With seed money from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, GAIA created its signature HIV intervention-GAIA Villages, which uses a grass-roots, community-based approach to preventing and treating HIV/AIDS in Malawi's rural villages. GAIA Villages employs 4-5 women in each of the 60 rural villages as Community Caregivers. Caregivers work under the supervision of a GAIA Field Coordinator and receive a modest stipend for their work. The stipend and the intense training the Caregivers receive empowers them economically and socially to become agents of change in their villages.

Caregivers perform the following life-saving services:

• Conducting HIV and health education workshops for youth, adults and village leaders;
• Providing at-home care for villagers who are ill and referring them to health clinics when needed;
• Helping people to receive testing and treatment for HIV, TB, and malaria;
• Organizing youth clubs that welcome all the village's children, reducing HIV stigma and teaching at-risk and orphaned children life-skills;
• Registering orphans and at-risk children in our Orphan Care program where their health and well-being are closely monitored; and
• Identifying, tracking and supporting orphans who are good candidates for high-school scholarships.

Community Caregivers perform another important function-they use their influence to advocate for their villages' most vulnerable citizens: widows, AIDS orphans and those with HIV.

The GAIA Villages intervention lasts for three years. During year two and three, Caregivers receive training in income generating activities (IGAs).

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