{"id":6767,"date":"2026-05-14T15:09:51","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T15:09:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/?p=6767"},"modified":"2026-05-25T15:12:46","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T15:12:46","slug":"lay-missioner-continues-the-battle-against-hiv-in-tanzania","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/lay-missioner-continues-the-battle-against-hiv-in-tanzania\/","title":{"rendered":"Lay Missioner Continues the Battle Against HIV in Tanzania"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Paul Jeffrey<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On a cracked mud wall in her humble home, Laurencia Makanya has hung reminders of what keeps her alive. A picture of Jesus bears a Swahili inscription proclaiming that his blood has saved the world. Beside it hangs an old calendar from the U.S. President\u2019s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) that for years funded life-saving medication for people living with HIV.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Faith and modern medicine have kept Makanya alive, even thriving, since she learned in 2007 that she was infected with the virus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere was a lot of fear and stigma then,\u201d says Makanya, who lives in a small village outside the city of Mwanza on Lake Victoria\u2019s eastern shore. At first, her family insisted she use separate dishes and utensils at meals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut a friend took me to Uzima Centre<\/a>. They helped me eat better, get my strength back, and start meeting with others who were HIV positive. I felt less alone,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Founded by Maryknoll Sisters during the burgeoning AIDS epidemic in the 1990s, Uzima Centre, since its inception, has addressed needs not being met elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe looked for what was missing from the overall AIDS response. Others were doing testing and counseling and providing ARVs (antiretroviral medications), but there was little to no psychological support for people with the virus, no support groups for them or their families,\u201d says Joanne Miya, a Maryknoll lay missioner<\/a> who first came to Tanzania in 1984.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Nyangeta
Nyangeta Fonyoka, an HIV-positive woman in a village outside Mwanza, Tanzania, sells firewood and also makes and sells liquid soap. Fonyoka participates in a savings group coordinated by Uzima Centre, which was founded by Maryknoll sisters and led for the past two decades by a Maryknoll lay missioner. (Paul Jeffrey\/Tanzania)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe made a lot of home visits and accompanied people who were dying surrounded by the misinformation and fear associated with the pandemic,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen ARVs finally became available, government hospitals took on their distribution. We just continued the accompaniment and support groups, and assistance with other medical care for their secondary infections, which are fewer and fewer these days because everyone is doing quite well on the ARVs<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Makanya developed appendicitis, for example, Uzima paid for her surgery, as well as for her children\u2019s school fees, says Miya, who served as director of the center for two decades, beginning in 2006.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur primary mission is to provide hope,\u201d she says. \u201cWithout hope, nothing we do would make a bit of difference. People have to believe that life can and will get better.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because Uzima focuses on supportive services<\/a>, it was less vulnerable to the massive cuts suddenly imposed on AIDS programs across Africa when the Trump administration slashed funding for PEPFAR<\/a> and eliminated the U.S. Agency for International Development<\/a> last year. Agencies offering medication, testing and counseling laid off staff and reduced services, but Uzima \u2014 with funding from Maryknoll and private foundations in the United States and Europe \u2014 continues to serve people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nevertheless, the uncertainty took a toll, and Miya worries that cuts to aid \u2014 as well as signs that younger East Africans may be lowering their guard against the disease \u2014 may bring devastating consequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur lives depend on that medicine<\/a>,\u201d Makanya says. \u201cWhen the funding was cut, I was scared.\u201d Fortunately, her prescription for government-supplied ARVs was renewed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Makanya\u2019s husband, however, lost his stipend as a volunteer counselor at another AIDS organization. The couple now lives on the income from a small stand in front of their house where Makanya sells fruits and vegetables. She started the business with help from a savings and loan group at the Uzima Centre. The stand\u2019s sales keep them afloat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The political situation inside Tanzania hasn\u2019t helped. When post-election violence swept across the country in late 2025, Makanya had just bought a large quantity of bananas to sell. As government sweeps forced people to remain at home, she too stayed inside, and the bananas rotted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Miya says Makanya\u2019s bananas illustrate the vulnerability of the poor, whatever their HIV status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve realized over the years that everyone who comes to us for help doesn\u2019t do so simply because they\u2019re HIV positive. They come because they\u2019re HIV positive and<\/em> they\u2019re poor<\/a>. They lack the ability to meet their families\u2019 basic needs,\u201d Miya says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Emmanuel
Emmanuel Timoth (left), Rhobi Mgole, and Carorina Paschal keep track of their savings. They participate in a savings group run by Uzima Centre, a Maryknoll-sponsored community organization that supports and empowers people with HIV. (Paul Jeffrey\/Tanzania)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNow all our clients are required to be part of a village savings and loan program. Even if they can only save a little, it adds up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The face of HIV in Africa is changing<\/a>, Miya says, noting that a significant number of patients are over 60 years old. As age limits patients\u2019 mobility and their ability to earn an income, Uzima works with their family members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf they wake up not feeling so good today, there\u2019s someone else who can sell the fish or soap or peanuts,\u201d Miya says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although treating geriatric HIV infections is a large part of the AIDS response in Africa today, Miya worries things may change for the worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe older generation understands the importance of adherence, that staying on their medicines keeps them alive,\u201d she says. \u201cThe young generation doesn\u2019t remember the AIDS pandemic. They don\u2019t remember all the adults dying. They don\u2019t remember losing an entire generation<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a result, Uzima is stepping up its work among youth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is the next challenge we face, though it means in some ways going back to the beginning when the government used billboards and the radio to educate people. In recent years, too many people have grown lax about HIV. That\u2019s a dangerous thing,\u201d says Miya, who stepped down as Uzima\u2019s director in January<\/a>. She remains connected to the center, supporting Uzima\u2019s new director<\/a>, Abdon Daudi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Miya says Tanzania still faces a variety of cultural challenges in responding to HIV\/AIDS, such as ineffective treatment offered by traditional healers. Unsanitary female genital mutilation persists, endangering girls. Then there\u2019s the widespread practice of widows being passed on to their deceased husband\u2019s brothers. And, Miya says, poor women too often accept relationships that guarantee food for them and their children \u2014 but come at the cost of HIV infection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most dangerous practice, however, may be forgetting the virus\u2019s past ravages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s scary about the crisis in funding is that if the supply of ARVs is interrupted, and people miss even a few doses, there\u2019s a high risk of developing a drug-resistant strain of the virus,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That, she says, would be a public health disaster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019d go back to the beginning, when we essentially had a hospice program,\u201d she says. \u201cWe want people to find the support they need to live full lives. Our work will continue changing, but at the end of the day, it remains helping people find hope.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Featured image: Maryknoll Lay Missioner Joanne Miya (left) talks with Laurencia Makanya, who sells vegetables and charcoal from a small stall in front of her home in a village near Mwanza, Tanzania. Makanya, who is HIV positive, participates in a savings group coordinated by Uzima Centre, where Miya served as director from 2006 until January 2026. (Paul Jeffrey\/Tanzania)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Maryknoll Lay Missioner Joanne Miya, who served at Uzima Centre for two decades, warns younger generations to take the virus seriously.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":6768,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_eb_attr":"","_eb_data_table":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[28,25],"tags":[109,2328,2799,2798,1960,2800,2803,2804,1921,236,788,2801,142,2802,917],"class_list":["post-6767","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-departments","category-featured-stories","tag-aids","tag-antiretroviral-therapy","tag-arvs","tag-cuts-to-foreign-aid","tag-hiv","tag-income-generating-projects","tag-lake-victoria","tag-loans","tag-maryknoll-lay-missioner-joanne-miya","tag-maryknoll-sisters","tag-pepfar","tag-savings","tag-tanzania","tag-the-uzima-centre-mwanza-tanzania","tag-usaid"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLay Missioner Continues the Battle Against HIV in Tanzania - 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