The Future Children Project
One of the worst
impacts of HIV/AIDS in Nyanza province of Kenya is the alarming growth in the
number of orphaned children and is a major cause of infant and child illness
and mortality.
Kenya accounts for
about 5 per cent of the world Aids cases and has the highest number of Aids
orphans in the world. Nearly 7% of the adult population of Kenya is affected by
HIV/AIDS, at the moment over 1.9 Million children in Kenya have been orphaned
due to HIV/AIDS.
These children are a
great burden not only to the extended families but also to the community and
the nation. They are left with nothing to fall back on upon the death of their
parents, as in many cases the parents sold their property or personal
belongings to pay for medication costs and other needs during their illness.
Most of these
children drop out of school, provide child labour, or end up in the streets of
the local urban centres. Grandparents and extended families try to care for
these orphans, but with great burden, and again in most cases against a
background of abject poverty.
Our aim and approach
to the Future Children’s Project is to build a children’s home and community
arts centre with a difference and provide a holistic approach in order to
uplift the general welfare for HIV/AIDS orphan children through a sustainable
and multifaceted support system.