AIDS stricken family units in cities throughout Africa are increasingly broken down by the epidemic and have become unable to sustain a healthy family life. Thousands of hungry children without adequate food, clothing or shoes run the streets with no schooling or supervision.
Education is not free in South Africa and due to minimal or no income, children are simply not able to go to school. Many children and women are physically and sexually abused, leading to destructive behavior such as drugs, alcohol, crime, violence, immorality and the spread of HIV/AIDS leading to high rate of abortion and orphans.
Khayelitsha in the Western Cape is one area that is drastically affected with HIV/AIDS, and is currently leading in the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the Western Cape. This leaves the community with a high rate of orphans, and the problem of caring for them. ACT OF GRACE originated after request from grassroots level where members of local churches wanted to start a project of safe havens in the townships for AIDS orphans.
This has led us to investigate all 23 sub councils and prompted us to present a proposal to the City of Cape Town to implement safe havens in all the sub councils.
Main Objectives
To strengthen relationships with local Churches and to enhance their ability to care for more children in their congregations. Core of the model is community based care for vulnerable children in a Church environment.
Secure land for safe havens.
Community Health Education: Training of Church volunteers as care workers.
Nutritional Support: Through Community in Action (NGO).
Raise financial support
Act of Grace will negotiate with local Taxi services to provide transport of vulnerable children to safe havens. Taxi’s earmarked for this service will be identified by the Zebra. Similar agreements will be with the Golden Arrow bus service to transport children to safe havens. These buses will also be marked with the Zebra sign.
This network of safe havens will mean that any AIDS orphan or vulnerable child on the streets will be within reach of a friendly entry point into the care facilities of the City.
This will ensure that thousands of children, who previously had nowhere to go, will now be drawn into the network of safe houses where they will be looked after by care workers from local churches. From here they will be referred to care families in the Church, or local clinics and other care facilities provided by NGO’s. Through the churches many potential Aids orphans will also be identified early when their parents are terminally ill. In this way destitute children will have a smooth transition to a caring environment via the Act of Grace network.
