African Insights - Monthly Ezine - Newsletter

 

African Insights Blog Newsletter
December 2003

No, they don't know it is Christmas - AIDS and the children of Africa

Most of us are busy with the season of Christmas, baking, shopping, wrapping, card writing, caught up in the wonder of giving and receiving.  Christmas is a joyous and wondrous time for most that live amidst abundance of the West.  Most of us have healthy children, have good jobs, have homes, food for the table and enough left over to give generous gifts to family and friends

This is the season where my thoughts and heart turns to the children of Africa, for many of whom will be the first Christmas without mom and dad. Thousands of Africa’s AIDS orphans are fending for themselves this Christmas.  Children who are living in a survival mode without hope for the future.

The extended African family that used to take care of orphans has broken down due to the plague of AIDS that is ravaging the lands, reaping a harvest of fathers and mothers, uncles and aunts, grandmothers and grandfathers, brothers and sisters with no end in sight.  The projections are for 20 million orphans due to AIDS related deaths.  Only one country in sub-Sahara will have less AIDS related orphans in 2010 than now and that is Uganda, all other countries will have dramatic increases since most of them are late in putting together a program that will make a difference in their society as Uganda has.

Numbers are one thing, we see statistics and often do not stop to think that behind the numbers, behind the statistics, are living beings that are now on their own.  Children who lack most everything, deprived of hope, deprived of family, unable to live out a meaningful existence unless help comes fast but it takes years to reverse the present trends of AIDS infection and this Christmas there are no thoughts of Santa, of Christmas, of gifts and giving, of receiving, there is only thought in the mind of boys and girls orphaned by AIDS…”living another day without dying.”

One in 10 sub-Sahara African children are orphaned at the present time.  Orphan rates that are over 5% mean that the local community, the family, extended family units are unable to help due to the overwhelming numbers.  As we approach Christmas 2003, the question of the hour is, “how do these children cope with their losses, how do their cities and countries deal with the sheer numbers that are there. The answer is a sad one, “these children become living dead who wander the streets of the cities of Africa looking for a handout, looking for some work, looking with bellies empty, bodies sick due to malnutrition, minds empty except for the worries that are there, many of them suffer from post-traumatic stress related to their losses.  They are not likely to attend school (but does not take into consideration school clothing, transport, lunches), they will try to work for someone and often will be exploited, in some African cities 2/3rds of the child prostitutes are AIDS orphans.  Not a future to look forward to for a newly orphaned child.  Often these orphans will be separated from their siblings, and of course these orphans will grow up without learning parenting skills from Mom and Dad, and their future as adults is bleak to say the least it will continue to be a mere existence.

Church groups, Mosques, Non Governmental Agencies are busily working in attempting to find solutions for this problem; a problem that translates into billions of dollars annually, 4 billion each year is the estimate from Columbia University.  Some talk of building thousands of orphanages across Africa. Noble thoughts, but unrealistic since the need will exceed the capacity such homes provide.  The only practical solution for the present and future situation is to enlist thousands of African families into providing foster care for such orphans.  Giving them the money needed for the basics for that child or children and allowing these orphans to grow up in a family structure where they car relate, make a home and find the reasonable security and peace so necessary during the growing up years. (Some agencies are doing just that presently and it was something that I advocated whole heartedly during my time in Africa)

Some years back, I came across the woman in a slum with two little children.  She was dying of AIDS, her husband had already died and the extended family was broken down due to the AIDS plague.  She looked to me and told me “No one cares, my children will have no mother, no father, no one cares.  The church cannot help, the government does not help, my neighbors cannot help, and no one cares.”  Those words have haunted me and at times I can recall that conversations ever so clearly.  She is long gone, her children are a bit older now, there are new orphans that have come along and the words are still true today “No one cares.”  This Christmas, think about that statement; ask yourself, how can I make a difference in the life on one child?  This Christmas the question to us who live in the prosperous West, “Do I care? 

Christmas is about giving, the story of Christmas is God giving his son, the spirit of Christmas is giving from the heart to someone who might never be able to thank you in this life since they might never meet you, but as you sit with your children this Christmas sharing the blessings with each other, your gift to a child can make a difference.  There are lots of organizations that are doing wonderful things and if you are interested I will send you some names and addresses where you can help a child…a Merry Christmas Season to you from my heart to yours...jon

 

The Children of Africa Section

Stories of African Children, Pictures of African Children, Life for children in Africa

Africa's Children-Struggling to SurviveAfrica's Children Struggling to Survive:  Life is a daily struggle for the children of Africa.  The things we take for granted in the west are often simply absent.  From nutrition to hygiene, from education to the lack of books for reading, find out what life is like for the children of Africa.

Meet Monie and LeakeyMeet Monie and Leakey:  Two children and their stories.  Two different countries, Monie in Rwanda and Leakey in Kenya, but the struggle to survive is similar.  One a child of an unjust war that resulted in a genocide, the other child a boy of the streets in Nairobi.  Both give you insight into the daily lives of children in Africa.

You will be glad to have read these two stories.

A boy like mePeter - a boy just like me: The story of an African Boy and his triumph against all odds.  Peter came from a slum in Eldoret in Kenya.  His story is tragic, but profound.  Thrown away at the time of his birth, raised by a grandmother, sleeping for days without food, and yet there is a strong will to survive.

Life in a Kampala Neighborhood

Life in a Kampala Neighborhood:  I spent some months living in an area of Kampala where you will not many a western person. My home, was in a small courtyard where one of the children I became friends with was Axum.  An account of what life is like for people in Kampala, Uganda and how children live in tough times.

A day in a school in Africa - Kampala UgandaA day in a School in Africa:  A day at Saint Andrew's Nursery and Primary School in Kampala, Uganda.  Get a feel of what school is like in a Kampala neighborhood. Get a feel of what school life is like for a child at Saint Andrew's Nursery and Primary in Kansanga, Kampala, Uganda.

Life Saving Medicine - Soap and Water:  Death comes to thousands of children in Africa, all it takes to prevent it is soap and water.  What people do not realize is that soap and water will eliminate 40% of children's sicknesses and diseases.  The best medicine for African children is simple soap and water.  The problem is access to water, besides water in many cases costs money and has to be carried a distance, so you avoid using it, even for washing of hand in the case of children.

Culture – Patriarchal Ways and Education of Girls:  African Parents are deeply concerned for the education of their children.  Boys are pushed to be educated, girls on the other hand, if there is a lack of funds, they just might be the first to stay home.  The poorer the family, the bigger the chance that the girls in the family will stay home and help at home. 67% of girls in slums drop out of school while only 38% of boys do so.

Born in Africa - Born in the USABorn in the USA and Born in Africa -Where you are born, determines how you live:  For most children born in Africa, life is simply tougher than being born in the west.  Life for a child in Africa is simply a struggle.  From the moment of birth life becomes a fight for survival.

 

The children of the LRAThe children of the LRA:  This section deals with the children of Northern Uganda.  Find out about Child soldiers of the LRA, what happens to abducted children, the children who evaded captivity by becoming night commuters, the stories of abducted children.  The person behind the abductions of children, Joseph Kony.

Bugolobi Church for ChildrenThey just keep on coming:  There is Church and then there the unique, one of a kind church for children in the Bugolobi area of Kampala. It is amazing sight as children  stream in rain or shine to come to church.  They come mostly from slum areas nearby, but quite a few walk several miles to come to church on a Sunday morning.

Children born into slumsChildren born into Slums:  A child that is born into a slum in Africa does not have much of a chance in life.  From day to day survival which ranges access to clean water and food to education, it is all about money.  The future for such a child means being locked into the cycle of poverty and rarely is there a  way out for such a child.

Children - Born into slums-The Solution=Education:  How do you help a child in a slum in Africa?  Education is the solution and even with education alone there is no guarantee since  here in Africa getting a job, any job is simply tough, without an education there is no hope for a meaningful future and a breaking of the cycle of poverty.

Children Born into Slums - Child Sponsorship:  Sponsor a Child in a slum in Kampala.  His or her parents have no money to help and assist their children.  There is not enough money even for food, at times for water, at times to pay to go to a latrine.  Life is simply tough. When it comes to education, children stay at home, work around the house, take care of the other children and miss out on being a child.

Send a book to a child in AfricaSend a book to a Child in Africa:  If you go into a home in Uganda, one thing that will be absent are books.  In Kampala there are only about five book stores to be found.  Children grow up not reading.  The power and of the dream and imagination is simply not released in the life of a child.  Your donation of some books could and would make a difference in the life of a child living in a slum, where books are the last things one thinks about.

Start a Library in Africa for ChildrenStart a Library in Africa for Children:  Libraries, one can spend hours in them.  In Uganda, most schools do not have lending libraries.  If there are some books, they are behind a locked door, behind glass, to be protected.  Children are deprived of books that would allow them to grow and become.  Start a library in Africa is a project with the intention of getting thousands of books into hands of children that will allow them to released in their imagination and heart.

The children of Africa in PicturesAfrican Children Photo Album:  The pictures of Africa's Children tell their story. One can read the stories on this site, but when you see the pictures of the children of Africa, your heart simply melts.  Meet the children of Africa through pictures.  There are lots of pages for you to peruse and enjoy.

Make a difference in the life of a childMake a difference in the Life of a Child:  It is one thing to read about the children of Africa, look at the picture, but coming here and being with the children is most awesome thing one can experience.  Not only will you make a difference in the life of a child, but a difference in your own life.  One to two weeks that will be life changing.

What can I do?What can I do?  This is a question that I am often asked, here are some practical answers as to how you can help and assist the children of Africa.  One of the most inspiring ways is coming here to spend a few weeks and visit.  It is one of the best investments you can ever make.

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Last updated: 21 August 2010

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