COMMENTS BY SAM KAUFFMANN:

When I came to Uganda as a Senior Fulbright Scholar, I knew that HIV/AIDS is a huge problem in Africa and that the number of children in Africa who are “living with slim,” is staggering. I had seen or heard about many films and press stories dealing with H/A, but they were almost all about adults with H/A. What was missing was a film about HIV positive children that allowed the children themselves to speak about the disease.

I set out to interview children who were HIV positive. It is a simple film. In it you meet seven children: three boys and four girls, ranging in age from 6 to 17 years old. They come from different economic backgrounds; some come from urban and some from rural settings.

I interviewed about 27 children in total. I asked all of them the same questions; who told them they had the disease, how old were they when they found out; how they felt when they firswt learned that they were infected; how they are treated at home and at school; how the illness affects their daily lives. I also asked them about their dreams for the futurek and the career paths they hope to some day follow. Their answers to this question often reflected the way they have been treated by society.

Children with H/A is a sad topic, but not all of the children in the film are sad. And all of them deal with their illness with more strength and dignity than we adults can imagine.

Living with Slim: Kids Talk About HIV/AIDS, 28 min. Uganda, 2004

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