AFRO-NETS> Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report - Tue, 2 Oct 2001

[Cecilia Snyder <csnyder@ccmc.org>]

Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report - Tue, 2 Oct 2001
----------------------------------------------

Volunteers Work to Keep Kenyan Children Orphaned by AIDS Together at 
Home

The Christian Science Monitor today profiles AIDS orphans in Kenya, 
describing how the epidemic has "forced [orphans] ... to play the 
part of adult at home," by leaving school, working to support their 
families and in some cases becoming the primary caregiver. While or-
phanages provide a place to sleep and eat, they do not offer the 
"warmth and support that can only come from family ties." Property 
rights are also a concern for orphans, for if children leave their 
homes, "they will lose their claim on their land, and it will be 
taken by relatives or other unscrupulous people," Roselyn Mutemi, 
UNICEF's Kenya program officer for HIV/AIDS, explained. "[I]n Kenya, 
if you have no land, it is like having nothing," she added. As a re-
sult, aid groups are working to help youth remain in their homes with 
their siblings by bringing needed food and supplies to them. Volun-
teers visit the orphans' homes to ensure that younger children bathe 
and eat, while older children are offered counseling and work train-
ing. According to the World Health Organization, AIDS has orphaned 12 
million children worldwide (Harman, Christian Science Monitor, 10/2). 

--
The Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, 
a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, by National 
Journal Group Inc. c 2001 by National Journal Group Inc. and Kaiser 
Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

--
Send mail for the `AFRO-NETS' conference to `<afro-nets@usa.healthnet.org>'.
Mail administrative requests to `<majordomo@usa.healthnet.org>'.
For additional assistance, send mail to:  `<owner-afro-nets@usa.healthnet.org>'.