By Daijo Tsuchikawa | Associate programme coordinator, AAR Japan
AAR Japan have been supporting education of HIV/AIDS orphans since 2004. Our project started out small but with the increase in both the need for education and the number of HIV/AIDS orphans, we have continuously expanded the scope of our activities. At the moment, we are supporting the schooling of 48 children by providing their tuitions.
To keep this project sustainable we are promoting income generation activities (IGA) of poultry farming and milling of maize among the host families. Although we have not been able to cover the tuition of all 48 children with the profits obtained through IGA, we aim to gradually increase the profit every year so that the beneficiaries can become self-sufficient in the near future.
We would like to introduce some of the HIV/AIDS orphans whom we support.
"I want to become a lawyer in the future and help those who are in need.”
Having lost their parents, HIV/AIDS orphans were in various circumstances. Some of them lost both of their parents and were living with their grandparents, uncles or aunts, while others were living together with one of their parents who is infected with HIV. Nevertheless, one common factor was that every child is studying very hard in order to fulfill his or her future dream. They said that they normally study at home for about 1.5 to 2 hours after school every day. The most popular aspiration among the children is to become a lawyer, followed by an accountant, a journalist, and an elementary school teacher. One of these children, a 13-year-old boy named Kosam Phili Lungu who has 4 brothers, is a 6th grade student at an elementary school in Ng’ombe. As his father is sick, he goes to school after taking care of his family’s daily needs such as carrying water and washing dishes. He told us, "I would like to become a lawyer in the future so that I can work for social justice and help people who are in trouble."
AAR Japan’s Resolution
In order to realize many HIV/AIDS orphans’ dreams, AAR Japan will continue our activities so that these orphans will be able to attend school to achieve their goals. We believe that by helping the youth of Zambia, we can build a better future not only for those children who receive our support but also for the entire community.
Thank you for all your support which enables us to keep continuing this project.
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