Support Children Orphaned by Aids in South Africa

Your donation has made a BIG difference to the lives of children orphaned by AIDS in South Africa!

Thanks to your generosity, Starfish has been helping communities help themselves. We've been empowering community centers in the Eastern Cape, training childcare workers in Health Care, Child Protection and Education.

Loaves and Fishes cares for 457 children daily

• A playground and park are being built to provide a safe place for children to play.
• 14 Gardeners learnt valuable horticultural skills and received vegetable seedlings to plant a food garden, which will feed the children at the Educare Centers.
• Parents and guardians learnt parenting skills at a Positive Parenting workshop, empowering them to care for their children.
• Eight teachers were trained in a computer literacy course
• 38 Teachers were trained to introduce mathematics at the daycare centers.
• 7 Teachers are studying for a National Diploma in Early Childhood Development. 

Ubomi Obutsha cares for 337 children daily

• All of the volunteers were trained in childcare and Early Childhood Development
• 20 Potential future leaders from the youth group were enrolled in a “Leadership Academy” for the year. These children have already shown much growth.
• The “Ready for Success” tutoring program was launched to help high school students prepare for exams.
• 87 Afterschool students received calculators donated by Starfish.

Bulungula cares for 112 children daily

• 9 Home-Based Careworkers were trained to identify and care for children with disabilities at school and at home, with a focus on early intervention for children with disabilities below the age of 4.
• Home-Based Careworkers received backpacks with care equipment to use when visiting patients.
• The new clinic provides basic medical services to treat and educate the children and community, and refer them to health care facilities if need be.
• A community vegetable garden was grown for the benefit of preschool children. There are community gardens in four local villages, using organic manure, which feed the community
• The International Health Day presentation educated the community on TB infection control, HIV and STD prevention.
• A new preschool library was opened at one of the four village preschools, which are each headed by trained preschool teachers, to teach the children under the age of five.

Over 2 million children are orphaned by AIDS and poverty in South Africa today. As a result, 82,000 children live in child-headed households. More than half the children live below the poverty line. Diarrhea is the leading cause of death in children.

While this seems overwhelming, Starfish is making a difference, one child at a time.  

Starfish helps communities help themselves, strengthening the capacity of local community organizations, which care for over 16,000 children orphaned by poverty and AIDS in South Africa every year. Starfish lifts up communities by training childcare workers in Health Care, Child Protection and Education.

Starfish ensures the accountability of your donation - each of our community organizations submits a monthly report, detailing the services delivered per child, plus a quarterly financial report. Starfish visits all of our community organizations every three months to track their progress and provide support.

Your donation will have an even BIGGER impact on May 7 – mark your calendars and get ready to give!

Links:

• Visit our website