Hi, my name is Joao Fernando, I am 17 years old, and in my matric year.
When I was a child I needed to be cared for by my parents, and above that I needed their love, but I did not have the opportunity to meet them. My parents threw me away, abandoned me, leaving me in a pile of trash when I was 3 years old.
Globally over 21 million babies, children and young people are living with life-limiting conditions and serious, life-threatening illnesses including HIV and AIDS. Most of these children are in the developing world, especially in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. These vulnerable children would all benefit from palliative care to relieve their suffering and promote the best possible quality of life. While some developed countries have reasonable access to children’s hospice and palliative care services, globally less than 1% of children needing palliative care actually receive it. In South Africa an estimated 801,155 children are living with life threatening and incurable illnesses but only 4, 76% have access to palliative care services.
I write to address human right abuses against children and young people living with albinism. As they say justice delayed is justice denied. In our country we have many people who have been sentenced to death in what is called “albino killing”. There are cases where young women have lost body parts and others their lives due to cruel and out-dated beliefs which promote use body parts for lucky charms.
By Kurt Madoerin
Kurt Madoerin and his colleagues first developed and applied the concept of “a child-led organization” in Humuliza region in Tanzania with an organization called Vijana Simama Imara – Youth Standing Upright and later inKwa Wazee with TatuTano. The TatuTano currently has about 1500 members, organized in 220 small groups and integrates children who have either lost their parents and live with their grandparents or live with HIV+ parents.
My Name is Faudhia Kitenge; I am 21 year old girl with Albinism.
My dream is to live in an Africa where children with albinism are not considered ghosts of bad luck; where people with albinism do not have to live in fear of being hunted for their body parts; where people with albinism are not only well educated but also leaders in their countries!
My name is Sungano Bondayi, I was born in 1989 in Zimbabwe, and I was born with HIV.
In 2005, I was fortunate enough to join an amazing organisation working with young people living with HIV called Africaid-Zvandiri. A few years later, I was given an opportunity to join a storytelling project along with five other adolescents. This is my story!
On 21 April 2015 RIATT-ESA hosted its third webinar on the prevalence and predictors of child abuse. Thirty organizations signed up and 18 particpated in the lively session indicating wide interest in the topic.
The webinar featured presentations on research conducted in South Africa and Malawi. The research looked at forms of violence suffered by children; where children are being victimized and abused; and by whom. It aslo looked at links to how children affected by HIV are made vulnerable to abuse and victimization.
On Thursday the 23rd of April RIATT-ESA and REPSSI joined 57 organisations and up to seven thousand people to march against Xenophobia in South Africa.
RIATT-ESA joined the march to raise awareness for the children affected by xenophobia. Its banner declared “Don’t let the children fall off the map, STOP xenophobia”.
