by Nanette Braun, Public Information Officer

07 June 1999

BONN: German tennis player Michael Stich and his wife, actress Jessica Stockmann, visited Zimbabwe as Honorary United Nations Volunteers to raise awareness on HIV/AIDS. Scores of children in Chitungwiza, a poor, densely populated area in Zimbabwe's capital Harare, welcomed the tennis star enthusiastically when he arrived to conduct a tennis workshop with them. In areas such as Chitungwiza, the prevalence of HIV/AIDS is particularly high.

On their visit to Zimbabwe in March, Michael Stich and Jessica Stockmann were accompanied by UNV's Executive Co-ordinator Sharon Capeling-Alakija. It was the first mission in their new function as Honorary UNVs. The prominent couple had officially taken up the assignment with the United Nations Volunteers programme in January. Mr. Stich and Ms. Stockmann established the Michael-Stich-Foundation for HIV/AIDS affected children and their families in 1994 and have since been actively engaged in rendering assistance in Germany.

Zimbabwe is one of the countries worst affected by HIV/AIDS. It is estimated that some 1.6 million people, up to 25% of the adult population, are infected with the virus. "The Governments have to take up the issue and call upon the people to fight HIV/AIDS", said Mr. Stich when talking to government representatives and the press in Harare. "This applies to Germany as well as to Zimbabwe."

In the south of Zimbabwe, Mr. Stich and Ms. Stockmann met with United Nations volunteers who work in the rural communities. Their aim is to include HIV/AIDS education in the curriculum of primary schools. They also assist the relatives of people with HIV/AIDS: they are instructed in basic health care so that they can care for family members at home. Particularly in the rural areas, the public health system cannot cope with the number of people with HIV/AIDS. In recent years, more than 140 UN Volunteers have worked in HIV/AIDS related projects -- mainly in African countries.

One of effects of the pandemic is the increasing number of households headed by children. It is estimated that almost 600,000 children have lost their parents to HIV/AIDS. Even the very youngest must learn how to deal with this situation. The guests from Germany also visited a nursery school for those children. Here they are accommodated during the day and assisted in preparing for school and simple household tasks. "It is very encouraging to see how the children here are given hope and some happiness", said Jessica Stockmann. The actress made a contribution herself. She had a captive audience when she invited the class for story telling -- with a German fairy-tale.