ABSTRACT
Worldwide, it is a fact that the edifice of community-based care for people with HIV/AIDS would collapse without the support of volunteers. Indeed, the scope and ubiquity of counselling and support services for people affected by HIV is due to the work of volunteers, with peer-led community initiatives often becoming the template for later, government-sponsored services in HIV care and support (Miller, 1989). Additionally, studies of volunteer services in San Francisco have shown that they reduce the cost of care per patient with symptomatic HIV disease from $150,000 to $40,000 per year (Omoto and Snyder, 1990). Claxton, Burgess and Catalan (1993) reported that the estimated value of ‘Buddy’ volunteer services for people with HIV/AIDS in central London was £2,000,000 in 1991. Given the importance of such an army of carers, it seems astonishing that there is a relative lack of documentation about their efforts, and certainly about their personal experiences of the burdens of HIV/AIDS care.
