Andisiwe Makinana
8 October 2002
Cape Town — THE WK Kellogg Foundation has donated $5 million - or more than R50m - to help HIV/Aids orphans in three southern African countries.
This is in response to figures released by the Human Science Research Council (HSRC) that about 4.7 million children in southern Africa have been orphaned due to Aids with more than 1.5 million of these in South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe.
In South Africa alone, there are an estimated 660 000 orphans, and this figure is set to grow significantly over the next 20 years as the epidemic takes its toll.
The focus on Aids orphans is a response to the enormous threat to the livelihood of the children.
They are faced with malnutrition, illness, early school termination and abuse.
The programme will provide grants to projects run by local communities for Aids orphans' well-being and socio-cultural development.
Dr Olive Shisana, of the HRSC, said because Aids orphans would have suffered the emotional trauma of losing parents and being displaced from their usual environment, as well as having possibly suffered discrimination, they would need to receive additional psycho-social support.
"It is crucial that children who are orphaned should be supported within households, rather than be institutionalised in residential care facilities," she said.
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