I cannot remember the last time I bought a bag of mealie meal from a shop. I have enough maize to see me all year round, says Mary Chanda 38, of Chifubu Township in Ndola.

Ms Chanda normally cultivates two Lima in her field in chief Chiwala's area in Masaiti district and this year she has had quite a productive season.

She has harvested 36 50kg bags of maize, two 50kg bags of beans, three 50kg bags of groundnuts and several bags of sweet potatoes.

In addition Mr Chanda grows assorted vegetables in her backyard garden in Chifubu.

A moringa tree, known for its rich source of nutrients and medicinal properties, stands tall in front of her one-bedroom house.

But things have not always been this way for Ms Chanda. In 2001, she was diagnosed with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS but only began taking Anti-retrolviral (ARVs) drugs in 2005.

Having lost a husband in early 2000, she was too poor to access ARVs as only a privileged few could afford them at the time.

In 2004, late Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa declared HIV/AIDS a national emergency and promised to provide antiretroviral drugs to 10,000 people by the end of the year. Having exceeded this target, he set another to provide free treatment for 100,000 by the end of 2005.

She became a benificiary of the robust health policy shift that saw many people access free ARVs in Government hospitals and clinics.

I was in and out of hospital battling out with all kinds complications. I developed a terrible rash and saw death, says Ms Chanda a mother of three, who now lives a normal and productive life.

She is one of the 95 HIV positive persons, who are currently benefiting from Isubilo, a faith-based organisation that provides health and socio-economic support to those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.

Isubilo, which in the Bemba dialect means 'hope,' aims to make a difference by practically serving those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.

Primary Objective

The primary objective of the project is to provide education; medication and nutrition to those that have borne the brunt of the HIV/AIDS.

The agricultural programme has recorded measurable success from the time it was introduced in 2000.

Every farming season, the small-scale farmers are given farming inputs in the form of seed and fertiliser.

We give our clients, two x 50 kg bags of fertiliser together with a 10kg bag of maize seed, says agricultural coordinator Gladson Tanga.

Food Security

Mr Tanga believes households are food secure when they have year-round access to the amount and variety of safe foods their members need to lead active and healthy lives.

During the dry season, each client is given 5kgs bags of fertiliser and variety packets of vegetable seeds.

There is no doubt that backyard gardening plays a crucial role in contributing to domestic food security.

"There can't be national food security, without domestic food security, he says.

To avoid the dependency syndrome, the clients are only provided with farming inputs. Those who have recovered and are strong enough to cultivate are tasked find their own land for cultivation.

However, there is land being divided into small gardens, for some families, who have no fields to cultivate vegetables.

From time to time, the farmers are monitored and the results have been encouraging.

"We not only provide our clients with inputs, we also give them special training in modern agricultural practices, regularly," he says.

The Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) recognises that healthy, well-nourished people are both the outcome of successful social and economic development and constitute an essential input into the development process.

Isubilo subscribes to this view, which is why the agriculture project is proving to be successful.

Land, divided into small gardens, is being developed so that some families can be helped to provide for their own food needs and pay fees for their school going children.

By engaging in an effective community-based action aimed at improving household food security and promoting the year-round consumption of nutritionally adequate diets, Isubilo seems to be making a difference in the lives of men and women who are now leading productive lives.

From being ill and suffering from stigma from members of the public including their own families, Isubilo clients have now reintegrated into society and contributing to the socio-economic development of the country.

"I am still on ARVs but I am leading a very productive life because there is no hunger at my home," says Joyce Mulenga of Kawama Township.

She boasts of harvesting 60 by 50kgs bags of maize from a two-acre land she rents with her husband in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.

Renting Land

Like some of their colleagues, the Mulengas rent land in Congo at a cost of K95,000.

As a matter of fact, 75 per cent of the clients, rent land in Congo, where they cultivate maize, ground nuts and beans every year.

"My goal now is to harvest 80 bags next season. I think it is possible because we have done quite well," says Mrs Mulenga, who has been HIV positive since 2001.

Her story is not very different from Ms Chanda. Before she was diagnosed with HIV in 2001, she was weak and sickly.

But, like many others, her life has drastically changed ever since she became part of the Isubilo agriculture scheme.

"I was dying of depression until I met the volunteers who embraced me and taught me to live a positive and productive life," says Mrs Mulenga who has a 20-year old daughter.

From each harvest, every farmer is required to give three x 50kg of maize to Isibulo nutrition scheme. The maize is ground into maize meal at a milling plant owned by the charity. The mealie meal is meant for feeding and distribution to terminally ill patients in hospitals and communities.

Teams of dedicated women cook nutritious meals every weekday for terminally ill clients who have been admitted to hospitals.

They visit clients individually and feed them. Extra meals are given to other needy patients as advised by the hospital staff.

The clients also give some of their produce to their local churches.

"We have a duty to care and empower the needy in society," says founder Eira Patching.

Social Justice

Her passion for social justice was as a result of an encounter she had with terminally ill patients who were facing stigmatisation and poor nutrition.

"I used to get troubled whenever I saw terminally ill patients dying due to lack of proper care. I would often weep and ask why things happen the way the do," she said.

Ultimately, the Isubilo Agriculture Scheme has given hope to lots of people, who had lost hope. The productive farmers are indeed, a living proof that being HIV positive is not a death sentence.