When parents die, children lose not only their families, but also their childhoods. More than 95 percent of the world’s orphans and 80 percent of the women living with AIDS are in Sub-Saharan Africa. Time magazine referred to the three Southern African countries — Botswana, South Africa, and Zimbabwe — as "the heart of the heart of the epidemic." And the impact on children is nearing catastrophic proportions.
Botswana, with the highest per capita gross domestic product, has the highest adult infection rate (36 percent). Parents are dying at a pace that stuns families and leaves children not only unable to raise themselves, but other children. Orphaned households headed by children are increasing in every country in the region, tearing apart the extended family system that for centuries has been Africa’s primary social safety net.
The Zimbabwe National AIDS Council Co-ordination Program estimates that one in every six children is an orphan. While the Zimbabwean government has created some orphanage institutions, these have only managed to shelter a few. They have fallen far short of promoting the children’s well-being with regard to development. Rural areas, while hardest hit, are the last to receive support.
Throughout the region there are emerging examples of community efforts for AIDS orphanages run by volunteer mothers and integrated within the community for the children’s survival, well-being, and socio-cultural development. While isolated examples exist, the challenge is the development of these local organizations into viable, self-sustaining community entities that fully address the needs of orphaned children and youth on a broad scale.
"AIDS Orphans: Community Support for Care and Development" will provide support in three countries — Botswana, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. It will identify local models, help strengthen and link them to other local and national efforts, and heighten policy attention to this pressing social issue.
W.K. Kellogg himself recognized the importance of helping children during times of cataclysmic change in their lives. After World War II, he generously provided support to war orphans throughout Europe as part of essential reconstruction efforts.
Similar programs to help youth not just survive but develop into healthy, productive adults have been a hallmark of Foundation programming since 1930. In 2005, the Foundation honored that legacy in its work with southern African communities that have been ravaged by AIDS. This effort echoes Mr. Kellogg’s desire to help children in times of crisis and to help communities take responsibility for these needs.
AIDS Orphans: Community Support for Care and Development will highlight the importance of community action on behalf of AIDS orphans and contribute to the region’s greatest disaster. The southern African program will:
- Identify effective community-based organizations providing relief and development support to AIDS orphans.
- Help these organizations sustain themselves and expand by example to others.
- Prioritize Botswana, Zimbabwe, and the South Africa program; and
- Target orphaned children and youth, child-headed households, community based caregivers, and policymakers at the national, provincial, and local levels.
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