~
In this home, these grandparents are looking after their 3 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild. Both parents of the children died of AIDS and now the grandfather is sick and suffers from severe back and chest pain. The eldest orphan, Elizabeth, is 14 years old and at the time I visited had gone to town trying to find a bit of work for food and school fees. The little boy being held by the grandmother in the photo is James, Elizabeth’s 2 year old son.~
Nearby Elizabeth’s home lives Naomi. Her parents also died of HIV/TB, leaving behind her and her 2 younger brothers, David & Joshua. Naomi is 16 years old and has been married for 2 years, pictured in her arms is her 11 month old baby boy. Her husband doesn’t work so Naomi makes door mats out of old rags and pieces of cloth and tries selling them to feed her family.~
5 year old Moleki is the beautiful little girl in the centre of the photo. Her mother passed away when she was only 6 months old and she doesn’t know where her father is. Her grandmother cares for her and her 6 other orphaned cousins. Moleki’s mother was one of our home based care patients so our volunteers have made sure to continue visiting Moleki since her mother’s death.~
Chanda Chilungu is the eldest in an orphan-headed household. She is 19 years old and has been caring for her 3 younger siblings since both their parents died of AIDS 6 years ago. Her brothers, Cornelius and Steven, are 17 and 15 years old and their sister Sandra is only 8. Education was clearly a priority for them as Chanda and her bothers worked hard doing work such as harvesting maize and doing laundry to be able to pay for their schooling. Chanda managed to go through grade 12 but in the end could not see her results because she was unable to pay the school fees. Cornelius also was kicked out of school for being unable to pay, but so far they have been able to keep Steven and Sandra in school for grade 7 and 4. I was personally impressed by Chanda’s strength and maturity, 2 years ago her parents’ family tried to take everything from them including their home but Chanda went to the government and fought to keep it. Their little home was meticulously neat and clean with a portrait of Jesus and an abstinence poster on the wall. Considering the 2 teenage mothers I’d just visited, I thought it said a lot about her. Like Moleki’s mother, Chanda’s parents were also our home based care patients and the volunteers have continued to look out for Chanda and her brothers and sisters the last 6 years, developing a close relationship that was apparent by the warmth with which she received us.~
This widow was very excited for our visit and despite my protest gave me some of her sweet potatoes that she had been selling in the market. Her house was falling apart and the 1 blanket she owned was worn and tattered. All her children have died, leaving her with many grandchildren to take care of on her own. She depends solely on God and the little she makes selling veggies in the market to provide for her and the children.~
There was a partially fenced area with a cluster of shacks inside housing 8 orphans. We were visiting 1 orphan in particular, Armon (the one in the yellow shorts). His frail old grandmother came in behind us with a pile of firewood on her head which she carefully set down on the ground near us. Armon has been sick almost constantly since his parents died, and like them the HBC volunteers fear he is also HIV+. They are working on convincing his grandmother to go with them to take Armon for VCT at the clinic as soon as possible.~
As we were leaving the courtyard, the volunteer I was with, Peggy, told me about one of the neighboring orphans who our home based care has ‘adopted’. Rebekah is only 6 years old and lives with her grandmother. Peggy told me that in February a big man had coaxed her into his hut by offering sweets (candy) and raped her. When he was done he pushed her out of his hut, and crying she went and told her grandmother. The man was taken to the police, but Rebekah’s grandmother said she didn’t want any money from him but that God would have His justice on the man.
~
Mumabwato Chulembela was new to Makululu and 4 months pregnant with Mapusano when her husband died of HIV/TB. Mapusano is now a year and a half, and they live in a little mud hut with her other 4 children, all under the age of 14. Mumabwato is also HIV+ and constantly sick, but she has no support or means to get food since all her friends and family are far away. A straw mat is all they have to sleep on with 1 thin and torn blanket to share during the freezing cold nights, and finding food is a constant struggle for the family.
~
Jennifer is 12 years old and lives with her grandmother in an old broken-down rented house after their own home was washed away during the rainy season. Jennifer’s younger brother and sister were taken by her father when their mother died, but when he went mad his family took the children away to another village. Jennifer’s grandmother is unable to provide for her needs, and the little they used to have has now been taken to pay for rent.
~
For a little while Makululu was receiving funding from a European donor that helped them provide things like small food parcels, soap, and medicine to these families, but last year the funding stopped completely leaving the children vulnerable once again. Hands at Work is trying to lessen the dependence on large donors like this one by starting a $15 a child/month funding strategy to go towards providing these children with 3 Essential Services: a meal a day, basic health care through home visits, and access to education. It allows the average person to help, not just large corporations.
Please pray that people respond to the needs of the children in communities like Makululu and get involved soon, and if you know anyone who might be interested in helping please refer them to the Hands at Work website at http://www.handsatwork.org/.
