Inkanyezi HIV/AIDs Project

Orange Farm is a sprawling informal settlement, to the south of Soweto. The Inkanyezi HIV/AIDs project was set up there  in January 2001 with the hope of helping the growing number of HIV/AIDS adults and orphans there.

The project is made up of young volunteers between 18 and 30 who are otherwise unemployed. They are trained in home-based care, basic counselling, and the giving of workshops to school children between the ages of 10 and 15. At present their only renumeration is the sharing of meals with the HIV/AIDS patients and small donations when funds are available. 80 such volunteers have already been trained, and 35 more have enlisted for courses.

The volunteers care for 190 HIV/AIDS patients in their homes. They also accompany them to clinics when necessary and counsel patients and their immediate families on how best to deal with their heart-breaking situation. The Inkanyezi Project has also arranged fostering care for 85 orphans who had no immediate family to care for them.

Sr. Dolores Cox works with the INKANYEZI volunteers and provides urgent help to children of HIV/AIDS sufferers. This help includes providing care and access to schooling. Soweto Connection provides financial support for this work.