ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses cluster of households in an informal settlement in Masvingo Province in relation to resilience to HIV and AIDS. It addresses some of the existing gaps in available literature on HIV and AIDS and livelihoods. HIV and AIDS affect all facets of people's livelihoods, including through chronic illness, death and the subsequent care of orphans. The chapter explores the concept of resilience in the context of HIV and AIDS related adversity and suffering. It demonstrates that a fuller picture of HIV and AIDS vulnerability and resilience over time requires an examination beyond the level of the individually affected household. The chapter moves beyond a household analysis in order to offer a nuanced analysis of the complex interrelationships within and between households. It shows how the illness and death of a household member usually affects more than just the immediate household, and how households in the cluster become active and mobilised in handling the loss and minimising its effects.
