Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2007. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies - November 28, 2007
Jean-Luc Martinage, International Federation
Around 4.6 million children in the region have already lost their parents to the pandemic. In many rural areas, entire villages have been decimated. Very often, only the children remain - and they are sometimes infected with the virus too, struggling to survive as best as they can.
The picture is much the same in the urban environment. This is the reality for five of the nine children in the care of Elizabeth Magalefa, a dynamic 37-year-old who lives in Mabopane, some 30 kilometres from the South African capital Pretoria.
Far from the grand buildings and luxury shopping centres that are springing up on the outskirts of the city, Elizabeth tells us her story in the modest, dilapidated garage, where she lives with her brothers and the children. "When my sister died of AIDS in March 2003, her partner of the time disappeared overnight, and I had no choice but to take in her five children, who would otherwise have been left to fend for themselves," she said.
"The youngest, aged ten, is also HIV positive. Happily, he is much better now, thanks to the antiretroviral treatment that he is receiving," explained the young woman who, in spite of the great difficulty of feeding such a big family, always has a radiant smile on her face that lights up the room the family is crammed into.
"I have been through difficult times, and things are still not easy," she continued. "Fortunately, I now receive support from South African Red Cross Society volunteers, who come to see us regularly."
Each week, Patricia Sebiji pays the family a visit. This South African Red Cross Society volunteer also lives in Mabopane and is all too familiar with the problems that people in the community face. She makes sure that both the grown-ups and the little ones have what they need and provides food assistance and blankets, if necessary. She also watches out for any secondary effects of the little boy's antiretroviral treatment. If she were to notice anything, she would send him straight to the nearest hospital.
Dikeledi, the elder sister, has just turned 18. She knows Patricia well. "When we have no money left to buy school material, the Red Cross provides it for us, along with a satchel. We were also given a tracksuit, so that we can take part in sports activities at school," she added.
When necessary, the Red Cross also pays school fees for children who do not receive a grant from the state. Dikeledi is lucky that she is supported by her aunt, but there are thousands of children who have to leave school each year to provide for their brothers and sisters.
"An important part of my work when I visit the family is to provide advice on health matters, particularly sex education, to prevent unwanted pregnancies and ensure that they all know how to protect themselves against becoming infected with HIV," explained the volunteer.
"Patricia also provides the family with psychological support," added David Stephens, who is in charge of the South African Red Cross Society health programme. "Many of these orphans have psychological problems stemming from the loss of their parents and also from the discrimination that they often suffer within their own communities."
The Red Cross encourages depressed and parentless children to go to Red Cross youth camps to alleviate their loneliness, get away from their environment and meet with other young people.
"It is true that the neighbours are sometimes wary of us, even in our area, as if the fact that members of our family have died of AIDS poses some kind of danger to them," confided the woman they call 'Auntie Elizabeth'. "My neighbours' children would never make the first move to play with my children, who, tired of trying to make friends in the neighbourhood, always end up playing together in the yard."
The young woman has learnt a lot during these troubled years and, instead of giving in to despair, Elizabeth has decided to share her experience. She has studied to become a social worker and hopes to open a centre to look after orphans in the town. Dikeledi also tells us that, in spite of her ordeal, she would like to become a Red Cross volunteer herself one day.
"What we saw in Elizabeth's family highlights the importance of the work carried out by Red Cross volunteers within the framework of home-based care programmes," said Patrick Couteau, the HIV coordinator of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Southern Africa.
"By 2010, we aim to be providing care for 460,000 orphans in Southern Africa, which is more than doubling the current support. Ten million children are expected to be orphaned as a result of AIDS between now and 2010. We need additional resources for the enormous task of offering these children a window of hope for the future and a minimum level of services providing psychological support, food assistance and school aid, whether they live in urban areas, such as this one in the Pretoria region, or in rural areas," he added.
In order to improve assistance for families like Auntie Elizabeth's, the International Federation has set up a Global Alliance on HIV in the region and launched an appeal for 384 million Swiss francs (USD 300 million, EUR 241 million) in November 2006 to finance plans for a massive scaling up of International Federation HIV action over five years.
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