| Why Mothers for All |
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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 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 orphans of 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, illustrating the devastation the epidemic is wreaking on families throughout the country. 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 a growing body of evidence, was to find ways to support, educate and train their caregivers, particurlarly in income-generating and life skills. Research shows that when mothers or caregivers receive additional income and education the immediate beneficiaries are the children in their care. 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, Twenty Chickens for a Saddle, were used to help start Mothers for All. Growth - 2008 onwards The organisation is in the process of becoming registered as a non-profit organisation in South Africa where we have so far trained 30 caregivers, including some maximum security prisoners who wanted to help the orphans in their community. |
