Life in Epworth is tough. The sprawling, densely populated township just outside Harare is a place where people don't live ... they survive.
Last year's cholera epidemic hit them hard and another possible outbreak looms with the onset of the rainy season this year.
Last year, Zanu-PF militia brutalised many opposition supporters before the run-off presidential elections. Horrific stories of beatings, torture and rape at the hands of these thugs have emerged.
Poverty is crippling and HIV is far more prevalent than in other parts of Zimbabwe.
In the middle of these desperate conditions, an unlikely group of heroines has emerged who are tackling the stigma attached to HIV.
They are the ARV Swallows, a women's football team composed entirely of HIV-positive players. The players have openly declared their HIV status - a courageous deed in a place where people living with HIV are still scorned, even though the virus affects so many people.
The collapse of Zimbabwe's healthcare system has made the HIV problem far more serious. A lack of doctors, nurses and basic medical supplies means that those infected with the disease are not able to get the treatment they need. Some NGOs have set up clinics, but cannot deal with the sheer volume of infected people.
Like so many Zimbabweans, the team's captain, Annafields Phiri, 37, a mother of four, is unemployed. She is fortunate to be supported by her husband who earns a meagre R350 a month. Phiri is proud of herself and the team.
"Playing soccer makes me feel very good ... people can see that we, the women, are strong even if we have HIV."
The players range in age - the oldest being 49 and the youngest 28. Most of the ladies have recently only learned how to play the game, but the practice sessions are long and vigorous and they are improving in strength and skill.
The team's top scorer, Janet "China" Mpalume, 32, is a lethal force and sparks fly whenever she gets the ball.
The team has improved so much so that it recently won the Positive Women's Soccer League. The league consists of several HIV-positive women's teams from around Harare.
Chris Sambo, a former chief executive of Zimbabwe's Premier League, started the league in December 2008 with the aim of fighting the stigma of HIV/Aids and there are 16 female teams.
Gwanzura stadium recently hosted the championship final which was played in front of an excited, but small crowd.
But the ladies still felt like champs - and they really are champs.
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