We are a group of young couples from Valley Church in West Des Moines, Iowa who have felt God's call to help The Pines Christian Care Center for Children in Welkom, South Africa as they care for children who have been orphaned by the AIDS Pandemic in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Kevin Barber
As I am preparing my support letter with my wife, I came across the following information which helps put perspective on what we're doing. Please check out these individual pages - it is not a ton of reading, but I'm simply going to highlight some of the things that stuck out to me.

This is a bit of depressing stuff, but here's the good news: God has a plan and he's letting us in on a small part of it.

James 1:27: Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.


Africa's Orphan Crisis: Worst Is Yet to Come from the UNICEF website. Here are some startling stats and highlights, maybe you've heard them before, maybe not. In either case, take a moment to reflect on it:
AIDS has already orphaned more than 11 million African children, half of whom are between the ages of 10 and 14

...
In these three countries [Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland] and Zimbabwe, more than one in five children will be orphaned by 2010; more than 80 per cent of whom will have lost one or both parents due to AIDS

...
Children whose parents have already died are disadvantaged in numerous and often devastating ways. In addition to the trauma of witnessing the sickness and death, they are likely to be poorer and less healthy than non-orphans. They are more likely to suffer damage to their cognitive and emotional development, to have less access to education, and to be subjected to the worst forms of child labour.
And here is some more information from Avert.org
Total number of orphans due to AIDS, 2005
South Africa 1,200,000
Tanzania 1,100,000
Zimbabwe 1,100,000
Kenya 1,100,000
Uganda 1,000,000
Nigeria 930,000
Zambia 710,000
DR Congo 680,000
Malawi 550,000
Emotional Impact
  • Trauma of witnessing his/her parents sickness and eventual death
  • Adjusting to a new living situation with little or no support
  • "Anxiety, depression and anger were more found to be more common among AIDS orphans than other children. 12% of AIDS orphans affirmed that they wished they were dead, compared to 3% of other children interviewed."
Household/Economic Impact
  • shelter, food, clothing, health and education
  • "lack of income puts extra pressure on AIDS orphans to contribute financially to the household, in some cases driving them to the streets to work, beg or seek food."
  • Many children forced into providing for family/siblings
Educational Impact
  • "may miss out on school enrolment, have their schooling interrupted or perform poorly in school as a result of their situation. Expenses such as school fees and school uniforms present major barriers, since many orphans’ caregivers cannot afford these costs."
  • "research in Kenya suggests that children of HIV-positive parents are significantly less likely to attend school than other children"

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Saturday, December 02, 2006
Kevin Barber
Welcome. We are just starting to get this blog up and running. Please check back later and we'll post more information as we prepare and travel. Please pray for us as we prepare for our trip to South Africa.

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