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Helping Aids Orphans in Africa (Continued)
Putting a Face on the "Lost Generation"
In sub-Saharan Africa today are more than 34 million orphans, 11 million of them orphaned by AIDS. In Kenya an estimated 500 people die each day from AIDS. As many as 730,000 Kenyan children have become orphans because their parents have died of aids. Even when only one parent dies, the hardship is great. The burden of caring for the orphans falls on a single parent or already overstretched families. Such is the case for most of the children in Ring Road School, Kisumu, Kenya. They survive on a diet of corn meal cooked in water, some vegetables, rice, and sometimes fish. Here are some of their faces and stories:

Right: Ingrid Akinyi is in first grade. She is very active and promising and wants to be a nurse when she grows up. Her mother makes $17/mo as a teacher. AIDS is, in effect, making orphans of a whole generation of children, jeopardizing their health, their rights, their well-being and sometimes their very survival . . .
Left: Benard Ochino is in first grade. His father died and his mother makes $40/mo as a maid. There are 7 people living in their home. Three of them are Benard's siblings. The others are most likely orphans of other relatives.

Some children at the school are total orphans, living with relatives: Valentine Madresi, grade 4, is living with 5 other people. These homes are usually one-room huts with mud walls and grass-thatched roof. Christine Oliech, grade 6, has16 people in the home of her sister.. Agnes Owuor, 4th grade, has 8 people living in the home. Evance Otieno, 8th grade, lives with 7 people in the home; Evans Ojwang, also 8th grade, has 3 people in the home. The incomes in these households ranges from $4/mo to $40/mo. Without help, their chance of survival is small.

Right: Sharley Atieno is eight. She has two sisters that are six and two years old. Sharley wants an education but her father only makes $16/mo as a security guard. Thanks to her CRF sponsor, Sharley will be able to achieve the education she so desires.

Left: Two-year-old Sandra Rose Atieno's family is trying to support seven children taken in as a result of parents dying from AIDS. Sandra is very ill with sickle cell anemia. They live on milk, rice and potatoes. The father's work is not steady, averaging $60/mo.

Tackling the AIDS Problem in Uganda

Statistics prove Africa to be the number one place for AIDS orphans. Orphans often become second-class family members. If there is not enough money for school, medicine or clothes, the orphan is left out.
Milton Jones challenged missionaries in Africa to think of how the church should respond to the problem of AIDS orphans. . .
Milton Jones, a dynamic preacher for a church in Seattle, is also on the board for Christian Relief Fund. He raises money and awareness for AIDS orphans.
Stephan and Chris Shelburne responded to Milt's challenge. Both are raising funds for their extended stay and ministry in Uganda. They hope to begin a new outreach to AIDS orphans. Funds will move through the Christian Relief Fund. Please pray for the success of this effort. The number one question of AIDS patients when diagnosed is, "What can be done for our children?" Perhaps this is where we can come in as partners.
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