Foreword to Umzala
"Elaine Maane's mother named her Chibola (hope). Her father named her Makumbi (clouds). The names our parents choose for us reflect the gifts they see in us. Gifts we can manifest to survive and thrive despite life's challenges. 
Elaine needed to manifest the hope within her soul to survive death after death after death: her beloved father Edwin, her brothers Edgar, Berry and George, her sister Pamela and her husband Collin - father of her son. In her dedication she writes: 'The family is incomplete without you all.'
In the heat when clouds release showers of rain, there is no greater delight than children's faces as they splash through water. Elaine brings the quality of such sustenance to the hard things of life: contracting HIV and learning that her beloved husband remained silent about his HIV status; the insensitivity of society’s ignorance; the callousness of some doctors; the death of so many close friends; and loneliness and her unfulfilled need for intimacy.
In the face of such pain, in the face of death - Elaine Chibola Makumbi makes a choice for life: 'My circumstances could have made me bitter and very unhappy. I have made a choice to be thankful for each day.'
When Elaine tells her son Skhumbuzo, just before his 13th birthday, that she is living with HIV, his response is clear: 'You are still my Mom and I love you.' Dr Mitch Besser, talking of Elaine's presence in the Mothers-to-Mothers-to-Be Programme in O, the Oprah Magazine, says: 'She radiates… she's all light. Two-and-a-half years ago we worked under the darkest and grimmest circumstances and what you see here has come about because of her vision and energy.'
In her book Umzala, Elaine is clear that she is no saint. There are moments when life has plunged her into darkness, when she is angry, furious, vulnerable and burnt-out. But that is the power of her life, that is the power of her story. She is one of us, battling with our desire to keep our hearts and souls intact as we walk through fire.
In 2001, the ANC's silence had devastating consequences for the South African Government's provision of antiretroviral treatment and entrenched fears about taking ARVs. When I decided to end that silence in Parliament by chairing public hearings on the impact of HIV and AIDS, women spoke of society’s stigma.
Elaine's humour, compassion and courage in Umzala will educate society on the prejudice that holds our hearts in chains. Her story will break the silence of so many women and promote the visibility of people living positively with HIV in keeping with the lifeblood of The Openly Positive Trust.
Elaine, may many read your story and may many more be inspired to share theirs."
Pregs Govender
Ex-ANC MP, feminist activist and author of Love and Courage