CHILDREN OF AIDS - new edition

by Emma Guest

This is the new, fully updated, first paperback edition of Emma Guest's acclaimed book that explores how the AIDs crisis has devastated the world's poorest continent, and shows how families, charities and governments are responding to the next wave of the crisis - millions of orphans. Based on extensive interviews, Guest lets people tell their own stories in their own words. The result is a moving and disturbing account of the experiences of orphans, street children, grandparents, aunts, foster parents, charity and social workers and foreign donors across South Africa, Zambia and Uganda.

Genres: Africa

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Lilia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really an eye opening book for me. As Westerners we often hear AIDS and Africa together, but we don`t stop and think about it. We have become desensitised and just accepted it as something normal. The author mainly based her book on Uganda, South Africa and Zambia and described real-life stories. There are so much more consequences that follow from the high prevalence of AIDS which I`m ashamed to admit that have not crossed my mind. I haven`t once heard about the thousands of orphans with no support systems or how family members (grandmothers, uncles, aunties, etc) start taking care of those children who are left with no parents. This makes the countries even poorer, the adults in their working years die leaving their children with one parent or none,then someone has to take care of those orphans which is not always possible. Many children end up living on the streets, stop going to school, embark on stealing, fighting and/or selling their bodies to have something to eat. Children are left vulnerable, alone, susceptible to infectious diseases and abuse without many hopes for bright future. Older siblings sometimes become head of families and raise alone their younger brothers and sisters. Most governments are not effective and take too much time to react. I`m shocked how things in South Africa got completely out of hand and because of the stigma around HIV and AIDS the percentage of affected mothers rose dramatically from less that 1% in 1990 to 23% in 1998. Unfortunately more than 10 years later, these problems are still present and far from resolved. Even though we live in the 21st mass media century, we still are completely misinformed.

[LeAnne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although the statistics of this disease are outdated by the time they are published, they still demonstrate the overwhelming size of the problem. Guest uses true case studies to powerfully demonstrate aspects of the problem such as the breakdown in the extended family, challenge of children growing up on their own, stigma and government bureaucracy. The book is very readable, intermingling accounts of dedicated people and wonderful things being done with realistic assessment of the huge challenges. Guest reports on the various types of care in the words of those directly involved, letting the reader draw his own conclusions as to what is most effective.