AIDS Orphans: Overwhelming Statistics

Blog post by Wendy K, Team Haiti 2012

Looking through the lens of my mind’s eye, I see two children.
Two children separated by continents.

One sitting pretty clothed in family,
A backdrop of abundance….
A broad smile…
Eyes of hope…
A triumphant shout…
A life of promise.

The other -
Utterly alone.
A backdrop of empty…
A vacant look…
Eyes of misery…
A silent scream…
A life lost.

Two children made in God’s image, precious in His eyes, worthy of respect, dignity and a opportunity.  Two lives- one full of hope, the other hanging in the balance.  I ask myself what I would do if this was the plight of one of my children.  One life lost is tragic enough, but over 16 million children have been orphaned by AIDS.  14.8 million of these children live in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Ethiopia Journey Inspires Teacher to Do More

Nathan Livesay, a teacher at Sumter High School and former basketball coach, spent nearly two weeks of his Winter Break in Ethiopia with Journey 117, a ministry of World Orphans.

BY JADE ANDERSON janderson@theitem.com  The Item

A trip out of the country can change a person.
“I wouldn’t trade those two weeks for a state championship,” said Nathan Livesay, a former Sumter High School basketball coach.
Last month, the English and credit recovery teacher traveled to Ethiopia with World Orphans, an organization that brings churches in Third World countries together with American churches to help supply basic needs of the children being cared for by the indigenous churches. He learned about the organization through the Willow Creek Global Leadership Development Summit simulcast held at Alice Drive Baptist Church in the fall.
“I was reading the statistics about HIV and AIDS, about people dying in extreme poverty, and the numbers really bothered me,” Livesay said. “I was compelled to go on this trip to put a name and face with the statistics. … Even with basketball, I’ve always had a heart for kids that don’t always have everything they need.”

They did not get to choose….

Blog post by Stephanie J, Team Uganda 2011

They did not get to choose….

They did not get to chose to watch their parents die a slow a painful death.  They did not get a choice in becoming an orphan.  Their childhood has been stolen from them.  These children orphaned by AIDS do not have a voice loud enough or strength strong enough to fight for themselves but we do!

UNICEF 2009 statistics estimate that 1.2 million children (0-17 years) in Uganda have been left orphaned due to the AIDS.  UNAIDS 2007 statistics estimate that 12 million children in Sub-Saharan Africa have lost one or both of there parents to AIDS.  AIDS orphans in Sub-Saharan Africa account for 37% of parental loss from all causes (Richter, 2008; UNAIDS, 2008*) [1]

Illiteracy and the Orphan Cycle

Blog post by Lauren D., Team Uganda 2011

 As you read the words on this page, does it occur to you the miracle it is that you can quickly process the groupings of letters into ideas that form meaning? As an English teacher, I ask 16 and 17 year olds to practice and perfect their reading and writing skills, but I meet daily opposition. “Why do we have to do this?” they ask. “What is the point?” The fact that the majority of the United States’ population spends the first 18 years of life learning to read and write, is more often than not, taken for granted. 

Child Abuse and Neglect in Moldova

Blog post by Holly N., Team Moldova 2011

Child abuse is a blanket term that covers many facets of abuse: physical abuse, neglect, medical neglect, substance abuse, sexual abuse, psychological mistreatment, and many others. Due to the areas being covered by the rest of my team, I focused on neglect, physical abuse, and violence.

Education and the Orphan

Blog post by Michelle K., Team Moldova 2011 

As someone who is aspiring to be an educator, I am constantly exposed to children who are careless about school. So often a student asks the question, “What does this have to do with my life?” Unfortunately, they fail to see that just the pure fact they are receiving an education has everything to do with their life. As Jo Becker, the advocacy director of Children’s Rights Division, states: “Education empowers children to be full participants in society, enabling them to exercise their rights and engage in civil and political life.” If education is absent in a child’s life, the results are detrimental.

The Effect of Poverty and Unemployment on Orphans in Moldova

Blog by Tyler M., Team Moldova 2011 

Poverty and unemployment have a huge detrimental effect on the orphan in Moldova.  At the age of 16, children living in an orphanage in Moldova are put out on the street with nothing but the clothes on their back and a little money.  From this moment on, these children must fend for themselves in a harsh and unforgiving world.  Many orphans have never been out of their orphanage, not to mention learned any of the social skills necessary to be completely independent and to get a job and a place to stay. 

Illiteracy and the Cycle of Poverty

Blog post by Callie H., Team Haiti 2011

The inability to read and write plays a large role in the cycle of poverty. Illiteracy limits ones involvement in social and political life and can prevent employment. This can stall one’s ability to break out of poverty if education and/or employment is never obtained. This is an issue all across the world in over 22 countries.  771 million people in the world can not read or write, 64% are women. Illiteracy is also the root for crime, forced labor, child soldiers, and other forms of injustice and poverty.

Children, Bible Camp, & the Country of My Ancestors

Blog post by Penny S., Team Moldova 2011

When I was 12 years old I felt God calling me to foreign missions. When I was 41 I went on my first foreign mission trip. You’ll understand now why my life verse is Isaiah 55:8, “For your ways are not My ways, neither are your thoughts My thoughts, declares the Lord.” His timing is certainly different from my timing…only by 29 years!

God Prepared My Heart for Service

Blog Post by Holly N., Team Moldova 2011

In the summer of 2009 I graduated college with a B.S. in Nutrition and Food Science. All throughout college I worked at Barnes and Noble as a part-time job to pay my bills. Now that I had graduated I started looking for jobs everywhere and looked into getting my Masters. I couldn’t find a job right away, so I went full-time at Barnes and Noble and decided to start working my way up the corporate ladder. For a year I focused on my job, my boyfriend, my family, and my friends while God took the backseat.