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RIGHTS-MOZAMBIQUE: A Glimmer of Hope for AIDS Orphans
By Lina Mucanse
MAPUTO, Nov 5 (IPS) - Ana Martinho, 15, is the eldest in a family of six.
Her mother died in March, after a long illness.
''My mother had been ill for a long time but we did not know what she was
suffering from until her friend contacted Reencontro (a non-governmental
organisation helping orphans and people living with HIV/AIDS). So, officials
from Reencontro came and took my mother to hospital. Because we were also
sick they took us to the hospital, but mom was so ill that she could not
recover and ended up dying in March,'' recalls Martinho.
A pupil of grade seven at Eduardo Mondlane Primary School in Laulane,
outside Maputo, Martinho says they do not have close relatives to look after
them. Their father, a vendor in the local market, died in December 1999.
And, with their mother ill and themselves young, there was no one in the
family to take over the business.
''I even thought of leaving school and looking for a job,'' she says. But
that did not happen, since Reencontro had offered to look after them.
''They give us food and clothing. And also pay our school fees,'' says
Martinho.
Another orphan who also gets help from Reencontro is Mariana Ostene, 17,
herself a student at Eduardo Mondlane Primary School. Ostene, the eldest in
a family of three, has similar story as Martinho's.
''First, my father died, followed by my mom,'' she says.
Following the death of their mother, the Ostene children were left with
their cousin. The cousin, who also has a family of her own to look after,
would share the little meals with them and pay their school fees. But
sometimes the orphans would go hungry for days because their cousin, who has
no job, depends on her husband.
One day, after Ostene had returned from school, the community leader
arrived, accompanied by two women. ''He told me that the women wanted to
hear our story before they can help us,'' she says.
It was the beginning of a new life for the Ostene children. The women,
sent by Reencontro, promised to give the orphans food, buy them medicine and
cloth.
Mariana says their life has changed since Reencontro began looking after
them.
Gomes Vilankulo, a community leader at Inhagoya, a suburb of Maputo, says
Reencontro has stepped in at the right moment. There is an increase in the
number of children who have lost their parents and who have no close
relatives to look after them.
In the past, orphans used to depend on neighbours, who took turns in
providing meals, a gesture that Vilankulo says did not work.
''When Reencontro invited us to identify children in need, we were
shocked to find that many households were headed by minors. It was sad to
see children looking after each other,'' says Vilankulo.
''What shocked us most was that children were dropping out of school to
go and beg on the street in an attempt to ensure a meal to younger brothers
and sisters,'' he recalls.
Reencontro, which was formed several years ago, started with a small
number of children from the suburb where it is located, Laulane. But soon
its activities expanded to other areas and now a total of 535 children
receive help in Maputo alone.
Reencontro chairperson, Doroteia Mbalane, says the group is also looking
after 500 AIDS orphans in Gaza province, where it has just set up an office.
She says the help it renders the children is just part of the group's
activities. ''We started our activities by providing home care to people
living with AIDS in Maputo,'' Mbalane says. ‘'Now we also look after
orphans. We pay their school fees and offer them free medical assistance so
that the orphans enjoy full rights as children.''
Official statistics show that 13 percent of Mozambique's 17 million
people are infected with HIV, while further 700 people are infected every
day.
The estimated number of children who have lost their mother or father or
both parents to AIDS, who were under age 15 during the first quarter of
2002, was about 430,000. And, the number is forecast to top one million by
2010.
Another estimates from UNAIDS/World Health Organisation (WHO) show that
630,000 of women aged between 15 and 49 are living with HIV/AIDS, while the
number of children aged 0-15 living with the disease is about 80,000. These
figures put Mozambique as one of the worst affected by the disease in
Africa.
Earlier this year, the Mozambican government announced a plan to
contribute about five million U.S. dollars into the newly created HIV/AIDS
fund, annually.
Mozambique has developed a plan to cut down HIV transmission and reduce
the impact of the disease on the country. The plan emphasises the need to
intensify awareness campaigns to educate young people, the most affected by
the pandemic.
The government also gives priority to counselling, voluntary testing, and
training for girls and women in the skills of sex
negotiation. (END/2002)
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