Life and death in Botswana

When I was living in Botswana I worked in a College of Education near the City of Francistown. I worked as a lecturer in Religious Education. The students in my classes were primarily between the ages of 18 and 21 although some were slightly older. When I first started lecturing at the college I knew that one in three were likely to be HIV positive. I remember trying to work out which ones might be positive. There was no way of knowing though. Over my two and a half years of working at the college several of my students went off 'sick' - sometimes for weeks or months. Most returned after a time but not all. Many died and many more have subsequently died.