Evelyne is suffering from HIV/AIDS. Today, she would rather be in bed, resting, but the thought of her hungry children, gives her strength to push on. She has to work, struggle to feed them.  Today may be another of the many days when they go without food.

Unbelievable as it may sound, Evelyne is a HIV/AIDS widow and is single-handedly taking care of twenty-one orphans. “Mine are three, the rest are my step-children,” she says. Evelyne’s husband died of HIV/AIDS two years ago, preceded by her two co-wives four and five years ago respectively.  They left her poor, with the big task of taking care of twenty-one children.

Evelyne’s case is recurrent from household to household in Nyanza Province, Kenya, Sick widows, grandparents and even children are transformed to primary caregivers as the HIV/AIDS scourge takes toll. It is now increasingly common to find households headed by children barely ten-years-old.

There is a rise in poverty as thousands and thousands of able-bodied people have succumbed to HIV/AIDS. Many widows and orphans live in ramshackle buildings that leak when it rains. Others suffer the indignity of sharing living quarters with cows, goats and chicken. They cannot afford to build a new house.

They live one day at a time, not even knowing where their next meal will come from. The only plea from the lonely and abandoned widows and orphans in Nyanza is for someone, anyone to come to their aid. To help them build a house, to support their education, to give them clothes, to give them hope, and above all show them love.

Christian Mission Aid (CMA) and Compassion Canada are doing just that by building houses for the widows in addition to providing medicine and training on HIV/AIDS. Already 56 houses, dubbed “Units of Hope” have been built.  

“Since I moved into my new house, I have added weight,” says Jane Akeyo beaming with joy. Jane is one of the widows who benefited from a “Unit of Hope”. Jane is HIV positive. Her late husband left her in a derelict grass-thatched house, which collapsed soon after. Jane and her seven children sought refuge in their grandmother’s small hut, which they shared with calves and goats. For four years, Jane and her children woke up to the stench of cow dung and urine, not to mention the many fleas and ticks that stuck to their bodies.

“I am very grateful CMA for assisting my daughter in-law. May God bless you,” says Jane’s mother-in-law. Margaret Otieno, another widow, cannot contain her joy. Margaret is another beneficiary of a “Unit of Hope”. She is HIV positive and taking care of fifteen orphans. She cannot afford to pay school fees, buy uniform or feed all of them. Each day is a struggle. Sometimes the community and church members chip in when they are able to.

“Thank you so much for this house,” she says. I look at her beaming face, and see hope written all over. For Margaret, the fight may not be over, but because of added support from CMA and Compassion Canada, she has courage to face the future.

Winning the fight

HIV/AIDS is a deadly disease in Kenya and especially in Nyanza province. The pandemic continues to kill many parents leaving millions of orphans to fend for themselves. Many villages have no able-bodied people, only grandmothers and grandfathers taking care of their orphaned grandchildren. These children need guidance, someone to pay their tuition, dress them and feed them.

By joining hands, we will win the fight. Already, CMA and Compassion Canada have begun the fight. They have built 56 “Units of Hope” for widows and orphans in Nyanza, giving them renewed optimism for the future. The widows know that even after they die, their children will have a roof over their heads.

CMA and Compassion Canada, have reached more than 300,000 people in Nyanza province, Kenya with HIV/AIDS awareness. Another 3,000 are receiving drugs to fight opportunistic infections brought about by HIV/AIDS.  Others find hope through support groups, supported by CMA and Compassion Canada.

Recently, CMA embarked on a milking goat project to provide the widows with nutritious milk for strengthening their weakened bodies. The goats will also be a source of income generation.  

Note:  A “Unit of Hope” consists of a two-roomed house, an outside toilet (pit latrine) and bathroom and a water tank.