Giving Children Affected by AIDS the Opportunity to Dream



Giving Children Affected by AIDS the Opportunity to Dream

Titus loves to play soccer, cook with his brother and do math. One day the 12-year-old hopes to be an engineer. Yet, Titus faces some serious challenges. He lives in the Kibera slum of Nairobi, Kenya, a tough place to grow up. Most families live in one-room shanties constructed of makeshift materials, and children typically sleep on the floor. Adding to these disadvantages, Titus and his mother are both HIV-positive.

But with support from ChildFund, Titus has found a bit of good fortune in the midst of harsh challenges. He and his mom receive the medications they need to stay healthy, and they also attend a support group for those affected by HIV and AIDS.

Titus and his mother, who is a community health worker and sells vegetables near their home, tested HIV-positive in 2006. His mother was in shock for the first year and didn’t take medications she needed to be healthy. Today, though, thanks to the support group, both mother and son take their medicine regularly and have learned about nutrition therapy, as well as receiving water treatment kits and school materials. Titus went to a special camp for children affected by HIV and AIDS last year.

Titus is happy and confident about the future, and he and his parents and brothers talk about HIV openly. “The one thing I love about my family is that we love each other,” he says. 

Kenya has a serious AIDS epidemic that touches virtually everyone in the country. Although the prevalence of the disease has declined in the past 15 years, in 2011, 1.6 million people — 6.2 percent of the country — were recorded as HIV-positive, according to UNICEF, and 1.1 million children were AIDS orphans.

Children like Titus, including some who don’t have the same level of family support, need our help to stay healthy and receive the education and other resources they require for a fulfilling future. For the past two years, ChildFund has implemented a long-term support program for children in Kenya who have been affected by HIV and AIDS.

How You Can Help

We provide health services, educational support and community assistance with a $3.5 million matching grant. To meet its terms, ChildFund must raise $725,491 by Aug. 31. Because of this arrangement, your dollars will go a long way; each one will be matched by $4.35. Numerous children and families in Kenya will benefit from your gift.

So far, 350 children and 200 parents have been tested for HIV and received counseling, and more than 1,000 families have started income-generating work that allows them to afford nutritious food and school materials. More than 70,000 children have received insecticide-treated mosquito nets that help prevent malaria, a disease that is particularly debilitating for those already weak with HIV or AIDS.

We can do so much more with your generous donations. More children like Titus can dream of one day becoming engineers — or teachers or doctors or anything else they want to be.

By Kate Andrews, with reporting by Joan Ng’ang’a, ChildFund Kenya

http://blog.childfund.org/2013/08/giving-children-affected-by-aids-the-opportunity-to-dream/