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Republic of Moldova - Gaina Aliona used to work as a teacher in the village school. After the collapse of the Soviet system, her salary was reduced to a tiny fraction of what she had been receiving and she was forced to look elsewhere for work to support her family.

Republic of Moldova - Valentina Colesnic lives in the village of Zgurita in the northern part of the Republic of Moldova. She worked as a nurse in the local hospital until the collapse of the Soviet system. In 1989 she turned to farming, encouraging three doctors’ families to rent eight hectares of arable land. Together they cultivated vegetables on the plot, with excellent results, but they were forced to stop when they were no longer able to continue renting the land.

“I cannot get infected, because I don’t live in Africa,” says Mihai, a 35-year-old man living in the capital of the Republic of Moldova, Chisinau . “Also, I don’t do drugs, I don’t practice sex for money, and I’m not gay. So, I cannot get infected”, he adds.

When it became known that Ludmila U, an obstetrician for 17 years, was HIV positive, she lost her job, social network and hope for a 'normal' life. Yet, seven years on, she has a second chance. Free antiretroviral (ARV) treatment has changed everything about living with HIV, rapidly improving her own health and that of her friends. 'Future' has returned to her vocabulary. When asked what life would be like without ARVs, Ludmila gives a sad smile and replies: "There would be no life."

Dorina was born in a small village in the Republic of Moldova. Abandoned by both her parents at a young age, she grew up poor in her grandparent’s house. As soon as she graduated from secondary school, she went to the capital, Chisinau, to find work.

Losing its only client would have been a serious blow for Covoare-Ungheni, a producer of wool carpet yarn.  Most critically, it would have placed several hundred jobs at the factory in jeopardy.  This possibility was very real for Covoare-Ungheni, which was experiencing yarn production problems that were impairing the quality of the yarn it supplied to Moldabella, a Moldovan carpet manufacturer.

As is the daily routine of most Moldovan villagers, the first thing Elena Manic does every morning is milk her family cow. During this activity, she dreams of a better life for her five children. Village life in Moldova is not easy. Generally, villagers who have money and a steady income are rare.

Leonid Platon was one of the few who remained. While most of his countrymen left to work for farmers in other countries, this farmer from northern Moldova, not yet 40, was determined to make a go of it at home.

Anna is 16. She lives alone in a ramshackle cottage with a cock and a hen called Romeo and Juliet.

She has a small scrap of land where she grows vegetables to feed herself.