Why Mothers for All

The Problem

Every mother hopes that, should she die, someone will be there to care for her children. But in sub-Saharan Africa, ravaged by the AIDS epidemic, millions of mothers have little or no means to ensure this. It has been estimated that of the 15 million children under 18 who have been orphaned as a result of AIDS worldwide, 12 million of them live in sub-Saharan Africa. This figure is expected to climb to 16 million by 2010. In many areas, children have been left to fend for themselves as the disease has killed not only their parents, but their parent’s parents and siblings as well, giving rise to hundreds of thousands of 'child-headed' households - a term that cannot adequately convey the desperateness of such a situation.

Background
In 2003, when Linda Scott began working for a website that was profiling all the non-profit organisations working in the field of HIV and AIDS in South Africa, she was astounded to learn of woman after woman, often with a minimum of resources, opening their homes and hearts to the orphans and vulnerable children in their communities. Women like Busiswe Khawula, a retired nurse who started a drop-in centre for over 45 orphans and vulnerable children in her impoverished neighbourhood. Explaining her work, Busiswe says “Saving a child every day – that is how I give back to the community.” As if this is the most natural step for anyone who has the means, however meagre, to help a child in need.

Inspired by such extraordinary resourcefulness and compassion, Linda began to consider how to support women in similar situations in Botswana, which has the second highest HIV infection rate in Africa. In a country of fewer than two million people, around 100,000 children are estimated to have lost one or both parents to AIDS. While South Africa has the highest absolute number of AIDS orphansof any sub-Saharan country, Botswana has one of the highest ratios of AIDS orphans: nearly one out of every 18 people in Botswana is an AIDS orphan compared with one out of every 30 people in South Africa. Around 80% of the total number of all types of orphans in Botswana have been orphaned as a result of AIDS, compared with around 50% in South Africa.

Linda, who had lived in Botswana for 15 years, assembled a group of dedicated and passionate family and friends, in Botswana and beyond. Together they discussed how the orphans and vulnerable children could best be helped. The overwhelming consensus, backed by an increasing body of evidence, was to find a way to train the people caring for these children in income-generation and entrepreneurship skills, providing a more sustainable means of support for themselves and their charges.

In 2007, Linda's daughter, Robyn, wrote a memoir about the family's life in Botswana, during the rise of the AIDS epidemic. Proceeds from this book were used to start Mothers for All - an organisation whose main aim would be to help ensure that no child is left alone.