Many AIDS Assumptions Are Wrong

Here is an informative excerpt from the article linked above:

"One of the most destructive of the misconceptions that had thus far shaped policy on HIV/AIDS prevention and control was that only orphaned children were affected by the pandemic.

This had fed the "powerful myth" that the majority of children who had lost a parent to AIDS lacked family and social networks and needed to be cared for in an orphanage.

JLICA's research showed 88% of children designated as orphans actually had a surviving parent.

The NGO called on the United Nations to change its definition of an orphan as "a child who has lost one or both parents" because the definition had distorted programme goals by obscuring the fact that most of the children defined as AIDS orphans continued to receive support from their families or extended kin.

"The overwhelming majority of children who have lost a parent to AIDS can and should remain in the care of their families, provided that those families receive appropriate support," JLICA said in its report.

The NGO stated clearly that "poverty does not cause AIDS", although it added that extreme poverty was the backdrop to much of the AIDS pandemic and AIDS did cause and compound poverty.

"Over 60% of children in southern Africa live in poverty. Families who are already poor when HIV strikes may be unable to compensate for further loss of income that occurs as a result of AIDS-related illness or death. Poverty is the single biggest barrier to the scale-up of HIV treatment and prevention.

"Poor people's capacity to access and benefit from services is limited when they lack the resources to purchase food and medicines, pay for transport to service facilities and compensate for income that is sacrificed to healthcare," JLICA said."

South Africa's Parentless Families: A Beggar's Life

Click on the title for an interesting article about orphans of AIDS here in South Africa. It's full of stuff we see every day. Thanks to Ben and Stacie Post for the link (and the encouragement!).

Monkey-licious

I know many of you who follow our blog have heard about us having monkeys in our house on various occasions. Monkeys are a pretty common sight in and around Durban. This boy "treed" one with his dogs, then killed it with a slingshot. He was on his way to cook and eat it. Monkey brains, anyone?

Kids Helping Kids

It has been amazing to see the diversity of people who have been touched by the plight of the orphans and vulnerable children who have been affected by the AIDS epidemic here in South Africa. Young Nikolas and Kate of Ontario, Canada put on an iced tea stand to raise money to help us reach these kids. They took donations for their "free" iced tea, and sent the profits to Key of Hope!

Another young person, eight year old Gabe of Bellingham, Washington, donated a percentage of his entire summer's earnings after reading about the feeding program on our Facebook page. Because of his kindness, we will be adding another child to the program through the end of the year!

Pretty big stuff for these little people, don't you think? Just goes to show that everyone can do something.

Khayaliso

Today I wanted to do a home visit with a boy on one of our soccer teams - his name is Khayaliso. The area where he lives is out in "the bush", so I picked him up after school, along with a few other children whose home situations I wanted to check in with.

As we drove through the rolling hills of sugar cane fields, I could tell he was a little uncomfortable giving me directions to his house. When we arrived at the place he showed us, he seemed even more embarrassed that we wanted to meet his mother. As we waited at the front door, I commented to one of our volunteers who was with me how relatively nice his cinder block home was, compared with those of the other kids in our program.

Khayaliso returned and introduced us to his mother - or at least that's what we thought. After some confusion, it became clear that the woman was not his mother, but an aunt. As Khayaliso stared at the floor, she explained to us that his house was actually down the road a ways.

Somewhat puzzled, we made our way to where he actually lived, and when I saw his "house", I realized why he had been ashamed to take us there - especially with friends from school waiting in the back of the truck.

The makeshift one room shack seemed ready to fall in on us as we sat with Khayaliso and his grandmother, who cares for him. Dirt floor, a single bed, a cupboard, and some pots and clothes scattered around the edges. Everything was covered in a greasy, sooty grime from the cooking fires.

As we talked comfortably and respectfully to his grandmother, Khayaliso relaxed. We gave them some food, and prayed with them before we left.

Khayaliso's name means "beautiful home" in Zulu. I thought that was so sad and paradoxical at first; then I remembered that this is not Khayaliso's home. Because of Key of Hope and your help, Khayaliso does have a "beautiful home," waiting for him in heaven.

Khayaliso. His name fits him perfectly.

HIV and TB

"South Africa has the highest number of HIV positive people infected with tuberculosis, representing one third of people globally who are co-infected with the diseases," read the April 1 edition of The Mercury, Durban's largest newspaper.

While half of all South Africans are exposed to TB at some point in their lives, the vast majority are able to suppress the disease with a strong immune system. Once infected with HIV, however, the immune system is weakened and the disease is unleashed. Less than half of the TB patients in Durban are able to recover. This is due in part to the fact that many people do not adhere to the strict 6 month long TB treatment program. Drug supplies are sometimes erratic, and many people stop taking the drugs as soon as they feel better, all of which leads to drug-resistant strains of the virus - now a huge problem in South Africa. (1)

I see the effects of this horrible disease everywhere. One mother I visit weekly can barely speak because of the constant coughing. Her voice comes out as a hoarse, strained whisper. I picked up another one of our kids' mothers on the side of the road leading out of the squatter camp. She had only managed to walk about 100 yards before having to lay down, calm her breathing, and get her coughing back under control. The clinic she was headed for is about a mile and a half away.

The overcrowding, lack of basic facilities, and poor hygiene associated with these squatter camps creates a fertile breeding ground for diseases like TB, and it is certain that many of our kids already carry this killer within their bodies. All that is needed is for HIV to set it loose.

Want to save a life? Help us reach these kids before it's too late.




1 "Waiting To Happen: HIV/AIDS in South Africa" (Walker, Reid, and Cornell), 2004.

3rd Grade Poem

Written on this 3rd grade blackboard at one of the schools we work at every week is a poem about children with HIV/AIDS. Recited by the children every day, it talks about how they should not tease or discriminate against children who are HIV+. This is a big issue at the school, where there are dozens of children who are infected with AIDS. In spite of the teachers' best efforts, these children still bear the brunt of relentless teasing by many of the other kids, adding to the huge burden of knowing that you carry in your body a disease that will end your life for too soon.

Pray that God would allow us to help these children find acceptance and love that they need in Him.

Children At Risk

BBC article: Watching Mum Die of AIDS

The article linked above, from the BBC, talks about a young girl whose mother died of AIDS. It is a situation repeated over and over again among the children we are working with here in Durban.

Please pray that God would intervene and protect them.

Education Is Key

We are finding more and more orphans who are not in school because they can't pay the school fees, or they can't afford a uniform, or they don't have their ID's or birth certificates. Pretty hard stuff to accomplish when you're nine years old.

Yesterday, took Sbonelo and nFanafuthi, orphans from the Sea Cow Lake settlements, to get uniforms and enroll in school. $100. for uniforms, another $100. for school fees. Not in our budget. Anyone want to help? Go to the "Give" page on our website and play your part.

Hop, Skip, and a Jump

Today we had soccer practice at one of our after-school programs. The field is about 1/2 mile from the school, so the boys run in a line behind me along the road, then down a dirt trail, jump over a muddy creek, cross another road, in between some shacks, across another creek, and onto the dirt field. By the time we get there, they're all warmed up and ready for practice.

Last week, some of the boys though they would break off from the line and walk to the field, and jump in to practice in their own sweet time...

Not on my team.

They had to sit out and watch as the rest of the boys played. I made sure everyone knew why they were sitting out, then they had to run laps. When they were done, I expected at least some of them to be mad and storm home, maybe threaten to quit the team. Instead, they all stayed and helped gather the balls after practice, each one wanting to hand me a ball personally to put in the bag.

It's always amazing to me how kids in situations of extreme neglect can take discipline as a sign of love. You're thinking you are making enemies out of them, and they end up becoming your most loyal companions! It's been a good year so far - we are looking forward to seeing how we measure up in the next tournament. I'll keep you posted...

A Different Kind of Daily Grind

Today I got a call from Morgan. Since their mother died when he was 12, Morgan has been living alone with his two younger brothers in a squatter camp teeming with a population of over 100,00 people. Together they have literally begged, borrowed and stolen to survive. They have learned to be resourceful, while at the same time not attracting attention to themselves. Over the last few difficult years, they have awakened literally every single morning facing another battle to survive.

Today's battle was food. Morgan told me they were, at the moment, cooking their last bit of maize meal. The $32.USD a month they make delivering newspapers was long gone. I picked them up after school, and brought them enough food to get them through until their next payday.

The boys have attended church where we run a children's Sunday school, but I am taking them to a church nearer to their home this Sunday. I met with the pastor, whose name is Thuks, yesterday to give him the background on their situation. He is a good man with a good heart who grew up in the area, and he is eager to meet them.

Please pray for the welfare and salvation of Morgan and his brothers.

New Report On Children and AIDS

More than 25 years into the global AIDS crisis, the epidemic continues to worsen in almost every statistical category. Many on the frontlines are beginning to rethink their approach, with the growing realization that children are the key in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Children orphaned and/or impoverished by AIDS are being driven into the same lifestyles that took the lives of their parents: prostitution, promiscuous sex, drug abuse, and other risky behaviors.

This new report, based on a two year long study, confirms what the Bible has taught us for centuries: that if we don't take care of our orphans, evil will befall us (Isaiah 1, Jeremiah 5, Malachi 3). Consider that a third of AIDS orphans contemplate suicide within the first year after their parent's death, or that more than 60% of children in South Africa live in poverty, or that one in every five South African children is an orphan. These children are the key, not only for the future of the battle against AIDS, but for the future victory of the Kingdom of God here in Africa. Let's hope more people see the light. And the Light.