Of all the countries
affected by AIDS, Kenya has been hardest hit. It is
estimated that over 1 million adults and children have
developed AIDS in Kenya. South of the Sahara, more than
1million children are orphaned, while more than 25
million people currently are living with the virus, and
more than 15 million have died. During 2002 alone, more
than 2.4 million adults and children died of AIDS in
sub-Sahara Africa.
These numbers will increase as the epidemic develops.
Estimates suggest that the number of children orphaned
by AIDS in sub-Sahara Africa will increase drastically
in the next five years, leaving the area socially and
economically crippled. In Kenya, about 50 percent of
those infected with HIV are infected before they reach
33, developing AIDS and dying before they reach 35. They
leave a generation of children with no adult relatives
to raise them.
Everyday:
- An
estimated 35 Kenyan adults contract the HIV/AIDS
virus
- 700
Kenyan adults die of AIDS related
complications
- 1,600
Kenyan children are potentially infected with HIV
As a direct result of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the streets
of Nairobi are full of orphaned toddlers and adolescents
fighting a daily battle of survival. Public school is
not free in Kenya. Therefore, many of these children are
out of school and experiencing helpless and hopeless
conditions. This desperate situation is what caused
Marafiki to concentrate our efforts in Kenya. For more
about the effects of AIDS/HIV in Kenya, visit www.HIVAIDSKenya.com,
www.avert.org,
www.apathyislethal.org
|
Marafiki
means "friends" in Swahili
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THE MARAFIKI
CHILDREN’S CENTER ORPHANAGE
ALL
CONTRIBUTIONS TO MARAFIKI Global AIDS MINISTRY, INC. ARE TAX
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