According to UNICEF, there are currently 3.9 million orphans in South Africa. Of these, approximately 2 million have been orphaned as a direct result of AIDS, and countless others have been orphaned as an indirect result. Children are the most vulnerable members of society. Without the support of parents, this orphan generation is subject to extreme stigma, exploitation, neglect, disease and a hos
t of other circumstances unseen by any previous generation. Within Johannesburg and surrounding areas, the need to protect and provide for the children orphaned by AIDS is beyond the capacity of any single government or agency. With nearly a fifth of the population unable to find work and half of the population living below the poverty line, “kinship networks” have been stretched beyond their means and cannot accommodate the influx of children needing a home and a family. If children are left on their own, without the structure of family, they will often resort to raising themselves. Whether on the streets or heading a household at 12 years old, they are twice as likely to discontinue their schooling and twice as likely to contract HIV/AIDS. This hard environment is exacerbated by the fact that South Africa maintains the highest rate of r**e in the world. Medical researchers have even gone as far as to say that “a female born in South Africa has a greater chance of being r**ed in her lifetime than learning how to read.”
Like many developing countries, utterly abandoned children in South Africa reside on the dangerous margins of society, deprived of basic needs, vital protection and crucial services. The statistics show a hopeless view of the future, unless there is a major shift in the mindset of society. Currently, Oasis Haven US supports the work of Oasis Haven of Love Foundation in South Africa (OHSA) as a partner in the response the orphan crisis. OHSA is a non profit organisation that care for orphaned children, places them into families, and equips others to do the same. Their strategy is simple and revolves around the concept of “Family”:
The Adoption Option:
OHSA partners with others to place abandoned children into Adoptive Families. Family Homes:
Through their Family Homes, they aim to be a family to those children waiting to be adopted as well as those they cannot place. OHSA believes that the greatest need any child has is to grow up in a family with loving parents. In families, children receive the foundation they need to succeed in life. They aim to reflect family in every way to the children entrusted to their care.
