Children orphaned by AIDS in Zimbabwe struggle to survive
Once things were brighter here; there were job and fathers and mothers. Disease and death wrecked all that. Now, it
is their frail and aging grandmother who is the centre of their lives. Some of her seven grandchildren are not well.
Some are not at school. 13-year old Lillian is strong and studious. She’s had to grow up fast.
Lillian Zuze – Age 13: "My dad started coughing, then he went to the hospital, the doctor said he had
TB. When my father died, my mother woke up and ran away. I started crying, my granny said I mustn't cry, she said
I'll take care of you."
Lillian and her cousins are not alone. One in every four children in Zimbabwe is an orphan; the highest percentage in
the world. Help has trickled in. Through donors, UNICEF is now helping half a million orphans, ten times as many as
two years ago.
But new hardships have meant that some, like Granny Mwale, have fallen through the cracks. And Lillian had taken
on a motherly role, taking the lead, making sure the younger ones follow her example.
It's a long walk to her school, where she takes charge again, as prefect. Zimbabwe's once fine schooling has taken
strain. A decade ago, every child had a book. Now, it's one book between 10. In Lillian's class, besides those who not
are orphaned by HIV/AIDS, many are vulnerable anyway.
A flagging economy has lead to even greater needs.
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