Annette's Story
Annette Nasuna lives in Mbarara, Uganda has been raising her six children all alone for the last five years, since her husband died of HIV/AIDS. Annette has known she was HIV-positive since 1992, but did begin taking anti-retroviral medicines (ARVs) until 2002 when she began to feel very sick. She sought out TASO (The AIDS Support Organization), a national organization with branches all over Uganda to support people infected and affected with HIV.



Annette's youngest children are all in school. Primary school is free in Uganda, thanks in part to government savings from debt relief. Even though school is free, Annette must cover the cost of the children's school uniforms and books-and for that she needed to find a way to make a living.

Annette and her children support themselves by growing bananas, cassava and beans on the land behind their home. They grow enough to feed themselves, but still need to earn additional income. TASO has pioneered a new effort to provide HIV-positive people with small income-generating projects. TASO gave Annette and her family two very large pigs that they can breed. The piglets fetch roughly $9 at the market, which is enough to nearly cover the costs of school uniforms and books for Annette's children.

The support TASO has provided her has been invaluable, allowing her not just to stay alive to be a mother, but also to earn a living and ensure that her kids can stay in school and grow up with better opportunities.

Annette's oldest son, Moses, graduated from secondary school last year, earning very high marks. He wants to become an electrician so he can help provide for his mother and brothers and sisters, now that his father is gone. But the cost of electrician training is too high - so Moses is at home, farming with his mother, trying to find a way to save the money.

TASO is one of thousands of organizations in Africa-and around the world-benefiting from U.S. Government support through The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief in Africa (PEPFAR). PEPFAR is a five-year $15 billion initiative to reach people in fifteen of the countries hardest-hit by HIV/AIDS. Over the initiative's lifetime, PEPFAR aims to provide 2 million people with treatment, prevent 7 million new infections and provide care and support to 10 million people infected and affected with HIV, including orphans and vulnerable children.