“Look at those round cheeks, beautiful smiles,” remarked Florence from the Ministry of Education who joined ONE’s site visit. “The children are happy because they have taken their porridge.” At this school feeding program, run by the World Food Programme, the 777 students at Mawango are guaranteed a bowl of porridge made from a corn-soya blend, sweetened with sugar and fortified with essential nutrients.

Girls and orphaned boys also get a monthly take-home ration conditioned on 80 percent attendance. Some of this food is grown by Malawian farmers and delivered by the WFP through their Purchase for Progress program. So the WFP is helping to feed the undernourished, helping to keep kids -– especially girls -– in school, and improve the livelihoods of Malawian small-scale maize farmers.

Photos by Morgana Wingard

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

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