Kachirombo ka Edzi
Kachirombo ka Edzi. The wee AIDS beast. The beast that came to Malawi as early as the late 1970s and started to take its toll and show its effects in the 1980s. An unknown beast popularly called “the slimming disease” or “kaliwondewonde” since those with it became noticeably very thin. A stigmatizing impact that persists in Malawian culture up to today- that thin means sick and overweight/obesity means healthy. A beast largely spread through heterosexual relationships opposite to many trends seen in the West. A beast that changed the fabric of societies and left many children without their biological parents.