“AIDS: Lost Generation”
The recent MSNBC photo series, AIDS: Lost Generation, has effectively brought to light the stories and the trials facing two individuals in Swaziland whose families have been affected by the AIDS epidemic. The stories of Venda Mamba and Lomkhosi Zwame - both of whom have been made caregivers to their orphaned relatives – highlight the extent and consequences of AIDS on the lives of those affected and their loved ones.
Venda Mamba’s story highlights the difficulty “for a child to adopt the role of parent.” A 15 year old son of parents who lost their lives to AIDS, Venda has been forced into the position of caregiver to his young siblings. His role as head of the household is made even more difficult by the fact that he has no work and finds it “difficult to make ends meet.” The lack of an income to support his family means that he is forced to rely on sympathetic people to give them food to cook, and to fetch water before his siblings head off for school. The lack of a reliable source of income or food to support one’s family members is challenging even for adults, thus making the story of Venda even more disheartening.
The story of Lomkhosi mirrors that of Venda. When her four children and their wives died as a result of the AIDS epidemic, she was forced to take on the responsibility of caring for her grandchildren. Her age, her rapidly deteriorating eyesight and lack of energy severely hinder her ability to effectively care her for orphaned grandchildren. Like Venda, Lomkhosi has little or no money and is also forced to rely on the charity of neighbors to keep her family alive. Lomkhosi recognizes the challenges in a lifestyle dependent on others, but she also recognizes that this is the “only way we end up living.”
It is stories like Venda and Lomkhosi’s that spur Global Action for Children. Raising children is hard enough in the world’s most destitute places, but add to that a the statistic that 40% of adults live with AIDS in Swaziland, and you have a situation where many people are left parent or guardian less, and some forced to fend for themselves. The international community has to strengthen the communities and governments of developing nations in their ability to support the 11 million AIDS orphans in sub-Saharan Africa, and many more worldwide, through all their challenges.
