1 in 3 Zimbabweans is HIV positive. Thousands of children live in child headed households because their parents have died of AIDS and many grandparents are unable to support them. Small children are the most affected but the least helped. The situation is worse if the children themselves are also HIV/AIDS infected. Assistance from the government is neither forthcoming nor expected which is hardly surprising considering the present political and economic problems besetting Zimbabwe today.

Aidslink International’s Tariro Day Care Centre (TDCC) in Banket, 100 km west of Harare was started in 2005.  Volunteers play educational games with the children to stimulate them intellectually. They are also taught mathematics and literacy in English and are provided with 2 nutritious meals a day and medical treatment if they are also HIV/AIDS infected.

The day care centre provides a safe environment for young kids to learn and play while their older sibling who would otherwise be caring for them at home is released to continue their schooling. Being able to continue in school would provide a chance for the older children to have a sustainable future which would otherwise be robbed from them through no fault of their own. It also allows some semblance of childhood for the older children during school hours that have had the responsibility of child caring thrust upon them due to the death of their parents by AIDS. Therefore, this service does 4 critical things:

At present this programme directly impacts the lives of over 40 children but indirectly over 200 people are benefiting from this assistance. To give you an idea of the impact you can have, did you know that every US$100 would feed 7 kids for a month?