by UNV Regina Tibenderama

06 June 1999

Kasama, Zambia: Harriet has had a sleepless night and arrives at my house before I have finished my morning shower. One of my sons knocks at the bathroom door to tell me she is waiting for me in the living room. I dress and go quickly to her. Harriet’s husband died recently, leaving her with four sons and a daughter, all of school age. Two of her children have been forced to leave school because of unpaid fees. Now, she tells me, her late husband’s employers have threatened the family with eviction from their home. She has come to me as the Home-based Care (HBC) and Support Specialist. Harriet is HIV positive.

My home is in a residential area of Kasama, Zambia. Most amenities, including my office, are within walking distance. This morning my day’s work begins even before I leave the house. Harriet and I go to her children’s school to ask them to allow them to attend while we look for a way to pay their outstanding school fees. We also make an appointment to meet with a representative from her husband’s company to see if Harriet and her family can stay in the house for another month while we look for a permanent solution.

By the time I reach the office, a group of community leaders is waiting for me. They have come to request community volunteer training. We run training programmes, but we cannot include this particular group of people due to lack of funds. I assure them that when the money is available we would let them know.

At the home-based care mission hospital in Chilonga I attend a meeting to prepare for their counselors’ training. The facilitators for this training will come from Kasama. After a break for lunch I return to the meeting to discuss and finalise the training budget.

From there I leave for Nseluka and the opening of a carpentry workshop funded by the Kasama HBC project, administered by UNDP. The Rural Health Centre staff, community volunteers and the chief of the area on behalf of the whole community officially and gratefully welcome and open the workshop.

On our way back, my colleague and I collect Harriet. We go together to meet with her late husband’s employers. After some discussion, it is agreed that Harriet and her children can stay in their home until, depending on the payment of death benefits, she can afford to rent another house.

I end the day tired, but happy, having managed to sort out most of the pressing issues of the day.