BBC News
Photo journal: Zimbabwe's Aids Orphans
Photos: Giacomo Pirozz & text: James Elder

'Harder every day'
Mrs Chamutsa says: “I am old and I have many children to support.
"There are many grandparents who are looking after children because of Aids. Many cannot keep their children in school.
"Or in good health.
"Many just don’t cope. And things get harder every day.”

'So much death'
Ephraim Musandawi, 34, makes five coffins every day and sells an average of 50 each month. Nearly 400 adults die from HIV-related deaths every day in Zimbabwe.
“People here are dying, there is just so much death,” says Ephraim.
“It is very sad. At one time we had four funerals in our small village in one day. You feel sorry for the parents who are burying their children, and for the grandparents looking after the young ones.
“But for us it is good business and we have to survive.”

Immense hardships
Despite immense hardships, Zimbabweans continue to support one another.
Thirteen-year-old Likun Chiwata lost his mother earlier this year; his father died in 2001. His community helps him with school fees and food.
Per capita, Zimbabwe has more orphans than any country in the world, and school enrolment is falling.

Support
Zimbabwean grandparents care for huge numbers of the country’s 1.6m orphans. They need the world’s support, says Unicef.
Mrs Mwaimbodei Chamutsa, 74, cares for her five grandchildren: Gladys, 16; Tabitha, 14; Peacemaker, 13; Nhamo, 13 and three-year-old Busi.
Donors, like the European Commission and the UK’s DfID, help provide school fees, food, shelter, immunisation, and psychological support for tens of thousands of orphans in the country, including the Chamutsa family.

Doing her best
More than 70 children are orphaned every day in Zimbabwe.
Despite difficult living conditions, 90% of the country’s orphans are cared for by their extended family.
Mrs Chamutsa says she does her best but that “motherhood should be for younger women”.

Worries
Like many grandparents in rural Zimbabwe, Mrs Chamutsa worries for her grandchildren’s future.
A recent survey found that orphaned girls are three times more likely to become infected with HIV than girls whose parents are alive.
Orphaned girls are more susceptible to abuse and more likely to be forced into early marriages.

'Harder every day'
Mrs Chamutsa says: “I am old and I have many children to support.
"There are many grandparents who are looking after children because of Aids. Many cannot keep their children in school.
"Or in good health.
"Many just don’t cope. And things get harder every day.”

Hope
"Life is a constant struggle," says orphan Gladys who is writing her GCSE-equivalent exams.
“I have to work before and after school, but I am just grateful me and my siblings are in school - this way tomorrow may be better than today.”