Supporting mining families affected by HIV/AIDS in South Africa

Sunrise Park, a poor mining settlement in South Africa, is home to many children orphaned and affected by HIV/AIDS. The SOS Family Strengthening Programme based in Rustenburg is trying to bring back hope to this less than sunny place.

For a year and a half, the SOS Family Strengthening Programme (FSP) Rustenburg has been supporting 157 families from this mining community. The families are helped with food, blankets, school uniforms and stationery, fuel and pre-paid electricity. The programme also liaises with the Department of Social Development to register people for government grants. Families can receive R180 (USD18) for a child care grant, and R740 (USD74) for a foster care grant. These grants are essential to families who cannot provide food for their children.

Based ten kilometres from the SOS Children's Village in Rustenburg, has grown from being an informal settlement of 70 houses to more than 11,000 households. It's a place where living is tough - people wake up before dawn to go to work in the mines and workers at the Impala Platinum Mine can only expect to earn about R 2,800 to R 3,500 (about £200) per month as unskilled labourers. Many children have to walk four and a half kilometres to the nearest school. The Family Strengthening Programme Co-ordinator, Hophney, recalls "One girl was attacked on the way back from school," he said. SOS Children's Villages is currently lobbying with the Department of Education for a Secondary School to be built nearby. "Once the children finish Grade 7 they do not go to school anymore because they have no money for transport" said Hophney.

One family enrolled on the programme is a child headed family of four boys who were left to fend for themselves when their elder sister passed away. Since they had no income the family received clothing, food parcels, fuel, and guidance from the programme volunteers. The programme tried to find older relatives to take on legal guardianship of the children while the Department of Social Development was contacted and eventually an uncle was found who could look after them. The family is now supported with skills a small income and processes are in place to help the uncle get a job.

Read more about how SOS Children is supporting AIDS orphans and child-headed families.