Orphans and Vulnerable Children

With the HIV/AIDS epidemic raging at full force during the '90s and 2000s, entire families were destroyed when it took the lives of mothers and fathers alike. Hearing stories from that time, it was commonplace to have dozens of funerals take place each weekend in one community alone. The result was a flood of children left behind as orphans. At some point, extended families cared for orphans, but the vast number of deaths have left children alone, to be cared for by a grandmother or by an older sibling in orphan-headed households. This is one manifestation of how HIV/AIDS has drastically changed the social fabric of South African society.

One response to this crisis and the needs of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) was the establishment of halfway houses, child care centers where children could drop in during the day. Mpilonhle founded 18 halfway houses in the rural uThukela district surrounding Ladysmith. It is estimated that the HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in this area is about 40%, and there have been over 3,000 OVC identified. Each halfway house cares for more than 50 children.

Vezimpil Project is one of the halfway house I visited with Mpilonhle.

The halfway house programs take place in donated buildings that are hosted by a family or located in community centers. OVC go to the halfway house in the morning before school for a hot breakfast and return again after school for lunch, assistance with homework, grooming, laundry, life skills, art, and recreational activities. As one can imagine, given the circumstances OVC face at very young ages, many of them have great psycho-social needs. There are workshops to help children deal with the trauma and the pervasive death surrounding them. Positive changes, in regards to school attendance and performance and health and wellness, have been observed in OVC who attend these halfway houses.

Vezimpil Project is housed in a long, narrow room. Here, the volunteers, who only receive a small stipend, cook and serve the meals and the children gather.

In the past year, the kids have helped paint and decorate it so as to create a warm and inviting atmosphere. The next project involves getting books for the children and shelving to store them.

Important messages are painted on the walls reminding the children about how to maintain their health and wellness. 

As you can see from this message about the importance of knowing your HIV status, these young kids are aware of very mature concepts.

The volunteers also maintain a garden that provides food for the house. This is one way to make the house more self-sustaining and less dependent on donor funds. Means to diversify income sources are continually explored to ensure that the houses can continue after grants end.