Factoid: 29.4% of the South African population is said to be living with HIV/AIDS. In 2009, 330,000 under-15-year-olds were living with HIV, a figure that has almost doubled since 2001.
The HIV/AIDS epidemic is responsible for half of the country’s orphans, and an estimated 1.9 million AIDS orphans have one or both deceased parents. Orphans often put pressure on older relatives who become their primary carers; they may have to relocate from their familiar neighbourhood; and siblings may be split apart, all of which can harm their development.
Project Managers: Andras Namenyi
In South Africa, half of all new HIV-AIDS infections is amongst teenagers. As a part of the fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic in the country, staff of Namenyi Project Hope (formerly "Matumaini Project Hope") holds AIDS awareness seminars for the students of many rural area schools around Durban.
In addition to education, there is little debate as to the integral part that nutrition plays in HIV prevention, treatment and mitigation. Namenyi Project Hope undertakes feeding programs in schools, orphanages and clinics where a high percentage of the children are impacted by AIDS, delivering healthy food on a regular basis (fruit, vegetables, meat, and bread).
Namenyi Project Hope also assists rural area schools in becoming self-sufficient as far as food is concerned, by training them to grow and harvest high nutrition vegetables like spinach or cabbage. The vegetable is added to the daily soup ration customarily fed to school children in primary and secondary schools. Crops grown in vegetable tunnels are largely protected against climatic extremes, as well as free from insect attack and other destructive blight. Most importantly, the yield can be 8 times more than it would be in an open plot. Each food tunnel costs $270 and each set of seedlings provides 12-14 harvests, after which the only further investment is the cost of new seedlings.
Real Life Story — Light in a Dark Prison — While attending one of my classes in his prison, Andile offered his help with a running translation in Zulu ...Read full story
Newspaper reprint: Study indicates half the patients in S. African public hospitals are HIV-positive
Progress in Fighting the AIDS ScourgeIn South Africa, half of all new HIV-AIDS infections is amongst teenagers. As a part of the fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic in the country, staff of Family Care Foundation Project Partner “Matumaini” (Project “Hope”) holds AIDS awareness seminars for the students of many rural area schools around Durban.
AIDS Awareness and Education for Rural School ChildrenHIV/AIDS affects 40 million people worldwide. According to some predictions, 30-50 million Africans could die from AIDS over the next 10 years, a great many of these in South Africa, unless something is done.
Helping Rural Schools Help Themselves Become Self SufficientSince 2007 Namenyi Project Hope has been assisting rural area schools in becoming self sufficient as far as food is concerned, by training them to grow vegetables in tunnels, a simple type of greenhouse. The school staff and children are to grow and harvest high nutrition vegetables like spinach or cabbage.
Housing for Orphan GirlsTo accommodate the growing number of orphan girls at an orphanage, Namenyi Project Hope undertook the construction of a housing unit for another 10 orphan girls. The project began with the dismantling of an old storage facility, and then building a concrete block structure on the same foundation, adding aluminum windows, plus a bathroom including a shower.
A visit to the "Home of Life" AIDS HospiceAmong the institutions where Namenyi Project Hope provides food, clothes and counseling is the Ikhaya Lebomi ('Home of Life') AIDS hospice in the Valley of the Thousand Hills.
Education and Support for AIDS-HIV SufferersTeaching new staff members the principle of supplying patients' emotional needs.
Micro Enterprise for AIDS Hospice, widows, and orphansVolunteers, under the guiding eye of Mrs. Patience Mavata, essentially run the Home of Life Hospice. Sick people in the community are visited and taken care of, or if necessary, arrangements for hospitalization are made. The Home Base Care workers wash them, feed them, clean their homes and make sure that they take their medication regularly. These women volunteers sometimes have to travel as far as five kilometers between homes.
A Basketball Court for OrphansA local asphalt company donated materials and their help to make a dream come true for these South African orphans--their own basketball court!
Other Support to the AIDS Orphanage SectorIt has been estimated that there could be over 20 million orphans in Africa within a few years time, as a result of the AIDS pandemic.
