the help of her eldest grandson, Tefedzwa, Grande is looking after her eight grandchildren.Unable to grow enough food to support themselves, the Tanda family supplements their diet with wild fruit. Sometimes, the children must eat in "shifts" -- some eating one day, while the others wait and eat the following day. When given a gift of 500 Zimbabwe dollars ($10 US), Grande replied "I've never held this much money in my hand at one time."

Get the DVD "A Generation of Hope"! Send orders to for this free DVD and study guide to: "A Generation of Hope" DVD, United Methodist Committee on Relief, General Board of Global Ministries, The United Methodist Church Room 330, 475 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10115.