documentary: mother of mercy

One in every six adults in Zambia is living with HIV and in 2005 alone 98, 000 people died of AIDS. The life expectancy in Zambia has dropped below 40 years and there are approximately 710. 000 AIDS orphans. Hospices like Mother of Mercy, located in Chilanga, an area just outside of the capital of Lusaka, operate as a safe place for those affected and infected by HIV/AIDS to receive help. But a severe lack of funding and a deep social stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS means that hospices such as Mother of Mercy can do little but run blood tests, offer food and basic pain medication, and a quiet, clean place to die. Medications such as antiretroviral (ARV) drugs are slowly becoming available in Zambia, but issues such as cost, distribution, and the creation of a healthy lifestyle to support the drugs are preventing ARVs from becoming widely available and accessible.

Mother of Mercy not only offers medication and emotional support to those facing the ravages of HIV/AIDS in Zambia, it also works to support those who are left behind. The Guardian Angels School was opened more than five years ago to educate and support children who have lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS. Many of the children are HIV positive themselves, and the school offers children medical treatment and at least one healthy meal a day. Education is not only the key to preventing HIV/AIDS transmission but also to breaking the crippling social stigma surrounding the virus.