UPDATE — December 2nd: Thank you to our many donors for your generous support! December 1st was World AIDS Day and Giving Tuesday. As we reflect on the millions of lives touched by HIV/AIDS and the need to help those less fortunate, please consider contributing to our campaign and sharing it with friends and family. Thank you in advance!
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Imagine a big room lined by 15 cribs for babies and toddlers, half of whom are infected with the HIV virus. Then another smaller room for half a dozen older boys, and a third for girls—again, half of them infected with HIV.
At the Thembalethu Children’s Shelter in South Africa, these rooms are home for anywhere between 20 and 30 children ranging in age from 3 months to 14 years. The shelter was intended as a temporary placement for children impacted by the HIV/AIDS pandemic that has swept sub-Saharan for the last two decades. But in reality, this institution and others like it are the places where many of the children will spend their formative years.
With your help, Thembalethu can be reborn as a more child-friendly place. 100% of the funds raised through this crowd funding campaign will be used to help build, secure and maintain a number of smaller homes, planned to house six children each. Each home will have a trained house mother or auntie who will give the children individual attention, assist them with schoolwork, and ensure they are fed and clothed. Providing the orphans with the loving parental care they so deserve.
Can you help make this future for children at Thembalethu a reality? Please contribute to African AIDS Angels’ crowdfunding campaign, share it with your friends and family, and help us construct real homes for these children.
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Statement from African AIDS Angels co-founder, Vic Parsons:
“While volunteering at the Thembalethu Children’s Shelter in 2007 and 2013, I had the pleasure of getting to know many of the shelter’s children and hearing their stories. One little girl was Nomuselelo, who came to Thembalethu at age six after both her parents and sister died. She almost broke my heart when I asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up. “Happy,” was her one word reply.
Please help us make the wishes of children like Nomuselelo a reality. Securing funds for smaller, family-oriented homes will go a long way in improving the lives of these children.”
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ABOUT AFRICAN AIDS ANGELS:
African AIDS Angels is a registered society based in Victoria, British Columbia, which has supported HIV/AIDS relief projects in three countries of southern Africa since 2001. We raise funds through the sale of small cloth angels, made by local volunteers, as well as direct donations from groups and individuals. Ninety-five percent of funds raised are sent directly to support children, women and families seriously affected by HIV/AIDS.
To learn more about African AIDS Angels involvement at the Thembalethu Children's Shelter and the other projects we support, please visit our website or Facebook page.
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Every contribution makes a difference, and we thank you for your generosity!
Nomuselelo and Anele outside Thembalethu Children's Shelter in 2007.
