| Why Mothers for All |
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Background and Philosophy 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. 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 she, her family and her friends could support the women in similar situations in Botswana, which has the second highest HIV infection rate in Africa. In this large, sparsely populated country of fewer than two million people, around 120,000 children are estimated to have been orphaned by AIDS. While South Africa has the highest absolute number of orphans (1 200 000+) of any sub-Saharan country, Botswana has one of the highest ratios of orphans - nearly one out of every 10 people n Botswana are orphans compared with one out of every 40 people in South Africa. And around 80% of the orphans in Botswana have been orphaned as a result of AIDS, compared with around 50% in South Africa. Having lived in Botswana for fifteen years, Linda assembled a group of dedicated and passionate people, living in Botswana and beyond, all of who know and care for the country. 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 skills, providing a more sustainable means of support for themselves and their charges. It was decided to call the organisation Mothers for All, whose main aim is to help ensure that no child is left alone - a fate that no parent anywhere would wish on any child. |