"There is no me without you"

Thought I would share with you the book I have just finished reading:

"There is no me without you" is the story about a middle-class woman named Haregewoin Teferra in Addis Ababa Ethiopia. She lost her husband to a heart attack; then her 23-year-old daughter died from AIDS. In her grief, Haregewoin turned to the church and asked to be taken into seclusion. Instead of allowing this, the church presented her with two teenage orphans and asked her to house them. Despite protests from her friends and family, Haregewoin said yes. Once she opened her gate to the first two children, she never managed to close it again. Her compound became known as a haven: here was a woman who did not run away from AIDS-orphaned children or HIV positive people. From across the country, children were brought to Haregewoin . Her life shows what one human being can do for others in a time of crisis. As the brutal statistics about the AIDS crisis in Africa increase, Haregewoin is inspirational. Not only has she become a mother to these many orphans, she has also started a school and day-care system, and also a shelter for sick mothers.

I learned a lot about the enormity of the AIDS epidemic in Africa from reading this book. It is staggering to know that the number of AIDS sufferers in South Africa equal that of the population of Norway. And I learned a lot of the shameful facts about the pharmaceutical industry and politics as relating to AIDS drugs.

For more information go to this website: http://www.thereisnomewithoutyou.com/