Nomthandazo, Age 12, South Africa
At age 12 Nomthandazo’s father passed away. Four years later, she lost her
mother to AIDS. Soon after, Nomthandazo’s younger brother also passed away.
Nomthandazo is one of more than 15 million children orphaned by AIDS.
Nomthandazo and her sister were taken in by their aunt. For many orphans, the extended family remains their only safety-net. Although Nomthandazo’s aunt helped ensure that her basic needs (food shelter, medicine) were met; Nomthandazo had no one to turn to in order to cope with her loss and grief. Like many orphans, she felt that her future was bleak.
Fortunately, Nomthandazo’s teachers recognized her potential and need for guidance and support. Nomthandazo began participating in an after-school program operated by an international organization working in the community* . Through the program, Nomthandazo was able to learn important health and life skills including HIV/AIDS education and received counseling to help her cope with her grief.
Nomthandazo’s story of loss is echoed more than 20 million times over throughout the developing world. Nomthandazo was one of the fortunate few to receive support. Just 1 in 10 AIDS orphans receive any external support.
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http://www.worldaidsorphans.org/section/the_orphans_crisis/the_facts
Number of AIDS
Orphans:
- There are over 15 million children
orphaned by AIDS around the world.
- Well over 12 million AIDS orphans
live in Sub-Saharan Africa, alone.
- Experts believe that millions more orphans
remain unaccounted for in India, China and Russia.
- At least 10 million more
children will be orphans by AIDS by 2010.
The Impact:
- In addition to the trauma of losing a parent, orphans
are often subject to discrimination and are less likely to receive
healthcare, education and other needed services.
- In HIV affected households lacking community support, food
consumption can drop by 40% putting children at risk to hunger,
malnutrition and stunting.
- Impoverished and often without support to educate and
protect them, orphans and vulnerable children face increased risk
of HIV infection.
- Orphans are often easy prey to many forms of
exploitation: forced labor, prostitution and child soldiering.