Being an orphan is tough enough at the best of times, but in the working class district of Dagoretti Corner in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, it often means going without food as well as love.
Felista Kibe tries to make sure that doesn't happen. She and a handful of volunteers have been providing food and comfort to children orphaned by AIDS in Dagoretti since 1996. Eighty kids depend on her for a daily meal, 30 of whom are HIV-positive, but when word gets out that a donation has been received as many as 200 children can show up.
"Food is the biggest challenge. The only progress we have made is to get a monthly food package of 10 bags of rice, 10 bags of maize, 90kg of dried milk and 45 litres of cooking oil - but even this is not enough for the children," Kibe said.
The government-funded diet is limited, and fruit, meat and vegetables are a rarity. "This is especially a problem for the HIV-positive children. Many of them are cared for by grandparents and other guardians, and if they don't get food here then they will get no food in their home, but we only have very basic food to give them. It worries me," she said.
Ludfine Anyango, national HIV/AIDS coordinator at ActionAid, told PlusNews that in Kenya, where 56 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, the estimated 1.7 million children orphaned by HIV/AIDS get few handouts.
"If their parents are dead or sick they don't have money for food," she said. "Often the girl-child drops out of school early to care for their parents."
Stigma is a major issue in most Kenyan communities, making people unwilling to admit their HIV status or seek treatment. "Also, they don't believe that AIDS is killing quickly, and so if you have small children it's best to keep working. When you are not sick you must still earn to care for the children," said Kibe.
AIDS orphans are vulnerable both to ostracism and lack of support. "Once their parents are dead, their property is often taken from them; even before their parents die the property may be sold to pay for the health care," said ActionAid's Anyango. Forced onto the streets, the children risk exploitation and abuse.
"The government of Kenya is trying to deal with the challenges of being a developing country, but could do better," said Anyango. "They need to work on policy issues to help orphaned and affected children, such as property and inheritance rights."
//This article is part of an IRIN/PlusNews series on HIV/AIDS and communities of humanitarian concern. Visit: PlusNews. //
Felista Kibe tries to make sure that doesn't happen. She and a handful of volunteers have been providing food and comfort to children orphaned by AIDS in Dagoretti since 1996. Eighty kids depend on her for a daily meal, 30 of whom are HIV-positive, but when word gets out that a donation has been received as many as 200 children can show up.
"Food is the biggest challenge. The only progress we have made is to get a monthly food package of 10 bags of rice, 10 bags of maize, 90kg of dried milk and 45 litres of cooking oil - but even this is not enough for the children," Kibe said.
The government-funded diet is limited, and fruit, meat and vegetables are a rarity. "This is especially a problem for the HIV-positive children. Many of them are cared for by grandparents and other guardians, and if they don't get food here then they will get no food in their home, but we only have very basic food to give them. It worries me," she said.
Ludfine Anyango, national HIV/AIDS coordinator at ActionAid, told PlusNews that in Kenya, where 56 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, the estimated 1.7 million children orphaned by HIV/AIDS get few handouts.
"If their parents are dead or sick they don't have money for food," she said. "Often the girl-child drops out of school early to care for their parents."
Stigma is a major issue in most Kenyan communities, making people unwilling to admit their HIV status or seek treatment. "Also, they don't believe that AIDS is killing quickly, and so if you have small children it's best to keep working. When you are not sick you must still earn to care for the children," said Kibe.
AIDS orphans are vulnerable both to ostracism and lack of support. "Once their parents are dead, their property is often taken from them; even before their parents die the property may be sold to pay for the health care," said ActionAid's Anyango. Forced onto the streets, the children risk exploitation and abuse.
"The government of Kenya is trying to deal with the challenges of being a developing country, but could do better," said Anyango. "They need to work on policy issues to help orphaned and affected children, such as property and inheritance rights."
//This article is part of an IRIN/PlusNews series on HIV/AIDS and communities of humanitarian concern. Visit: PlusNews. //
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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