Like many of its neighbors, the East African country of Mozamique has been plagued by high rates of HIV/AIDS infection: one out of every eight adults is infected with the disease. As a result, many children face life without one or both parents and are often infected themselves at a young age. A program run by the organization Save the Children aims to help those children express their complicated emotions through art and group therapy. Children affected by HIV are often shy and struggle to come out of their shells. Four-year-old Jojo, who lost his mother to HIV, doesn't talk much but has begun to express himself through the art program. He lives with 13 siblings and his father, who is also HIV positive. Jojo says his favorite thing to do is draw, and he most often draws pictures of his mother. Quotes "Jojo doesn't know anything yet, but the other children know about the death of their mothers." - Paulo Machava, Jojo's father "The children have, at first, some difficult social problems. Jojo has made progress in his skills, he was so shy when he started." - Jojo's teacher, Fatma Fernando-Chauque Warm Up Questions 1. What is HIV? How is it transmitted from one person to another? 2. What parts of the world have the highest rates of HIV infection? Why do you think that is? 3. How does losing a close friend or family member affect a person? Discussion Questions 1. Why do you think it's easier for the children in the video to express themselves in art than in words? 2. How do you deal with difficult moments in your life? Do you turn to art or another type of creative outlet? Why? 3. If you could form an organization to help children like Jojo affected by HIV, what would your organization do? What would you focus on? Why? Additional Resources Video on The Rundown Lesson Plan: AIDS Today AIDS Poetry Reporting Aims at Young People Download this Video