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For a long time it was typical to describe the AIDS epidemic in Africa as 'mysterious' and 'invisible', but that could hardly be further from reality. We have all shared the suffering of dying brothers, sisters and childhood schoolmates. There are empty seats at all of our tables, empty desks in our offices. But the loss of a friend or a relative is only the first rupture in the web of family generations that once protected our society.

Moreover, the deadly virus rarely stops at one family member. Husbands infect their wives; about a third of newborns in turn acquire the infection from their mothers. Again, trapped by the silence and inhibited by the stigma surrounding the disease, women without symptoms of AIDS often discover their infection only after their infant is diagnosed with HIV. When AIDS strikes the family breadwinner, his or her income dries up and the rest of the family slips deeper into poverty as they devote their meagre resources to nurse an ailing kin. Our studies show that when a father dies, his widow and eldest children must work two to four hours longer every day. Girls, in particular, may be forced to leave school to help at home and to work in the fields.

The popular puppeteer Sayadi entertains children at a UNICEF-sponsored workshop in Indonesia. The workshop explored ways of using puppets to convey messages to children on AIDS as well as on gender issues, peace and sexual exploitation

Consider the wrenching experience of a woman I shall call Assumpta Mboya, who lives across the Great Rift Valley, in Nairobi. One of her 22-month-old twin daughters fell ill, and the doctor found that the baby tested positive for HIV. Soon afterwards, her baby died, followed by her husband. Then Assumpta had herself tested and confirmed her darkest fear. She still resists testing the surviving twin daughter who is now eight years old, even though she worries constantly about whether this girl is infected, too, and anguishes over what will become of her daughter if she herself dies first. Families like this are disintegrating across our continent, threatening the very foundation of our society.