Stories of Hope: Chipo

Chipo, whose name means “gift,” was nine years old when a ZOE Medical team met her in Zimbabwe in the summer of 2007. She was very small for her age because she suffered from HIV/AIDS-related illnesses.

The team would have been unable to treat Chipo because she was too weak to walk the long distance to the school where they were working. However, when three of her friends saw the medical team arrive, they asked permission to go and get Chipo. The three girls took turns carrying Chipo on their backs so that she could receive medical care.

Shy and listless, Chipo was too weak to smile, but she was able to receive medicine and vitamins. As the team traveled to other locations during their 10-day trip, Chipo was carried to see them by friends and family so that she could receive more medical attention and food. The ZOE doctors met her mother, who also has HIV/AIDS.

On their last day, Chipo came to tell the team goodbye. After receiving food, vitamins, and antibiotics for just those few days, Chipo was standing and smiling on her own.

In February 2009, ZOE’s executive director Greg Jenks traveled to Zimbabwe and learned that Chipo died in June 2008. The pastor of her district said, “She struggled so much with life.”

We mourn her suffering, yet celebrate her life and the witness of the girls who lovingly carried her to receive medical care and support and hope.

In life and death, Chipo’s story remains in every way a gift.