Mshikamano-Chawamaki, which means Solidarity of People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIVs), became an officially registered Tanzanian NGO in 2006.  The founders of our group decided to create the group as a result of living with HIV/AIDS themselves.  They realized the importance of educating people on how to safely live with the disease and how to make a larger income to help sustain them and their families.

Our group is also fortunate enough to have three Expert Patient Trainers (EPTs).  EPTs are people who have been trained and successfully passed a course given by the Tanzanian government on providing proper treatment to PLHIVS.  It may not seem like a large number of people but there are only 7 such EPTs in the entire Kilimanjaro Region.  It is our hope that in the near future we will be able to reach out to these people as well to start training programs in the other districts of our region.

Since our beginning we have worked continuously to strengthen our organization.  We have found a permanent office in Soweto one block off of Arusha Road.  This has allowed us to have a place to host our training sessions as well as giving our children a place to come and play.  We are currently working on getting renovations done to the office to improve its currently modest condition.  These renovations will include new roofing, doors, and windows along with getting electricity provided.

We are also happy to annouce that since our groups humble beginnings, we have grown continuously.  We now provide training services to just over 300 adults and help 60 children living with HIV/AIDS.  Although just a small number of people we are very proud to see that their lives are slowly improving.  We realize that it is necessary to take small steps and not bite off more than you can chew.