Adopting an AIDS orphan in Africa is one of the ways to help families and communities cope with the ever-increasing number of children orphaned by AIDS in Africa. Many African states resources have been stretched to the limit in an attempt to address the broader effects of the HIV/AIDS situation, especially to assist the high numbers of African AIDS orphan families. However, the governments efforts coupled with those of civil society have not been enough.
Adopting an AIDS orphan is therefore an important intervention because it means saving a life. It means a decreased strain on government resources as that child’s needs – including food, shelter, education, healthcare and other physical and emotional needs – are met by an able and helping hand. To do this is impossible for many African families and communities because they have all been affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic in one way or the other; already they bear some kind of responsibility resulting from this health crisis.
Most of these children are without both parents. In many situations this has left the eldest child in the family, who at times is less than 10 years old, responsible for his/her siblings ranging from any number between 5 to 15 because of the extended family set up and cultures such as polygamy which are still very much practiced in Africa. This responsibility is a burden on that child that they cannot possibly bear for long without succumbing to pressures that may put their own life at risk. Read the rest of this entry »
