Staying in school and fighting AIDS
Erinah Tugirirwembabazi is a 17-year old girl living in Mbarara, Uganda. Erinah's father died several years ago and her mother is the sole provider for Erinah, her brother and two sisters. Shortly after her father died, Erinah's mother fell sick and was diagnosed with HIV.

Like many kids in Uganda, Erinah was able to attend primary school even though her family was poor. As a result of money saved through debt cancellation, Uganda has offered free primary education for all children since 1997. But Erinah was sad when she finished primary school because she knew it would mean the end of her schooling. With no father and a sick mother, there was no way her family would be able to afford to send her to secondary school.

Erinah's mother went to The AIDS Support Organization (TASO) in Uganda, where she received life-saving AIDS medications. TASO also helped her find a job to earn an income to support her children.

TASO began in 1987 as a small support group for people infected with HIV. Today, TASO has 17 centers around Uganda and provides 20,000 people with the anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) they need to survive. TASO is one of the largest organizations of its kind in all of Africa.

Today, Erinah is enrolled in Masheruka Girls Secondary School. Her favorite subjects are math and physics and she hopes one day to become an accountant. Erinah also participates in her school's anti-AIDS club. Every Thursday, she and more than 70 of her class-mates, gather to discuss HIV/AIDS and prevention; they also often visit other schools to spread important information about preventing the spread of AIDS.