Sunday Times (Johannesburg) - December 12, 2004

"'All these children need is a mother, a father, a brother, an uncle and an aunt in someone'"

"'People think that in urban areas things are better for the kids, but actually they're not'" Print Send to a friend

ISRAEL MLAMBO

CAROL Dyantyi is a saviour to 400 Sowetan children.

The mother of five looks after 136 child-headed households who are struggling to cope, following the deaths of their parents from Aids.

She has attended matric dances, bought birthday presents, sorted out strife at school and is there to comfort them at any hour of the day or night. "My reward is the joy and happiness I get from what I do for these kids. It fulfils me," she said.

Dyantyi was speaking from the Ikageng Itireleng Aids Ministry Centre she runs in Orlando West during a drive by the 46664 HIV/Aids campaign to encourage volunteerism.

Aids orphans and child-headed households are common in rural areas. Dyantyi's work shows they are also a reality in urban areas.

Helped by a network of volunteers and on a tiny budget that comes from donations - and her own pocket - Dyantyi feeds the 400 children, finds accommodation for them, clothes them, enrols them at school and even helps some to get jobs.

Her centre spends about R30000 a month on food only and her assistant, Cristianne Wendler, drives up to 100km a day making food deliveries across Soweto.

This week, Dyantyi was accompanied by musicians Kabelo and Mzekezeke to some of the homes that fall under her care.

Naledi, a child at one such home, burst into surprised tears when the kwaito stars sang Happy Birthday and Dyantyi presented her with new clothes for her 14th birthday.

Naledi, like eight of her live-in cousins, lost both her parents to HIV/Aids. The youngest is four-year old Kedibone and the oldest is Bonolo, 18 -who got a job at Woolworths with Dyantyi's help.

The nine orphans look after each other, taking turns to cook and clean in their three-roomed shack.

They have been shunned by the community because of the killer disease that ripped through their family. All they have are themselves and Dyantyi.

Dyantyi is shocked by the growing number of Aids orphans as South Africa begins to feel the full impact of the epidemic that grips the country.

"Every day children knock on our doors, and others keep silent and never approach us," she said.

Phumzile, 13, is another child that Dyantyi has rescued. She found the young girl in a queue at the local Child Protection Unit office, accompanied by an elderly neighbour.

"Our eyes kept playing with each other and I could feel she was hurting," said Dyantyi.

She introduced herself to the girl and today Phumzile takes pride in regarding Dyantyi as her new mother. During the holidays she stays with two other girls in Dyantyi's care at a house in Silvertown, Soweto.

The house belongs to Ceniwe, whom Dyantyi had found living alone with her brother in a shack next to the foundations of a house laid by her parents. Through donations and the help of volunteers, Dyantyi managed to complete the house and furnish it.

Ceniwe shares the house with her "sister", another one of Dyantyi's wards, 15-year-old Sizeka.

Ceniwe's brother could not deal with the death of his parents and succumbed to drugs. Dyantyi has placed him in rehabilitation.

A hospitality manager by profession, Dyantyi left her job, after being retrenched several times, to help orphaned children. She has since completed two community care courses.

Dyantyi said it was important for people to change their perceptions about Aids orphans.

"There's a lot of stigmatisation around these children," she said.

Although they are dealing with the death of their parents and have to take care of their siblings, they also have the same dreams and wishes as other children. "All these children need is a mother, a father, a brother, an uncle and an aunt in someone," said Dyantyi.

Last month, Sandile, 19, asked Dyantyi to make his night perfect by being his matric dance date.

"The gap of not having parents was filled up and I had a wonderful time with Sis Carol," said Sandile.

Having lost both parents in less than a year, Sandile and his two siblings have only Dyantyi to see them through their plight.

"I feel like I have a second mother in her. She pays for my school, and buys my lunch and groceries."

Dyantyi said most of the children she looks after don't have child grants and many cannot gain access to state funds because they don't have birth certificates. She has also been turned away when she has tried to get grants for the children because she is not the legal parent.

Enrolling at school and ensuring they have food are some of the problems facing Aids orphans.

"The silence, the rejection and the stigmatisation finally gets to the child one way or the other," she said.

Many turn to prostitution and shoplifting to provide for their siblings. "People think that in urban areas things are better for the kids, but actually they're not," she said.

Dyantyi pointed out that living in the city doesn't necessarily mean better access to care and education or employment opportunities. And often the children are subjected to terrible abuse.

Some, who have travelled from rural areas to be with their parents, find themselves abandoned.

"Other people see these children but can't help because they themselves are caught up in poverty because of unemployment," she said.

"It's everyone's problem because if we reject these children, we're building a generation of angry youth who will turn to hijacking," she said.

HOW YOU CAN HELP:

*Clothes;

*Taking the children for outings; and

*Any other way you can.

Ikageng Itireleng Aids Ministry can be reached on (011) 536-0104 or call Cristianne on 084-814-7597.

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