AIDS, Orphans and Housing

The epidemic of AIDS in Africa has left enormous populations of children without parents. The numbers are staggering. By next year, it is estimated that 20 million children in Sub-Saharan Africa will have lost one or both parents to AIDS. There is much poverty in Africa that results in poor living conditions, and the problem is exacerbated when there are no parents to provide even basic needs.

When parents die from AIDs, the result is often households that are headed by older siblings, many which are children or young teenagers themselves. These are known as child-headed orphan households. As might be expected, the living conditions in these homes are often deplorable. In many ways, the plight of orphans and other vulnerable children in Africa can be represented by the tribal community of Masoyi.

Community Snapshot

Masoyi, South Africa

Although the population of Masoyi, South Africa is 250,000 people, you would be hard pressed to find it on any map. It is a “forgotten community,” although its population exceeds more visible cities such as Orlando, FL and Baton Rouge, LA. In fact, Google Map provides no indication that Masoyi even exists. Created when apartheid moved vast numbers of black South Africans to infertile land, Masoyi is located in Eastern South Africa near Kruger National Park.

Masoyi has an estimated 35% HIV infection rate and 75 percent of the population is unemployed. Those who do work are often men, who travel to nearby cities or mines for employment. Those men who leave healthy often return to Masoyi as carriers of HIV, infected with death. Due to misconceptions and lack of education, many Masoyi residents are unaware of how HIV is contracted and spread.

While the repercussion of the virus has reduced the average lifespan of Masoyi residents to a mere 33 years, the greatest tragedy lies within the city’s most valuable resource – its children. The destruction of the adult population of Masoyi has created a generation of invisible orphans. These orphans have been abandoned by their parents, through death or desertion, and have been left to fend for themselves. The responsibilities of the communities now lie at the shoeless feet of uneducated, malnourished adolescents.

Until now, these orphans seemed destined to a life without hope, an existence of suffering and a premature death. These children need heroes. Heroes Helping Heroes is a foundation for change, a community of purpose, and provides a new breath of life for these children. In doing so, Heroes Helping Heroes addresses the issues of HIV/AIDS, unemployment, and a lack of food and shelter for children by creating the blueprint for a self-sustaining community in Masoyi.