Food and Self-Reliance for AIDS Orphans

The American Foundation for Children with AIDS, through it's many years of working in Africa with families made vulnerable by AIDS, has developed and implemented various initiatives to assist such families to become nutritionally self-sufficient and self-reliant.

In Zimbabwe there are currently between 600,000 and 900,000 children that have been directly orphaned by AIDS out of a total 1.6 million vulnerable children. In the rural areas most of these young ones are bring cared for by their extended families and grandparents which as you can imagine puts an enormous strain on household finances and food stocks.  AFCA, through it's goat and tree programs, provides some respite for selected families in that it teaches folk how to raise small livestock and fruit trees (both indigenous and exotic) for their own consumption as well as using them as a source of revenue.

Taking this a step further, AFCA has recently partnered with Bandage the Wounded Orphanage and an Aids support group named the Alpha Teens which are both located in rural villages in the Matabeleland South Province of Zimbabwe.  The objective of this partnership is to ensure that both of these organizations work toward becoming initially self-reliant in terms of food and then develop the capacity to sell their excess products to generate revenue to assist on housing, clothing and educating the children.

Matabeleland South Province is generally regarded as a semi -arid region and therefore AFCA'S first objective was to ensure access to adequate water supplies for both organizations. In 2025 boreholes were successfully drilled and fitted with solar submersible pumps linked to a network of above ground piping and storage tanks.  With the availability of water, nutrition gardens were established to enable the children to grow their own vegetables and crops. The next stage was to start poultry (both layer and broiler chicken) projects. These are currently working well at Bandage the Wounded, providing eggs and chickens for the menu and will be replicated at the Alpha Teens site where chicken runs are under construction.

Orchards are being established at both sites and a local expert on conservation farming has recently been engaged to assist in transitioning the gardens and orchards from traditional cultivation methods to sustainable agricultural practices. It is envisaged that this process will take approximately one year to be properly implemented and will result in better harvests, less water usage and healthier more organic produce. We are well on the way to reaching our goal where both organizations are self reliant for their nutritional needs and in a position to sell excess produce to fund their other daily needs.

The team here at the American Foundation for Children with AIDS thanks you for supporting this project and the work we do for the children in Africa.  If you would like to learn even more about what we do or how you can meet some of the children you have helped, please contact Tanya Weaver at tweaver@AFCAids.org.