Orphan of AIDS

Erestina

A Child's Hope

The battle against HIV/AIDS is on two fronts in Ghana. One is against the disease with medical care and medicine, the other is the fight against ignorance and the stigma now associated with the disease.

In Ghana 1 out of 50 adults are living with HIV. While the percentage of the population that has increased slightly, experts seen to believe that the epidemic is in decline – largely because of the high numbers of deaths of those with the disease; deaths that could have been prevented with proper care and medicine.

One group that has suffered terribly as a result of this epidemic in Ghana, is children. Of the estimated 267,069 persons live with HIV/ AIDS in Ghana, 25,666 are children. The 2009 Sentinel report recorded 20,313 AIDS deaths with 2,566 being children[1]. 25,531 new infections were also identified.

What is not reported is the horror that many infected children face in rural areas hardest hit by the disease. New Seed clinic director Livinus Jackson says the area around his clinic has the highest rate of infection in southern Ghana. A sad but common scenario is a father passing on the infection to the mother, who then passes it onto her unborn baby. Both parents die soon after the birth of the baby, and the child carries a stigma of witchcraft with locals and even extended family.

One such child is Erestina. Livinus doesn’t know her last name. Even though she is just a child of eleven, locals have tried to kill her because they believe she is a witch. She looks even younger because she was been sick with full blown AIDS after being denied basic care for most of her life. If she had received care and medicines, she could be leading a normal life. Livinus is afraid without intense care, she may die soon.

The New Seed orphanage will not only provide a safe environment to treat children like Erestina with medicine and medical care, but to offer the hope of a normal life through education, and interacting with other local children. Please donate now to help children like Eristina >>