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CASE STUDY: Mitigating HIV/AIDS in the Education Sector

Tadala Orphan Care Garden

Community members started a garden to support orphans at and around a Primary School in Machinga district. The garden is situated along the river banks near a local trading center.

Orphans have been perceived as a part of life where they have to suffer as they have nobody to look after them. This was a given fact and accepted by everyone in the community. Up until the training of the cluster community leaders conducted in April 2004 did they come to realize their responsibilities over the orphans in the community. They agreed to form a community orphan care group and called it "TADALA" which has 17 members, who are village heads, religious heads, school management committee members and ordinary community members.

An activity the committee is doing is growing of vegetables and green maize whose proceeds would be used to buy things which would be given to the orphans. The garden is called "Tadala orphan care garden". "These orphans are our own children. We want to make sure they live a normal life, go to school, get educated like any other child whose parents are alive;" said the vice chair of the group. Already K1000 (approximately $95) has been realized from the sales of the vegetables. The group meet every Tuesday to work in the garden.