Archive for November, 2009
World AIDS Day: SA AIDS Time Bomb (Read more)
Monday, November 30th, 2009Tabelo Timse
Johannesburg – While South Africa’s HIV infection rate may have stabilised, experts warn that the country’s slow Aids response has triggered a time bomb that may leave one in three children orphaned.
“Estimates show that by 2015, some 5 700 000 or 32% of all children in South Africa would have lost one or both parents due to HIV/AIDS,” said Gail Eddy, a researcher at the Institute of Race Relations, told AFP.
In 2008 there were 1.5m Aids orphans, according to the country’s health department.
She said as the epidemic continues to shorten the lives of parents, more children were going to be orphaned and the number of child-headed households would also increase.
Support
The government currently provides support to about 238 000 Aids orphans and to more than 20 000 homes where older children care for younger siblings after their parents died from the virus.
Eddy said orphans needed additional support that was not necessarily monetary in nature, as these children had also lost their primary caregiver.
“What exacerbates the lack of support for these children, is that South Africa has a shortage of social workers who are responsible for identifying vulnerable children and providing them with the necessary support,” she said.
Nearly 495 000 Aids orphans are in foster care, but the government is encouraging more adoptions so that orphans can have permanent families.
However, only a tiny fraction of the Aids orphans, about 1 900, were adopted by South Africans last year, a drop of nearly 13% from the previous year.
“If the status quo is maintained, South Africa will be faced with a major crisis in the future, due to the social and economic consequences of increasing numbers of orphans and child-headed households,” said Eddy.
5.7m living with HIV
A recent study by Harvard School of Public Health study said the failure to provide anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) to Aids patients in South Africa led to the premature deaths of 365 000 people between 2000-2005.
UNAids estimates indicate that 5.7m out of nearly 48m South Africans are living with HIV, up from 5.5m in 2005.
That puts South Africa in first place for the number infected, but only about a million people are getting the cocktail of ARVs that prevent people with HIV from developing full-blown Aids and extends their lifetimes.
Activists and the current government lay the blame for the rapid spread of the disease squarely on former president Thabo Mbeki’s policies as he delayed the roll out ARVs, questioning the link between HIV and Aids.
His infamous health minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, promoted the use of lemon juice, garlic and beetroot above ARVs, which she said were toxic.
Gail Johnson, founder of Nkosi’s Haven, a shelter for 100 HIV-infected mothers and their 183 children, said South Africa lost valuable time due to the delays by Mbeki’s government to roll out the much needed ARVs.
“We became arrogant and recommended beetroot and garlic, people died,” said Johnson.
Genocide call
The leader of the young Communist Party last week made headlines when he called for Mbeki to be charged with genocide for their denial about the existence of the virus.
In stark contrast to his predecessor, Zuma will be taking in public a HIV test on World Aids Day on Tuesday, although his results won’t be disclosed.
Dr William Mapham, Wits University Reproductive Health and HIV Research unit spokesperson says there has been a policy shift in government’s response towards the epidemic: “There is no denialism anymore, Zuma came in and changed a few things and it’s definitely going to have a positive effect on South Africa,” he said.
Oops… (Read more)
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Thank you! (Read more)
Monday, November 23rd, 2009Your donation has been received. Be sure to check our website regularly to see how your money is being spent.
Noah appoints new CEO (Read more)
Monday, November 23rd, 2009Karen Reader joined Noah in August 2009. Karen most recently filled the position as Head of Product Management at iBurst. Karen has excelled in the corporate field. She has to date satisfied her involvement in community outreach by participating and volunteering for TADA (Teenagers Against Drug Abuse), Smile and the Bien Venue Home for Abandoned Children.
The opportunity to work for Noah enables her to apply her corporate strengths in an NGO environment. Karen is an extremely results-oriented, passionate individual with inner drive and a desire to make a difference and is a welcome addition to the Noah team.
Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon (Read more)
Monday, November 23rd, 2009Calling all Business Leaders to join our Business Leaders Challenge. We are looking for business leaders who will be prepared to run in Noah colours and raise funds for orphaned and vulnerable children.
Please contact Joslyn Walker on 083 413 5514 or joslyn@noahorphans.org.za.
You can get your friends, family and colleagues to support Noah by pledging their support as you run the Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon in 2010. Click here to download the pledge form. Entries close on 3 March 2010, and the race takes place on 3 April 2010. Online entries for the half marathon have closed.
As part of a major fundraising effort, the Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon will be auctioning half marathon and ultra entries, as well as a pair of Usain Bolt PUMA spikes, to participants with the highest bids.
www.oldmutual.co.za/twooceansmarathon will be auctioning 20 Half marathon and 10 ultra marathon race entries. Bidding for the half marathon entries opens at R950 on Monday 22 February, providing those participants who missed the entry deadline with an opportunity to enter.
The first auction is for the half marathon entries and runs unil 10 March 2010. Bidding for the ultra marathon starts on 4 March and will run through till 10 March 2010.
Midmar Mile (Read more)
Monday, November 23rd, 2009Go the extra mile for children in South Africa and sign up to swim the Midmar Mile for Noah! This annual event will take place in 2010 on 13 and 14 February in Pietermaritzburg. Please contact joslyn@noahorphans.org.za or call 083 413 5514 if you are interested. Visit their website for more details on the event.
Finlay breakfasts for Noah (Read more)
Monday, November 23rd, 2009Finlay Events and Communications hosts corporate breakfasts, held predominantly at the Park Hyatt Hotel, or alternately the Sandton Sun & Towers or Sandton Convention Centre. The profits of these breakfasts all go to Noah. The events are sponsored by the JSE.
Each event is advertised to a database of over 60 000 corporate decision makers in Gauteng (we also have databases for Cape Town and Durban). The venues are always filled to capacity and provide excellent networking opportunities.
For more information about our upcoming events, contact Kirsty Pieterse on (011) 807 4724.
Please click here for a list of the upcoming breakfasts where you will have the opportunity to network and meet like minded business leaders while at the same time raising contributing to a great cause. Or visit the Finlay website here.
Previous speakers include: Pumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Kingsley Holgate, Clem Sunter, Ruda Lundman, Robert and Kim Kiyosaki, Danny Glover, Keith Coates, Graham Codrington, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Eric Parker, Zapiro, Nataniel, Patrick Holford, Graham Hancock, Dame Anita Roddick, Sue Adkins, Tony Manning, Ian Mann, Judge Edwin Cameron, Hans Muhlberg, Roy Anderson, Mrs. Evita Bezuidenhout, Adrian Gilbert, Dawn Breslin, Stedman Graham, Guy Lundy, Steuart Pennington, Dr. Caroline Leaf, Dr. Wendy Luhabe, Raymond Ackerman, Mamphela Ramphele, Laurance Kuper, David Jones, Tony Humphreys.
Christmas parties (Read more)
Monday, November 23rd, 2009We are appealing to all of our partners and friends, to come together and sponsor an Ark with a Christmas and/or Graduation party. These beautiful children rely solely on us. The majority of them don’t have parents to make Christmas magical as we can do for our children.
We need to come together and strive to make this world a better world for our children, and there is no better time than Christmas, to give them a good meal, a lovely little gift, some entertainment and at the same time put a smile on their gorgeous little faces and lots of love in their hearts. This is a time in the year the children look forward to being pampered and spoilt just a little bit and they deserve it. Please contact Sihaam Williams on (011) 234 2270 if you would like to throw a party for children to celebrate Christmas.
