Edith's Story - Mukono, Uganda

MUKONO, UGANDA - Edith* breathes deeply as she looks out over the field before her, sugar cane rustling in the breeze around her home. She has just returned from the plot of land she farms to visit with Florence, her IJM aftercare specialist, and to rest.

Widowed, poor, and HIV positive, the last few years have been filled with struggle for Edith. After the stress of her husband's funeral and the burden of caring for her eight children and stepchildren on her own, Edith entered the hospital for complications with her own AIDS.

Her late husband's sister, Margaret, quickly took advantage of the situation by rallying Edith's stepchildren and dividing up her brother's property. She harvested the crops that Edith had tended, depleted the family's savings and even stripped the house of its meagre furnishings.  Before his death, Edith's husband had made it clear that he wanted his wife to be able to stay on their shared property - but with his rapid decline in health, he had never put his wishes in writing. With no formal will documenting all that her husband had told her, Edith was helpless.

Edith moved back to her now-empty home after leaving the hospital, but was met with heated hostility by her sister-in-law. Margaret threatened violence and had to be physically restrained by a neighbour in one instance. When Edith tried to assert her rights to her property, the family blocked her. She next discovered that these relatives had already gone to the government authorities with the power to help her - the Local Council - and convinced them to stand against her.

Weak, and with no allies in her family or her government, Edith knew there was no way to get her home back. She was forced to relocate her children to a fragile, one-room clay structure further out of town that had belonged to her late father and had been abandoned for years. Living so far from friends and neighbours was not only lonely, but with her frequent bouts of illness, it was dangerous as well.  Edith's health had deteriorated so much that her doctor had told her she could not work: "It was so bad," Edith laments. "I didn't have any job or money, nothing to feed the children or get medical care."

Weakened and impoverished, Edith contracted tuberculosis and grew even sicker. She recalls, "I was so stressed with problems - the property, the children, and being sick - that it made my illness worse." Her AIDS counsellors thought she was beyond help. That's when another widow in Edith's AIDS support group, and fellow victim of property grabbing, suggested she contact IJM.

When IJM first met her in October 2008, Edith's health was in real crisis and her children's future uncertain.  Her in-laws had taken nearly everything, so her aftercare specialist, Florence, provided basic household items - saucepans, farming tools, mosquito nets - to help her with the struggle of daily life while IJM attourneys assisted her. On one visit, Florence found Edith extremely ill and rushed her to the hospital. "She was so sick, so thin, I thought the wind would blow her over," Florence recalls. Edith recovered, but the stress of her legal conflict over property continued.

After investigating the situation, IJM lawyer Alice Muhairwe-Mparana brought Edith, Margaret and other family members together for mediation on May 12, 2009. In that meeting, Margaret denied each one of the allegations against her and a strained negotiation ensued. Because there was no written will, Alice brought in witnesses who could clarify Edith's late husband's wishes. Edith's eldest stepdaughter and one of her husband's close friends both bore witness to Edith's side. While not all of her movable property was accounted for, the witnesses confirmed that that her husband had intended to divide the land just as Edith said. Muhairwe-Mparana convinced the family that the widow and children were legally entitled to their rightful share. At the end of the mediation, all of the parties signed a distribution of property agreement and Edith's rights were restored.

The house is now shared between Edith's daughter and stepdaughter, with plots of land given to each of her boys. Edith, however, has chosen to stay in her father's home; there are too many bad memories of her old house. And now that she is much healthier, her new home does not hold the danger it once did. She rents her portion of the home she once shared with her husband to a tenant - earning a little income.

The battle with her sister-in-law behind her, Edith can focus on regaining her health. She follows a regimen of antiretroviral medications to manage her illness and recently finished treatment for her second bout with tuberculosis. IJM provides travel funds to ensure she reaches checkups and medical consultations, and supports her in caring for her children. Edith summarises: "I felt very bad, but when IJM came into my life I gained hope and got some peace of mind."

IJM helped Edith start a small pig-raising project, which will generate income when her brood of piglets matures later this year. With the funds, she hopes to improve the old clay house in which she and her family live.

IJM's aftercare programme has been important to Edith, allowing her to share about her deep fears and her needs. The widow is more cheerful and determined than when she first met with IJM. Her body is healthier; her mind is at ease. On this visit, Florence delivers monthly food supplies to Edith and the two chat like old friends.

"You should not be out in the field so long," Florence advises. "It will not be good for your health."

Edith smiles. "It is okay. It is where I want to be. I feel strong."

* A pseudonym, used for the protection of this IJM client