Keep a Child Alive

Day 21 - Roja : Big Sister to All

The plight of AIDS orphans in India is one of immeasurable complexities that destines children to die with the virus left unchecked and untreated. The debilitating stigma that continues to surround HIV in India renders children orphaned by AIDS to be forcefully driven from their villages and left to fend for themselves. In the rural village of Chandrakal, located three hours outside of Hyderabad, Keep a Child Alive supports Living India to care for 60 children with HIV/AIDS once abandoned to these horrifying circumstances. Roja and her brother Mahesh were two of the first orphaned children to be taken into their care.
 
In 2007, Roja and Mahesh came to Chandrakal Hospital even before the orphan care home had been established. At that point, they had already lost their father to AIDS, and their mother, who was HIV+, had been a patient at the hospital for more than a year.  When their mother died at home, Roja and Mahesh were forced to sit inside the hut with their mother’s body for two full days.  The community did not understand the nature of the disease she had died from and what that meant about the two children who remained. Upon hearing about the situation, the Living India team rescued Roja and Mahesh and they became the beginning of Living India’s dream to create a Home of Hope for the HIV-positive orphans.
 
Sadly, in 2008, Mahesh died of AIDS - his health too far gone before coming into Living India’s care to survive.  Through everything, Roja has overcome.  Today, at age 14, Roja is the oldest girl in Living India’s family of 60 HIV+ orphans. She is very bright and wants to be a doctor when she grows up. She just tested within the top 10 percent of her class of 500 students. Roja is a leader, a young woman who takes charge of the younger ones when needed and unafraid to usher in order when the chaos of 60 children becomes a crescendo of activity. She is an eager participant in our inaugural tailoring class and very proud of her hand stitching.
 
This is why we do what we do at Keep a Child Alive – to give children like Roja who have suffered so much, the chance to regain their childhood and hope for the future.  Text BUYLIFE to 90999 to give $10 to help us continue these daily inspirational stories of hope, love and strength.

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Day 20 - Bashir : His Transformation Continues

A few weeks ago, KCA traveled from Kampala to Jinja to visit our beloved Bashir. We picked him up at a roadside vegetable stand alive with shoppers, boda-boda drivers and women balancing baskets piled high with vegetables on their heads while children scurried at their feet. Even in the crowded marketplace, it was easy to spot Bashir: Tall and still slight in build, his million-watt smile lights up his face and his manner makes him appear to stand head and shoulders above the activity around him. Waving good-bye to his buddies from the front seat of our car, there is no mistaking that Bashir is a man of standing in his community today.

His journey back to life, which we’ve shared throughout the past few years, is the story of the transformation possible with ARVs personified. When he was first admitted to Alive Medical Services, Bashir was given up for dead — but filled with the will to live. His wife, Farida, was pregnant with another baby and in those early days on the ward, as he slipped in and out of consciousness; his thoughts were of her and what would become of his family when he died. With each new day that found him still alive, Bashir became more aware of his surroundings and of the people at Alive Medical Services who, there beside his bed day and night, were caring for him. He did not know their names, only that they were like angels to him, gently holding a spoon to his mouth so he could eat and offering words of encouragement that calmed him into sleep.

As time went by, and Bashir grew stronger, it became apparent that treatment was working. Farida delivered their new baby girl, and both were tested for HIV. While Farida’s test came back positive, they both gave thanks that their child was spared. Farida commenced treatment at the clinic, and her health and hopes continue to remain strong.

Despite having endured painful set-backs throughout his recovery, including the damaging effects of TB which left him with a permanent limp in his right leg, followed by cancer, Bashir’s will to live never wavered: He remains convinced that the worst is behind him.

Having been restored to health, Bashir set about rebuilding the areas of his life that had suffered while he was sick. With the help of a small loan, he opened a boda-boda spare parts shop not far from the main road to Jinja. With funds from the shop, he is now able to send all 7 of his school-aged children to school. Today, he is better able to care for his family, contribute to the well being of his extended family, which lives in the houses around his, and to his community as a whole.

Winding deep into the sugar cane fields, our car passes a small school where a crowd of kids wave from the side of the road. The mass of brightly colored blue, red and white-checkered school uniforms lets out a collective giggle of excitement at the sight of us. Bashir sees his own children in the group and calls out to them. As if they’ve seen a superstar, the crowd of children erupts into a cheer. It’s a fitting welcome home for a hero like Bashir.
Bashir’s story is another reason why we do what we do at Keep a Child Alive. Text BUYLIFE to 90999 to give $10 to help us continue these daily inspirational stories of hope, love and strength.

See all of our Daily Inspirations.

Day 19: Mary & Anna - Home at Last

The high instances of child rape in South Africa are devastating. It takes a special group of people to respond to this reality. In Durban, Operation Bobbi Bear works on behalf of South Africa’s child victims of sexual abuse to help minimize their risk of HIV-infection, ensure their health and well-being in places of safety and bring their perpetrators to justice.

Three years ago, Bobbi Bear was called to assist the Durban police in the shutdown of a brothel. The police had learned that there were two little girls – ages 2 and 4 – that were living there, exposed to sexual acts of all kinds – things that children should never see. Bobbi Bear is recognized by the community, including the local police, as the experts in rescue. The police needed the Bobbi Bear Child Safety Officers to rescue these two children before any violence ensued with the shutdown of the brothel.

On the day of the police raid, one of the officers kicked down the door and one of the Child Safety Officers ran to the back of the house to look for the little girls. The backyard, where the little girls had played, was littered with garbage and full of used condoms.

Jackie, the Founder of Bobbi Bear, ran in and found a tiny two year old asleep in a filthy chair – Anna. She picked Anna up and walked her straight out of the house and into the Bobbi Bear car. The other child was nowhere to be found.

After extensive questioning, Bobbi Bear learned that the alleged father of the child had taken her down to the nearby park. The Child Safety Officers found the man there, flirting with a woman, while the small 4 year old was running around the park alone. Bobbi Bear took the child - Mary, and the police had to detain the man when he grew aggressive.

With both Mary and Anna in their care, the Bobbi Bear Child Safety Officers took them straight to the District Surgeon, to ensure that they had no physical injuries that needed to be seen to. Anna’s little pants were stiff, from having been peed in over and over again. After visiting with the District Surgeon, Jackie took the little girls to stay with her at home. When she prepared baths for them, the girls were confused about washing their hair – they never had washed it before.

It was very difficult to get the girls to sleep through the night – they were both victim to terrible nightmares. With the loving care and support of the Bobbi Bear team, the little girls soon learned that they could open up about the many things they had experienced while living in the brothel. Sometimes, they said, their alleged father would approach his mother for drug money, and if she refused, he would pick little Mary up by the neck and shake her. Another time, a dog was slaughtered in front of their eyes.

Initially, the local office of Social Development agreed to put them in Jackie’s foster care for six weeks, but after that they wanted to return the two little girls to the woman who ran the brothel, who claimed to be their grandmother. However, the Department did not have birth certificates or hospital records for the girls, so Bobbi Bear refused to release them back into their alleged grandmother’s care. It was becoming increasingly apparent that these little girls had been trafficked into South Africa, and Bobbi Bear would not agree to hand over Mary and Anna to anyone until there was proof that they even existed.

Mary and Anna remained in Bobbi Bear’s care for the next three years. In that time, a sister of their alleged grandmother came forward and said that she wanted to foster them. Bobbi Bear investigated the sister and determined that this woman was unfit to care for Mary and Anna, but the Department of Social Development decided that they should try to live with her for six weeks anyway. When they returned to Bobbi Bear, they were a mess. The girls could not stop crying or wetting themselves. They said they were told that Bobbi Bear did not love them anymore.

Recently, another alleged family member came forward to take care of the girls. Bobbi Bear investigated the aunt and determined it was okay to allow the girls to stay with this new woman for the weekend. Two days later, Mary and Anna came back perfectly fine. Next they stayed with the aunt for a week, and returned completely content. Then the girls stayed with the aunt over the school holidays, and they came back lovely. Recently, Bobbi Bear organized with the Department of Social Development for Mary and Anna to be officially placed in their aunt’s foster care. The girls are so happy – you can see in their faces that they feel loved in their new home!

The foster mother lives five hours away from where Bobbi Bear operates, but the girls come down once a month to visit the Bobbi Bear family that raised them these last three years. During their last visit, someone asked Anna if she wanted to come back to live with Jackie, to which she answered, “No! I want to visit, but I like my school!”

The brothel where Mary and Anna were found has been shut down, and the alleged grandmother was declared unfit to care for the girls through court of law, and is not allowed to get close to them. After three years of tears, sleepless nights, court cases every other week, and fighting to protect these two beautiful little girls, the Bobbi Bear team is so grateful to have found a safe and loving home for Mary and Anna to continue to grow up in. The Honor Program at Bobbi Bear travels to visit Mary and Anna in their new home every few months, to ensure that they will continue to be well cared for.

This is why we do what we do. Keep a Child Alive started supporting Bobbi Bear’s work three years ago, right around the time that Mary and Anna first came to Bobbi Bear. We believe in and are proud to support Operation Bobbi Bear. Text BUYLIFE to 90999 to give $10 to help us continue these daily inspirational stories of hope, love and strength.

*Names changed to protect anonymity

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Day 18 - Tendai Shishange : A Sister’s Sacrifice

Before AIDS, there was no word for orphan in Africa. Now, there are more than 16 million worldwide.

We live in a world where 16.6 million children have been orphaned by AIDS, 15 million in Sub-Saharan Africa alone. Keep a Child Alive, founded as an urgent response to access AIDS treatment to the poor, increasingly finds itself responding to the epidemic of orphaned and vulnerable children whose parents could not be saved in time.

In Africa, an entire generation of children has grown into adulthood without the love, care and protection of their parents. AIDS has decimated the extended family system: children have been robbed of their parents, and the elderly left with a generation of grandchildren to raise in their old age.

South Africa is a country full of orphans - 1.9 million orphans. One thousand people die from AIDS every day in South Africa alone, creating hundreds of new orphans who are left to raise themselves and their siblings in child-headed households.  Ikageng Itireleng AIDS Ministry in Soweto provides for all the basic needs of these children relieving the pressure on older children who, having lost their parents to AIDS, are forced to take on adult roles.  It is an uphill battle as every family that Ikageng succeeds in enabling to sustain themselves, AIDS creates new orphan families in Soweto in need of Ikageng’s love and support.

Tendai’s, who at age 17, cares for her younger brothers ages 15, 12 and 7, and her own 2-year-old son. The children live together in a tin shack in the outskirts of Soweto, without electricity or running water. They lost their mother to AIDS four years ago, and Tendai has been taking care of her family ever since. They depend on Ikageng fully for food, education, clothing, medical care and support services to help them overcome the tragedy they’ve experienced. Keep a Child Alive met Tendai and her family last year, and despite their devastating circumstances we found them in, never once did they complain, but rather greeted our team warmly with huge smiles. The resilience of Tendai’s family was inspiring, but left our team with an overwhelming reminder of how much work remains to be done.

Tendai and her family, KCA grantees in South Africa and their story is another reason why we do what we do at Keep a Child Alive. Text BUYLIFE to 90999 to give $10 to help us continue these daily inspirational stories of hope, love and strength.

See all of our Daily Inspirations.

Day 17 - Savitri : A Life Rebuilt

Keep a Child Alive seeks to empower and enrich our patient’s lives as a whole, hence our motto of “life beyond the pill.” Many of our patients seek more than relief from their illness, but a chance to begin their life anew and leave the devastation of their past behind them. Such is the case of one of Sahara Aalhad Care Home’s many success stories: Savitri.

At 14-years-old, Savitri was forced to marry a man six years older, a practice that is often customary in India. Previously diagnosed as an epileptic, she was instructed by her family to keep her illness a secret for fear of retaliation on behalf of her in-laws. Having no say in the matter, she moved in with her new husband and his family and she was abused and ostracized. Scared and alone, her husband’s family discovered she was epileptic and sent her back to her father’s house.

At fifteen, Savitri’s mother passed away and she became the caretaker of the household. After suffering an epileptic seizure that badly burning her face, Savitri’s family encouraged her to get a divorce. She decided that the only way to secure her future was to become pregnant. Her former husband agreed and when Savitri was eighteen-years-old her son, Avinash, was born. Excited to have a grandson, her husband’s family allowed her to move back to their home but the abuse continued and she fled back to her father’s house.
She fell severely ill and discovered that she had contracted HIV from her husband. Having no knowledge of the virus, she was informed of the gravity of its implications and contemplated suicide. Learning that her son was HIV-negative motivated her to stay alive. In 2007, she was referred to Sahara where, after treatment, she began to recover and rebuild her life. Sahara taught her skills and trades that allowed her to become financially independent and able to provide for herself and her son.

In 2009 she fell ill again and was re-admitted to Sahara. It was there that she met Ravi, and the two fell in love and married. After her marriage, her ex-husband threatened to take her child away and her family disowned her. However, Savitri had a new family of her own and renewed hope for the future.

Thanks to her determined spirit and the assistance of Sahara, today she, her husband, and Avinash are alive and thriving. Avinash considers Ravi his father and Savitri says that she is happy wither her marriage. “I told him that I lived without a man for eleven years,” she says, “so even if he leaves me, life will go on. But there is a lot of love in our marriage. We do fight with each other sometimes, but in the end, we always make up and feel as much in love with each other as before.” Savitri and her family are yet another example of why we do what we do at Keep a Child Alive.

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Day 16 - Patra : Abandoned at Birth

Meet Patra: A beautiful baby girl from Kampala, Uganda. When Patra was born, she was abandoned and left outside of a local hospital. Severely malnourished and suffering from a fungal infection, she was brought to Alive Medical Services in December of 2010, when she was just eight months old. Weighing barely ten pounds and visibly sick, Patra’s condition was extremely dire. She tested positive for HIV, and doctors at AMS immediately placed her on anti-retroviral treatment.

In January of this year, doctors were concerned when Patra developed a cough and fever. They soon discovered that she had contracted tuberculosis, another deadly illness that plagues the African continent. HIV and tuberculosis are a lethal combination and tuberculosis is the leading cause of death among people who are HIV-positive.

Fearing for Patra’s survival, AMS amended her treatment program in an effort to fight both viruses simultaneously. Miraculously, and to the relief and joy of the entire AMS staff, Patra persevered and responded well to treatment. Today she weighs 17 pounds and her fungal infection, cough and fever have disappeared. AMS says that she “has a good appetite, is very active and jolly.”

Patra, having been restored to health, is now living in the Malaika Babies Home – a temporary shelter for abandoned or vulnerable children. In addition to receiving medical care from AMS, Patra is also a beneficiary of the AMS Nutritional Program.  It is the treatment and food that Patra is receiving from AMS that has allowed her to defy the odds and flourish into the beautiful little girl she is today. And it is stories like that of Patra’s that never cease to inspire and motivate us at Keep a Child Alive.

Patra’s story is another reason why we do what we do at Keep a Child Alive. Text BUYLIFE to 90999 to give $10 to help us continue these daily inspirational stories of hope, love and strength.

See all of our Daily Inspirations.

Day 15 - Afaafa : A Baby with a New Beginning

Little Afaafa is the youngest child in his family of five. His father passed away due to an HIV-related illness, leaving Afaafa and his siblings in the sole care of their mother. Afaafa’s mother is a day laborer with no family to turn to for help as she struggles to care for her children through extreme poverty. As if these hardships were not enough, 11-month-old Afaafa fell sick with symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea. Desperate to save his life, Afaafa’s mother decided to seek medical help using her meager wages. When she brought Afaafa to the hospital, he was diagnosed with severe pneumonia, and immediately admitted.

Afaafa was later referred to our Family Care Clinic (FCC) in Mombasa, Kenya. Extremely weak, Afaafa’s condition was critical, and we feared he would not survive. We tested baby Afaafa for HIV, and started doing everything we could to help him get stronger. We ordered nutritional rehabilitation, and put him under the strict care of our doctors to ensure he was treated for any infections while we waited for the HIV test results.

When the results arrived, they showed that Afaafa was HIV-positive. He was immediately started on HIV treatment, and he surprised the entire FCC staff with his rapid daily improvement. After just two weeks, baby Afaafa was well enough to return home.

Two weeks later, Afaafa was brought for his medication refill and routine checkup. He was a completely different child from the one he had been when we first met him! Now, he was vibrant, playful and friendly. Gone was the cranky, weak and fragile baby near death that we had met just eight weeks before.

Today, baby Afaafa is doing very well. His new strength and brilliant smile fills us with inspiration and motivation every time he comes to the clinic for a checkup. Afaafa’s mother is also relieved to see her child’s improved health, and is more determined than ever to work to keep herself and her family well.

Baby Afaafa’s story is another reason why we do what we do at Keep a Child Alive. Text BUYLIFE to 90999 to give $10 to help us continue these daily inspirational stories of hope, love and strength.

*Name changed to protect anonymity

See all of our Daily Inspirations.

Day 14 - Moses: A Child’s Spirit Broken

Moses was always the first to jump in front of the camera.  He loved to have his photo taken, and to look at his image grinning back at him a few seconds later from the little screen on the digital camera.  Just 11 years old when he came to Alive Medical Services, Moses had been surrounded by the sickness and suffering of AIDS for as long as he could remember.  His own father, and then his mother, had wasted away in front of his eyes until AIDS finally took them away for good.  Left with only an older sister to look after him who didn’t want the burden of his care, Moses still felt like he was one of the lucky ones.  Unlike his father and mother, he was on medicine for AIDS from Alive Medical Services, and he was feeling great.

Moses loved attending school, and was receiving high marks in Primary 7.  He had lots of energy to play soccer, too, because he and his sister now had help with food from AMS.  He loved to spend time at AMS where everyone knew him, joked around with him, and told him he could achieve anything in life.  He felt special and safe there, away from his sister who only wanted him to be adopted and go away.

When Moses was accepted to Standard 1, he just couldn’t believe it!  His father and mother looking down from heaven would be so proud of him, everyone at AMS would share the excitement of his great news, and even his sister and her new husband would see how hard he was working at his studies and be happy.  He would go to Standard 1, one day maybe even to University — there would be no stopping him.

On April 26th 2011, Moses died.  He was a boy of just 13 years, smart and filled with all the enthusiasm in the world to take on life – but instead, tragically, life was taken from him.  In the last few months of his life, Moses was far from the confident boy who loved to have his picture taken.  He was merely a shadow of his former self, barely recognizable to even those who knew him so well at AMS.

Although accepted to Standard 1, Moses’ sister refused to pay the small school fees for him to attend and he was made to repeat P7. This broke Moses heart! At home, he was treated badly – no one cared if he lived or died, and nothing he did could make a difference.  He fell into despair and stopped taking his ARV medicines.  Soon he was sick, wasting away to bones, and came to AMS with a terrible cough rattling his chest.  When his sister talked to the doctor at the clinic, she said that Moses was always given food to eat at home, but that she could not force him to take his medicine to stay well.  What she didn’t say is that he didn’t really have a home.  He had no love there and no one to feed his spirit when his hopes were broken; he was a burden to all – and that was his life.
 
Moses gave up on life, despite its promise for those on AIDS treatment, and despite the comprehensive surrounding care and support from a place like AMS.  He was a young boy with much more to overcome in life than AIDS, and he deserved much better from life than what it gave him.

This is why we do what we do at Keep a Child Alive. Text BUYLIFE to 90999 to give $10 to help KCA continue these daily inspirational stories of hope, love and strength.

See all of our Daily Inspirations.

Day 13 - Sparrow: A Little Bird Gets Her Wings

Two years ago, Sparrow was found living in a tin shack, abandoned by her mother, fending for herself and trying to keep her baby sibling alive.  She was a little girl, just four years old, when she was brought to Nkosi’s Haven severely malnourished, dehydrated and weighing only 11 pounds.  The baby left in her care died just a little while after.
 
Located in Johannesburg, South Africa, Nkosi’s Haven has become a sanctuary for HIV+ mothers and their children, and children who have been orphaned by AIDS.  When they took little Sparrow in, Founder Gail Johnson gave her a teddy bear, and Sparrow was so fragile and afraid that she would bite anyone who tried to take the bear away from her.
 
As she grew more familiar with her new home at the Haven, Sparrow soon discovered the kitchen, the place where the food comes from!  She would sit on the chest deepfreeze and pick at the food, holding it between her thumb and her forefinger, and putting it in her mouth like a little bird – like a sparrow.
 
Gloria, the cook, who has no children of her own, fell in love with Sparrow, and no more perfect match could be made at Nkosi’s Haven where the mothers with HIV care for the orphaned children there.  Gloria has become a mother to Sparrow.
 
Several months ago, Sparrow’s biological mother was released from jail.  She wanted to see Sparrow, but Sparrow refused to leave her new family at Nkosi’s Haven and return to the mother who had abandoned her just a few years before.  Recently, Sparrow’s mother died, and while the cause is not confirmed, all signs point to AIDS.  If Sparrow had been released into her mother’s care, where would she be now?
 
“This little one has gone through the kind of losses and traumas that not many experience in a lifetime,” says Gail, “but her resilience in mind-blowing.”  Sparrow is 6 years old now and weighs nearly 45 pounds.  She has learned English, has a brilliant appetite, and is doing well on her ARV medication.  The play therapy services at Nkosi’s Haven continue to be crucial to Sparrow’s development, as she is slowly learning to be comfortable with expressing her emotions.
 
Sparrow, a child born into tragedy who now has a loving home at Nkosi’s Haven, is why we do what we do at Keep a Child Alive.  And the number of AIDS orphans in South Africa only continues to grow.  Text BUYLIFE to 90999 to give $10 to help KCA continue these daily inspirational stories of hope, love and strength.

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Day 12 - Bobbi Bear: Protecting the Most Vulnerable

Meet some of the warrior women working for Operation Bobbi Bear. In the province of Kwa-Zulu Natal, one in every four girls faces the prospect of being raped by her sixteenth birthday. Operation Bobbi Bear works on behalf of South Africa’s child victims of sexual abuse helping to minimize their risk of HIV-infection at point of rescue, ensuring their health and well-being in places of safety and bringing their perpetrators to justice. This team serves over 4000 children a month through rescue, outreach and awareness and their stories are painful but the numbers they reach are incredible.

Because of the team of Operation Bobbi Bear, and the children they serve, we continue to fight and do what we do at Keep a Child Alive. Text BUYLIFE to 90999 to give $10 to help us continue these daily inspirational stories of hope, love and strength.

See all of our Daily Inspirations.