Why South Africa?

South Africa remains the region most affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. In 2005, the World Health Organization reported 5.5 million people were living with HIV; 1,000 people die daily from the disease. Children are the most vulnerable. In South Africa, for example, there is a myth that sex with a virgin can "cure" a man with HIV, thus leading to a large number of rapes of very young children by men infected with the virus.

  • In 2005 it was estimated that 1.2 million children were orphaned as a result of AIDS-related diseases.
  • Most areas in The Valley of a Thousand Hills have poor sanitation, inadequate and inaccessible health care and the highest unemployment rates in South Africa.
  • On average, women are infected with the HIV virus at a much younger age than men.
  • Children are caring for their dying AIDS-infected parents at great detriment to their own health and emotional well-being.
  • Girls caring for dying family members are often sexually exploited. These girls very often become pregnant or infected with HIV - or BOTH.
  • The average household is now a gogo (grandmother) and between 6 and 16 children.

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    Our Journey, Inc., is a non-profit organization currently working in South Africa with Zimele, a community-based program emphasizing self-reliance for families and children decimated by AIDS.