:: StepLeft ::

StepLeft

Wednesday, December 01, 2004

AIDS orphans flood Africa, By Felix Kunda, 17, Zambia

a questionable source, but regardless, it's 'of interest':

AIDS orphans flood Africa, By Felix Kunda, 17, Zambia
Muyunda Nyambe, (not real name) a 12-year-old boy, looked at the rising sun, as he descended the ant hill on his way to the only community school in a radius of 6 km of Mwandi area in Livingstone. He stopped for a moment to measure his shadow with the nearby shrub to see whether he was late for school. The shadow of the shrub was shorter, a clear message that his schoolmates were already in class. The shrub acted as his timekeeper ever since he started school nine months ago. As far as he was concerned, he was late for school.He increased his speed by trotting on the gravel holding his two exercise books in the left hand. He had stuck his right hand in his thigh-holed pocket. He could feel the warmth from his thigh as it increased its movement to and fro. A few meters before he could adjust his breathing to the speed, his last toe, on his left foot accidentally kicked a sharp stone, and blood started to ooze out freely.
He stopped and looked at the toe that had turned red with blood. The pain was too much, his left eye, failed to resist a tear that peeped from the eye, he allowed gravity to pull it out of the sockets. It flowed easily and freely. The right eye opened its gates of tears as well. Muyunda had no control and allowed both eyes to release the tears in unison. He sobbed quietly as he limped slowly to school. He looked at the rising sun and wondered why the world was so unfair to him. Firstly he had little food the previous day because his old grandmother had cooked only a few mushrooms that she had picked from the bush for dinner. Secondly, he had to clean the pots, sweep the surroundings of his grandmother’s house before starting off for school.
He limped slowly, remembering how well he had lived with his parents in Lusaka. Only a few months ever since his parents died in the city of Lusaka, life had turned its back on him. The pain from his last toe subsided, but the tears continued to flow, this time amid loud sobs.
He thought about his parents, and the rumour that kept going on in the neigbourhood that his parents had died of AIDS. The memory of lowering the coffins during his parents’ burial clouded his head. He remembered quite well up to that day that no one ever came to confirm that his parents had died from AIDS.
He cried even harder that no one ever bothered to tell him the truth, at the time of the funeral, they were all busy sharing property, and only remembered him when his fate of going to Livingstone to stay with his grandmother arose.
Muyunda looked up and was surprised at how fast he had walked to reach Mwandi Community School in Livingstone. He wiped his tears and ran a few meters towards the grass thatched community school to join other vulnerable children in his class.
Muyunda is one of the over 800,000 orphans and vulnerable children who are affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Zambia. According to the Central Board of Health estimates the number is likely to swell up to 1 million orphans and vulnerable children in the country in the next couple of years. It is estimated that 20 percent of Zambia’s population over 15 years is infected with HIV.
Due to poverty and lack of proper medical facilities, many who are infected are likely to die in their prime of life. This will result in an increase in the number of orphans and vulnerable children in the country. The growing number of orphans will have a profound impact in the communities in which they live.
Orphans may suffer the loss of their families, depression, increased malnutrition, lack of immunization or health care and increased demands for labour. Other negative effects are lack of education, loss of inheritance, forced migration, starvation and exposure to HIV infection. In the African culture, the extended family has been the first line of response in caring for children left behind by those who have died. However, this is creating problems to the already over burdened communities considering that, in Zambia. Already 80 percent of the population can barely afford three meals per day. The orphan problem has created serious problems.
The country needs urgent, rapid and large-scale interventions to help meet the needs of the ever increasing number of orphans and vulnerable children. Some of the strategies that are being implemented to help mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS on orphans and vulnerable children are those being carried out by SCOPE OVC Project, which is an acronym for Strengthening Community Partnerships for the Empowerment of Orphans and Vulnerable Children. SCOPE OVC Project is being implemented by CARE INTERNATIONAL ZAMBIA and is supported by Family Health International with funding from USAID. SCOPE-OVC Project was established in January 2000 to mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS on orphans and vulnerable children in Zambia by mobilizing, scaling up and strengthening community based and community led responses...

~ rebecca 3:34 PM ~ [+]