I read this story in Sunday’s New York Times on children fleeing Zimbabwe “for lives just as desolate” in South Africa, and wanted to share it here on the ONE Blog.

Below are some excerpts but you can read the full piece on their site.

With their nation in a prolonged sequence of crises, more unaccompanied children and women than ever are joining the rush of desperate Zimbabweans illegally crossing the frontier at the Limpopo River, according to the police, local officials and aid workers.

What they are escaping is a broken country where half the people are going hungry, most schools and hospitals are closed or dysfunctional and a cholera epidemic has taken a toll in the thousands. Yet they are arriving in a place where they are unwelcome and are resented as rivals for jobs. Last year, Zimbabweans were part of the quarry in a spate of mob attacks against foreigners….

South Africa’s national police force is exasperated by the crimes… most victims do not file complaints. After all, they are here illegally, unless remaining in the Showgrounds. “Last week, I had 1,500 ready for deportation,” he said.

The captain stood up, walking over to a computer screen. “We keep photos of the refugees killed near the border.”…

Mention of the children seemed to feed his exasperation. “Street kids, more all the time,” he said. “They come in as if they are playing in a game.”

He asked, “What do we do about these kids?”

-Virginia Simmons

ONE and Keep a Child Alive are hosting screenings of We Are Together, a multi-award winning documentary that follows a children’s singing choir from Agape orphanage in South Africa:

The story:

Life has not been easy for 12-year old Slindile, her siblings and her friends at the Agape Orphanage in South Africa, where most of the children have lost their parents to AIDS. But they are still kids and teenagers, bashful around boys, squabbling with each other. And when they lift their voices in song, something extraordinary happens.

We Are Together will be screen starting this 4th of July weekend at New York’s Cinema Village. Come view the “celebration of resiliency” this weekend!
Tickets and show time info here.

-Betsy Avila

Food riots have now occurred in nine countries. Experts are at a loss as to how deep the wound from rising food prices will be and what this crisis will mean for economic, social and political stability in the developing world.

What is clear and predicable is that this crisis will have horrific consequences for the most vulnerable and marginalized. Children, especially those who have been orphans by AIDS, could suffer the most.

Today, more than 15 million children have been orphaned by AIDS. 12.1 million AIDS orphans live in sub-Saharan Africa. For these children, the loss of a parent means less food on the table. According to FAO, food consumption has been found to drop 40% in homes affected by HIV and AIDS. Households affected by HIV and AIDS often struggle to tend their gardens or make enough money to purchase food at the market. The implications are serious: malnutrition, limited physical and mental development, and even starvation. Visit www.worldaidsorphans.org to learn more.

The food crisis underscores the importance of reauthorizing and fully funding PEPFAR, and keeping our promise to support the children affected by AIDS.

Programs supporting AIDS orphans help to address this food crisis through school feeding programs, support to develop in agricultural skills and knowledge, and assistance on income development for affected households.

Get involved by signing ONE’s petition for the crisis http://www.one.org/hungercrisis and by visiting: www.worldaidsorphans.org.

-Simon Isaacs, World AIDS Orphans Day

Last Wednesday, AIDS orphans were in the national spotlight as millions tuned in to watch Idol Gives Back.  We need to ensure they remain in the spotlight, leading up to World AIDS Orphans Day on May 7th.

World AIDS Orphans Day is a grassroots campaign to draw attention and advocate on behalf of the more than 15 million children who have been orphaned by AIDS.

To date, the needs of AIDS orphans have been largely ignored by policy makers.

Fewer than 1 in 10 AIDS orphans receives any external support. Millions of children are growing up deprived of education, basic needs such as food, water and shelter; and are at high risk of HIV infection, discrimination, exploitation and violence in the form of forced labor, prostitution and drug trafficking. Learn more.

The campaign is calling upon all G8 members and other donor countries to commit at least 10% of HIV and AIDS funding to address the needs of orphans (a policy which has been adopted in the US, UK and Ireland).

We are at a critical juncture in AIDS funding as the Senate debates the reauthorization of PEPFAR. If passed and fully funded, the bill will generate the necessary resources to care for more than 5 million children orphans and made vulnerable by AIDS. We need you to speak up.

A few easy ways you can help:

1. Sign the One Campaign Petition: Ask your Senator to join us in supporting AIDS orphans and fighting HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. Sign the petition.

2. Put Your Face on the Map: Check out the flikr photo map. Show your support by adding your picture.

3. Spread the Word: This is about you… and all your friends. Get your classmates friends, family and colleagues to join the movement. Send a message via our website.

On May 7th, thousands of organizations and everyday citizens will speak with one voice in urging government leaders to make children a priority in the fight against AIDS. Join us.

Thanks

-Simon Isaacs, World AIDS Orphans Day

I also got a note from ONE’s Katherine Jollon today who visited Tigers Club, a program that works with street children in Kampala, Uganda.

According to the Consortium for Street Children there are 10,000 street children in Uganda. “Underlying causes of children’s problems in Uganda include armed conflicts, diseases (HIV/AIDS), lack of education, inadequate services and entrenched poverty.”

From Katherine:

“Today was my favorite day yet – our last stop was to the Tigers Club project which works with street kids in Kampala, Uganda to leave street life behind and transition into a caring family environment. They engage the kids through football (American soccer), and through that experience teach and counsel them to get off the streets. The results are overwhelming – 87 percent of the kids transition back into family homes. What most amazed me was the kids themselves – their smart, quick humor, their courage to turn their lives around, and their energy. The children reminded us how and why we can help – that difference is made one child at a time and that these community-level programs change lives every day.

-Katherine Jollon”

On Friday, January 25th, Rockrimmon Elementary school in Colorado Springs produced a talent show to benefit ONE. The show was organized by six enterprising fifth graders (with help from their parents and teachers). It contained 40 acts and went off without a hitch. When asked why they did it, they said “Because we want to help the children of Africa.” One of the children had seen a video at her parents’ church during the summer and proposed the idea.

The children and parents had signed media releases, so we took photos, some of which are attached. These kids were adorable! They were also very well educated on the conditions in Africa. I am so proud of this display of compassion and perseverance.

If fifth grade children, on their own, can do this…what can we do?
–

Ann Marie Glasford – ONE Colorado Springs

(more…)

Tonight, I have the pleasure of live blogging live from the Apollo theater where the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), MTV and ONE are hosting “Giving” – a roundtable discussion on youth activism.

At the event – we’ll officially launch the ONE Campus Challenge – although we did go out of our way to leak it to our members and blog readers beforehand:)

The event’s set to start at 9 but a bunch of us ONE loyalist have been here for hours making sure to get the word about ONE out to the more than 1,000 young people attending.

In a moment I’ll post a few great shots of the crew and crowd. Even as I sit here, I see more and more people in ONE shirts walking by.