![[Haiti]](https://assets.thenewhumanitarian.org/s3fs-public/styles/responsive_large_2x/public/images/200810314.jpg.webp?itok=_BrO0Wj1 "\"I want to urge all parents to talk to their children about HIV/AIDS\"")
Farai Zhova, 15, from Kadoma, about 140km southwest of the Zimbabwean capital, Harare, was just 10 years old when a school lesson about HIV/AIDS changed her and her mother's life for the better.
She talked to IRIN/PlusNews about watching her mother, Evelyn Mazula, 40, struggle with a mysterious illness for two years before becoming convinced that her mother was HIV-positive and persuading her to be tested.
"My mother fell ill in 2001. At first she could still do certain things on her own, but eventually the illness took over her body. She lost a lot of weight and spent most of the time in bed. She could not get up on her own.
"Every day I used to wake up very early in the morning and make porridge for her. I would feed her before leaving for school; then I would take a bucket of water, soap and a towel and bathe her in bed.
"At first my father used to be very supportive, but after my mother's illness continued he started not coming home. When he did come to check on us he was verbally abusive. He would tell my mother to go back to her family's home because she had become useless. This used to pain me very much.
"One day my grandparents came to our home and my father asked them to take my mother with them. My father said some hurtful things and my grandfather wanted to beat him up.
"My grandfather is a reverend in the Anglican church. He is a gentle and kind man, but on that day I saw another side of him. Our neighbours had to come and stop the fighting. The very same day we left for my grandparents' home. My father didn't want me to leave - he hid my clothes - but my grandfather wouldn't hear any of it.
"At my grandparents' place life was much better, as they took care of my mother very well. Occasionally I would help but I had more time to do my schoolwork, since the role of taking care of my mother wasn't just with me.
"All the time my mother was ill, my grandfather kept encouraging her to get an HIV test but my mother always refused. She kept insisting she had been bewitched.
"I didn't even know what my grandfather was talking about. I kept wondering to myself what the words 'HIV test' and 'AIDS' meant. One day at school I asked my teacher about these words and she gave the whole class a lecture.
"All the symptoms of HIV/AIDS that she spoke about, my mother had. Later on, after everyone had gone home, I told my teacher this and she told me to go and teach my mother everything we had learnt that day.
"At home that evening I told my mother all I had learnt. I told her to get tested so that she can get help, and that my teacher had told us that after getting tested there are herbs and drugs that HIV-positive people can take to recover.
"After I told my mother all this she cried for a very long time. My grandparents ran to her bedroom and asked what was wrong. When I told them, they too cried.
"A few days later my mother went to get tested and her result was positive. She got tested four times after that but the result came back the same. She had a hard time accepting, but eventually she did.
"In 2005, after AIDS drugs became available in government hospitals, my mother was one of the first people in Kadoma to get the drugs. Now she is strong and healthy and is able to work and take care of me.
"Everyone here in Kadoma knows her. She is a peer educator and a counsellor. She now travels around the world teaching people about HIV/AIDS. I am very proud of her.
"All I wanted was for her to get well, so that she could take care of me again and see me grow. Everything else doesn't matter. I want to urge all parents to talk to their children about HIV/AIDS, because as children we are often left out and feel confused, hurting and lonely."
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She talked to IRIN/PlusNews about watching her mother, Evelyn Mazula, 40, struggle with a mysterious illness for two years before becoming convinced that her mother was HIV-positive and persuading her to be tested.
"My mother fell ill in 2001. At first she could still do certain things on her own, but eventually the illness took over her body. She lost a lot of weight and spent most of the time in bed. She could not get up on her own.
"Every day I used to wake up very early in the morning and make porridge for her. I would feed her before leaving for school; then I would take a bucket of water, soap and a towel and bathe her in bed.
"At first my father used to be very supportive, but after my mother's illness continued he started not coming home. When he did come to check on us he was verbally abusive. He would tell my mother to go back to her family's home because she had become useless. This used to pain me very much.
"One day my grandparents came to our home and my father asked them to take my mother with them. My father said some hurtful things and my grandfather wanted to beat him up.
"My grandfather is a reverend in the Anglican church. He is a gentle and kind man, but on that day I saw another side of him. Our neighbours had to come and stop the fighting. The very same day we left for my grandparents' home. My father didn't want me to leave - he hid my clothes - but my grandfather wouldn't hear any of it.
"At my grandparents' place life was much better, as they took care of my mother very well. Occasionally I would help but I had more time to do my schoolwork, since the role of taking care of my mother wasn't just with me.
"All the time my mother was ill, my grandfather kept encouraging her to get an HIV test but my mother always refused. She kept insisting she had been bewitched.
"I didn't even know what my grandfather was talking about. I kept wondering to myself what the words 'HIV test' and 'AIDS' meant. One day at school I asked my teacher about these words and she gave the whole class a lecture.
"All the symptoms of HIV/AIDS that she spoke about, my mother had. Later on, after everyone had gone home, I told my teacher this and she told me to go and teach my mother everything we had learnt that day.
"At home that evening I told my mother all I had learnt. I told her to get tested so that she can get help, and that my teacher had told us that after getting tested there are herbs and drugs that HIV-positive people can take to recover.
"After I told my mother all this she cried for a very long time. My grandparents ran to her bedroom and asked what was wrong. When I told them, they too cried.
"A few days later my mother went to get tested and her result was positive. She got tested four times after that but the result came back the same. She had a hard time accepting, but eventually she did.
"In 2005, after AIDS drugs became available in government hospitals, my mother was one of the first people in Kadoma to get the drugs. Now she is strong and healthy and is able to work and take care of me.
"Everyone here in Kadoma knows her. She is a peer educator and a counsellor. She now travels around the world teaching people about HIV/AIDS. I am very proud of her.
"All I wanted was for her to get well, so that she could take care of me again and see me grow. Everything else doesn't matter. I want to urge all parents to talk to their children about HIV/AIDS, because as children we are often left out and feel confused, hurting and lonely."
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This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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