Care for AIDS Orphans

About

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress.” James 1:7

In Zimbabwe, over a million children have been orphaned by AIDS.

At the height of the AIDS crisis, more than 500,000 households were led by children whose parents had primarily passed away from AIDS. At its zenith, the pandemic included a fourth of Zimbabwe’s total population.

The children orphaned have often been subjected to psychological trauma, having witnessed both parents die (and, frequently, if one parent dies, the other parent dies within two years). Vulnerable, they often suffer poverty and exploitation, sometimes including sexual abuse, and many of them have contracted HIV from their parents.

Reflecting God’s heart to care for the vulnerable, our brothers and sisters in the Brethren in Christ Church (BIC Church) in Zimbabwe are supporting the orphans in their own communities: providing food, clothing, medical assistance, and education to the neediest orphans. Some of the orphans have contracted HIV from their parents, so the BIC Church covers their ongoing treatments.

Through the program, orphans have an opportunity to break the cycle of poverty. Since the program’s founding, many orphans have been able to graduate from school. Trained for employment, they have hope for the future. Many of the children have been drawn to Jesus Christ through the love they’ve received: Today a large percentage of them are mature disciples, active leaders in the church and their communities.

By giving to the Caring for AIDS Orphans project, you demonstrate the love of Christ tangibly to children in Zimbabwe.