These are portraits made for "28 stories of AIDS in Africa" a book project authored by journalist Stephanie Nolen, a foreign correspondent for The Globe and Mail, Canada.
The project is a collective portrait of the strength, courage and resiliency of those affected to survive with this deadly disease. Some have overcome, some have, in turn, been overcome by it.
From a young boy in Swaziland who hopes to survive his disease and enter politics to brave and outspoken HIV activists and nurses in places such as Rwanda and Zimbabwe, they are people who are fighting back against HIV/AIDS and struggling to find normalcy and even happiness in their lives.
It is hoped that a picture of dignity and the formidable strength of the human spirit emerges from these portraits and stories, and that a better understanding of who they are and what they have achieved in the face of this global pandemic can be gleaned by those in less affected nations.
