Team

Staying with HIV positive relatives, friends has been learning experiences for Manzi. He shares their dreams, inspirations, challenges as well as their fear. He has seen the stigmatization that face from families, friends and communities. There are high rates of depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts among young adults living with HIV as they suffer with issues of self-confidence or trying to look for acceptance.

However much the government has done a lot of support mostly to provide treatment with ART, most people living positively with HIV still face stigmatization either among peers in schools, their communities and even at the work place. There are even personal stigmatization picked from how one feels the society thinks about him or her. For the world to reduce on stigmatization, we need to as well deal with self-stigmatization which in the long run promotes self-confidence and hope.

This has made Manzi get interest to create positive and sustainable social change among the same target group. He has worked with other organizations that support disadvantaged, orphaned children to get out of poverty. His conception however is that change is well brought about by survivors. People that have experienced the wrath of the society are the best to change it. This is what change from is within. The society is the driver for change and as development partners; we should aspire and motivate the community to do so.

Manzi believes that HIV positive youth have the power to determine the future by taking up HIV innovations and showing the society how instrumental they can be. He has the passion and zeal to make the world where HIV positive people are instruments of social change rather than victims of circumstances.