In Mityana, Uganda I met a five-year-old girl from a
family of 17 children. Her father died of AIDS one year ago. Her mother is out
of work and is afraid to get tested. This mother has to take care of all 17
children (the oldest is 15). Five children are her own and the other 12 are from
her husband’s other partners. This is a typical situation in Ugandan society
where all the children end up in the father’s homestead. Local communities and
institutions are deeply involved in caring for people with AIDS. The leaders of
Small Christian Communities (SCCs) in Uganda emphasize that commitment to AIDS
outreach "is a necessary part of the life of the SCCs." They call it the "AIDS
challenge" rather than the "AIDS problem."