When there is no time to give
2/03/2007
When there is no time to give
By Paul Brown, National Director, ChildFund New Zealand
As we celebrate this day by “giving time” spare a thought for children in developing countries for whom spending quality time with caring parents and adults is unthinkable. Many of these children have themselves had to take on the mantle of caregivers and, unlike most New Zealand children, have no parental guidance or time for play or school.
With an entire generation of adults disappearing to the AIDS epidemic in Africa, an increasing number of children are becoming heads of their own households. Their duties often include caring for one or both chronically ill parents, forcing them to drop out of school. Eventually their parents die leaving these children completely alone and lacking the necessary skills to earn a living. The love and security of parents and the very family structure children so desperately need is taken from them.
In the last decade, the proportion of children who were orphaned as a result of AIDS rose from 3.5 per cent to 32 per cent. Globally it is estimated that 15 million children are AIDS orphans, with 12 million of them living in Sub-Saharan Africa, the epicentre of HIV/AIDS.
These statistics do not convey the human tragedy at the individual and community level of this epidemic. Selamwit, a 15 year old Ethiopian orphan and her younger sister Bethlehem woke one morning in their mother’s arms to find that she had died as they slept. Apart from having each other, the girls were totally alone in the world, forcing Selamwit to take on the roles of both mother and father to her younger sister. She does all household chores and earns a small amount of money by exchanging coins for notes at taxi stops often working an 11 hour day. Only with the support of international humanitarian organisations such as ChildFund combined with her meagre earnings is it possible for them to stay together, receive medical care and attend school.
Dr Meherete Menebere, ChildFund HIV/AIDS specialist based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where there are 1.2 million AIDS orphans, says that orphaned children are extremely vulnerable from an early age, and with no family bread winner there is no guarantee of shelter, food, schooling or clothing.
“When children lose parents due to AIDS and become the head of families at an early age, it kills their childhoods as they are forced to think and act like adults all the time. Mentally they are stressed and depressed.”
This view is supported by a recent Cornell University study of the social networks of child-headed households in Namibia which found that 42 per cent of the child-heads had thought about suicide. A further disturbing finding was that some of the children heading households were as young as nine years old.
For most New Zealanders it is hard to imagine such young children left to fend for themselves with the full knowledge of their communities and government. In New Zealand, our well-funded legal and social systems ensure the needs of children are met when the family structure fails.
Dr Menebere knows from experience that without aid or child sponsorship programmes provided by international humanitarian agencies like ChildFund, AIDS orphans’ most basic needs would not be met leaving them vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.
“The community discriminates against them because of their association with AIDS. The hardest thing to witness is that most of these children do not have a future. Many do not expect a tomorrow.”
International humanitarian agencies are working hard to put programmes in place to prevent the spread of HIV and help people affected but with limited resources, they are just scratching the surface. In order to identify and expand successful prevention strategies and care models greater funding is necessary. We must invest in children since they are the foundation of sustainable social and economic development, and thus the means to help developing countries become developed countries.
As we invest the gift of time in our children this weekend, we can be thankful they do not need to cope alone in the world. We can recognise the difference we make in our children’s lives and remember those children who, through no fault of their own, must shoulder the responsibilities of adulthood alone.
For more information about ChildFund call 0800 223 111 or go to www.childfund.org.nz
ENDS
PHOTOGRAPH: Bethlehem (left) and her elder sister 15 year old Selamwit only have each other. Source: Phill Prendeville
For comment please call:
Paul Brown
National Director, ChildFund New Zealand
DDI: (09) 966 0864, Mobile: 027 556 6196
Level 6, 17 Albert St, Auckland City
paul@childfund.org.nz
For further information please call:
Kiri Carter
ChildFund New Zealand
Mobile: 027 453 4854
About ChildFund New Zealand
ChildFund New Zealand is an international child development organisation which works in 54 countries, assisting 11.4 million children and family members regardless of race, creed or gender.
ChildFund New Zealand, a member of Childfund International, works for the well-being of children by supporting locally-led initiatives that strengthen families and communities, helping them overcome poverty and protect the rights of their children.
ChildFund's comprehensive programs incorporate health, education, nutrition and livelihood interventions that sustainably protect, nurture and develop children. ChildFund works in any environment where poverty, conflict and disaster threaten the well-being of children.
