Focus on Child-Headed Households

As the numbers of households headed by minor children continues to increase in sub-Saharan Africa, SOHO has taken on the challenge of understanding and addressing the needs of this unique population. As part of information gathering, SOHO President, Cynthia Prime visited two primary schools in Swaziland to discuss with teachers and administrators the needs of the children. Both Principals talked about the crisis with food as children attend class on empty stomachs even if they are on anti-retroviral drugs. The children lack structure and stability in their lives and are often victims of abuse. SOHO provided food packages and in some cases, uniforms. It also explored ways in which their lives can be changed through collaboration. An outreach program is being coordinated with SWAGAA ( Swaziland Action Group Against Abuse).

SOHO's mission is to improve quality of life and increase life expectancy for orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs), particularly those in communities adversely affected by HIV/AIDS, through health education initiatives and by facilitating access to available resources.

• DONATE: Children 11 and 7 years old should not have to give sex for food and go without healthcare. They deserve love and a chance to succeed. Donate now by clicking on the link.
  SOHO is a 501(c)(3)organization.

SOHO Outreach

Saving Orphans through Healthcare and Outreach (SOHO) was established in 2006 in response to an urgent request for clothing and gardening supplies from Adventist Development Relief Agency.

SOHO Clinic

In March, SOHO ambassadors made a 20-day clinic and distribution trip to Swaziland. Accompanying SOHO president Cynthia Prime were nurses from New Zealand, Australia, and the U.S. including SOHO co-founder Linda Schultz who lead the Clinics. Each day, the teams were taken to a different rural community. The Clinic team took care of the health care issues and the distribution team fitted both adults and children with clothing and shoes. The elderly were particularly grateful for hand knitted blankets and throws knitted by volunteers in Australia. Bare feet, tatttered clothing, infected skin, cuts and bruises were common place. But so were smiles of joy and expressions of gratitude. The nurses saw close to 2000 patients and over 4000 received clothing, toys and household supplies. During the trip, the ambassadors also traveled to the Malkerns Young Persons Prison where children as young as 9 years old were incarcerated mainly for stealing food and other petty crimes. The group also visited two orphanages. Click here to check out Cynthia's Blog for additional photos and details.

HHO Farm

A team of five from Andrews University in Michigan visited Swaziland just ahead of the clinic team. They included Dr. Verlyn Benson, Tom Chittick and Dayle Birney, along with two students, Loutrina Staley and Stephen Mayer. Although much of the time was spent on the 67 acre farm, the team also visited Mhlosheni Welcome Place where they spent time digging trenches and re-channeling water sources after finding that the water source and irrigation system was contaminated. When they left, the Welcome Place had two new tanks filled with clean water and a new system in place to guarantee pure water for the children served there. Critical needs in the future include increasing the output at the HhoHho farm to enable more orphans access to nutritious vegetables and an on-site clinic/first aid facilities so that the SOHO clinics can be more sustainable and less sporadic.

Donation

Building materials and clinic supplies are urgently needed to complete the first SOHO health center in Mbekielweni, Swaziland and expand the orphan support program at Mhlosheni.

Events

Faces of Hope

The Faces of Hope Photo Exhibition highlighting photos of Swazi child-headed households by Josef Kissinger was a SOHO awareness building success story. The event was held at WFYI, the PBS affiliate in Downtown Indianapolis on April 25th. Participants included Myra Selby of Ice Miller, Johnny Smith and Marvin White of St.Vincent Health, Dr. Gilbert Rochon of Purdue University and the photographer Josef Kissinger. A short promotional video was created with the assistance of WFYI’s Clayton Taylor, written by DeShong Perry and narrated by anchorwoman Andrea Morehead. We’ve posted the video on YouTube so you can see and share it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKJtzWbOK5A

Upcoming 2010 Events / Get Involved

• June 12th:
  SOHO will have a booth at WFYI’s "Let’s Meet PBS Kids at the Park" at Military Park in Indianapolis from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Come join us and learn how you can get involved!
• August TBD:
  SOHO’s Mile for a Child: Hope Run in Swaziland, Africa. A number of orphaned and vulnerable children will be participating in a 5K to bring awareness to the issues they face on a daily basis.
• October 1:
  10 SOHO Leadership Exchange to Swaziland and Kwa Zulu Natal
• October 17th:
  SOHO’s Mile for a Child: 5K Hope Run in Indianapolis, IN. We need your help! Please contact us if you would like to learn more about how you can participate in the run or be one of our sponsors/in-kind donors.
• November 7th to 14th:
  Spirit and Place Festival
• December 1st:
  World AIDS Day Annual Benefit Gala. More information will come on this event and how you can get involved. Stay tuned!!

• DONATE: Among children from child-headed households, far too many make suicide the way to stop the pain. Food, healthcare, education and love will keep them alive. Donate now and help us save the children.