A child waits in angst by the doorway.
Slighted breathing can be heard from behind the thin curtain. A single candle burns nearly to the ground - it flickers. Light splashes across the mud floor.
Moments lengthen across the expanse between son and orphan. The gap closes.
Orphan.
HIV/AIDS is leaving its legacy of destruction across the world; tearing parents from their children, and tearing children from their parents. Africa alone is home to over 15 million orphans from HIV/AIDS. Exacerbated by war, HIV/AIDS has spread fitfully fast.
But in addition to HIV/AIDS, every year millions of people in the developing world will die of diseases that could be prevented, if these same people simply had the small amount of money it would cost to buy medicine.
While many in developed nations don't have to worry about things like sleeping with mosquito nets at night to keep malaria at bay, millions in developing nations are experiencing the rupturing of their families and societies due to diseases that, in many cases, can be prevented. We live in a world where we experience breathtaking medical advances, but they are for a select few.
What are we going to do about it all? What we can. We are building wells and latrines to improve access to clean water and sanitation, we are providing clinical treatment to people living with HIV/AIDS, and we are coming alongside orphans of HIV/AIDS with school materials and home visits. We believe that people everywhere should have access to a healthy life.
No matter where you happen to live.
His almond eyes are gentle and strong.
He is one of five children. Their mother, Clementine, is HIV positive. The burden she carries of trying to provide for her children while battling a fatal disease is excruciating. Boniface doesn't have a father, and Clementine's battle is only fiercer as a widow.
The stigma of HIV/AIDS relegates some to forever hide their disease, not wanting to be shunned or rejected, left to suffer silently. But Clementine's silence has been broken.
FH has come alongside Boniface and Clementine and given medical advice about HIV/AIDS including information about good nutrition and disease prevention. Clementine receives medical insurance from another organization and is able to access necessary medicine for survival. Through FH's encouragement, Clementine also joined an association that has been a shield against the social stigma associated with HIV. Together they are helping one another economically by rearing animals and sharing the profits.
Clementine lives with HIV/AIDS while caring for children in the context of extreme poverty, yet she is finding solace among others also battling the disease and has found the strength to continue.
Boniface is able to attend school through FH's assistance, buffering the burden of provision for Clementine, and encouraging her that though AIDS is devastating, it will not rob her children of their futures.
what
+ Water Access and Behavior Change
+ Borehole Drilling
+ Latrine Construction
+ Hygiene Education
+ Water Catchments Systems
+ Wells and Spring Capturing
+ By 2010 it is estimated that there will be over 25 million AIDS orphans - that is more than the populations of New York and Washington states combined.
+ 1/3 of the world's population lacks access to essential medicines
+ Every minute, a child under 15 dies of an AIDS-related illness. Every minute, another child becomes HIV-positive.
+ Facts From: World Food Program, The Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS
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