Two young girls, one common enemy: AIDS.

As Christina Ann Riechers in California laced her shoes, she was filled with anticipation about how the day would go. She had worked tirelessly over the last nine months and today would be the culmination of her efforts. Her work--the first Student Global AIDS Walk in the United States--was the beginning of a new opportunity for people on the other side of the world who were strangers to her.

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In a shanty on the outskirts of Durban, South Africa, Celiwe's back ached slightly as she stood back up from tying her younger brother's small shoes. For the past three years, she has been a child head of household to her four younger sisters and brother, who range in age from 5 to 17. The responsibility of caring for a family she did not bear interrupted her goal of graduating from high school. She will try to take summer classes, but looking after her siblings is her course in life for at least the next twelve years.

Christina and Celiwe are separated by much more than miles; they are cultures and opportunities apart. They don't know each other, but they are on intersecting paths. We have all heard the devastating statistics of the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa. Movie stars and celebrities have attached their names to fund-raising efforts and world leaders have signed declarations. But here, two girls, close in age, live within the maze of finding a solution for those affected by this deadly disease. The global AIDS pandemic is more than a collection of data to Christina and Celiwe; for these young women, this is personal.

Celiwe (her name has been changed to protect her privacy) was only 17 when her mother died on Christmas Eve 2000.

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Fortunately, she told her children of her pending fate and they were able to prepare for her death. From her dying mother, Celiwe also learned vital life lessons: keeping a clean house and tending to the needs of her siblings--getting them ready for school on mornings, cooking their meals and making sure they had clothes to wear. She learned about her mother's dream for each child: to get an education and make a life.

With that, Celiwe transitioned into her role as head of the household with the assistance of Sandi Naidoo, coordinator of a programme for orphans and vulnerable children in Sinosizo, in the province of KwaZulu-Natal on the east coast of South Africa.

AIDS has spread so quickly and relentlessly in KwaZulu-Natal that many families have at least one member infected, and social workers are doing double duty trying to prevent its further spread. Naidoo works with a scantly-paid staff and more than 160 volunteers who counsel and provide medicine and comfort to those in need. Sometimes, they are also required to intervene in family legal matters.

Celiwe's uncle, as a male family member, feels entitled to servitude from his female relatives. He drinks, at times enters the house unannounced and demands food and shelter from the children. So far, the two older girls (now ages 14 and 17) have fought him off, but they are growing weary of his aggression. Naidoo's group had to meet with village officials, explaining that the children rightly own their home and owe their uncle nothing. But in a culture domanted by males, little is done and the children live in constant fear. This attitude is a contributory factor to the AIDS crisis.

"We explain the dangers of unprotected sex to both men and women", said Maki Chase. HIV/AIDS Coordinator for the Itireleng Community Centre in South Africa's racially charged North-West province. "But most men dismiss our cautions by claiming it is the women's fault they are infected because women are so promiscuous. We do our part by holding workshops. The women from the 400 farms surrounding the health centre come early and leave late. They are very interested in their health and go to counselling, submit to volunteer testing and take advantage of pre-natal care. But many are victims of domestic violence, and it is still taboo to discuss this with anyone outside the family", said Chase.

"We have worked long and hard to change the attitudes about HIV/AIDS in South Africa", said Noxolo Spondo of the Treatment Action Campaign in the Lusikisiki region on the Eastern Cape. His group sued the Government in 2001 for the right to provide Nevirapine, a drug that helps prevent the disease from being transmitted from a pregnant woman to her fetus.

They won the case in 2002, Spondo said, and are fighting to have the drug distributed to every clinic in the country. But even this success is met with challenges. "In order for the Nevirapine to be effective, we must also administer AZT to the infected women. It is also in short supply. Right now, most major hospitals have both drugs, but it is equally needed in the small clinics that serve the rural areas."

Christina Ann Riechers heard this call for help in August 2002 when she was a 19-year-old sophomore at Stanford University in Palo Alto. That spring, she co-founded the AIDS Treatment Access Initiative, a Stanford student organization designed to raise awareness about the AIDS pandemic.

"After brainstorming with a colleague from the Student Global AIDS Campaign, we felt it was important to support the effort to reduce mother-to-child transmission of AIDS". Christina said. "We learned the most effective drug for this is Nevirapine, but due to the high cost of the drug and lack of services, it is not widely distributed." She organized the Student Global AIDS Walk, held on 12 April 2003 in eight major cities in the United States. The message: accessibility to medications for all people. The project raised $43,000 and this was donated to the Call to Action programme of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, which has 49 projects in 17 countries, including three clinics in KwaZulu-Natal. "The work of the volunteers in the rural areas helps everyone", said Chase. "The money we get from the Government and from NGOs helps in education, distribution of medicines and HIV-testing."

Christina, now 20, did not know where the money she raised would end up; she just wanted to do her part. Her passion is for social issues in developing countries and she plans to pursue a career in international development after her graduation in 2005. She's spending this summer in Zambia as a community health worker.

"Up until now, all of my experience has been concentrated on fighting the AIDS pandemic from the United States, on the national awareness-building and fund-raising side, and reading books about the lack of health care in developing countries", she said. "I see this summer as my opportunity to see past the statistics and work with those whose heart-wrenching stories have kept me passionate about HIV/AIDS specifically, and international health and development in Africa more generally."

But before she even boards a plane, Christina's interest and action already have reached the rural back roads of KwaZulu-Natal. Her fund-raising efforts have improved life for Celiwe, the youthful face of a million statistics.

RELATED ARTICLE: AIDS Walk

Hundreds of people joined in the Student Global AIDS Walk on 12 April 2003, held in eight major United States cities: Austin, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco. Seattle and Washington. D.C. More than $43,000 was raised to support the effort to distribute the medicine Nevirapine to mothers in AIDS-affected areas in the world and prevent the transmission of AIDS to newborn children.

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Sherry W. Sacino is President of the Youth Empowerment Alliance, Inc. ([e-mail]), a non-profit organization that is currently creating the Youth Media Network to distribute stories by youth to mainstream media worldwide.

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