This morning, we visited an amazing place - SOS Children’s Village in Cape Town. SOS is a community of homes orphaned or abandoned children are cared for and raised. South Africa, and many other African countries, large numbers of children have been orphaned due to war, famine, or because of serious health issues such as HIV/AIDS.

The SOS Village is all about quality of life, and I think that we were all surprised by the set-up and the incredible sense of community and family they have created for these children and young adults.

There are 6 to 8 children and/or young adults living in each house, with one ‘mother’ and one ‘aunt’ or ‘assistant mother’. We were invited to the SOS Village by Paul Senosi who is known by most of the kids as ‘Uncle’. Paul took us to visit two of the houses in the village. At each house we had a great tour guide. Moses and Keeper, two of the residents, introduced us to their families and showed-off their rooms which were complete with magazine articles about celebrities, athletes, and pop stars. They were very similar to an American student’s bedroom, even my own when I was that age.

Then, Paul and his colleague, Sebangi, took us into Langa, a nearby township where they do family and HIV/AIDS outreach work. One project they work on in Langa pairs orphaned children with other family members. SOS provides support in the way of food, money, job scouting, and by matching the income of caregiver. We met with one amazing resident in the program - Oma (which means grandmother) - whose daughter died of AIDS. She now cares for her grandchildren.  

Oma was incredible! She welcomed us into her home, sang for us, and had her grandson play some djembe music. It was clear that she was very proud of her grandchildren. None of us wanted to leave her. There were hugs all around as we said our ‘good-byes’ to Oma.

Today, I found new meaning in the word family and realized just how important families are, no matter how it is defined or who it consists of.

HIV/AIDS is an issue that I, like many people around the world, am very concerned about. In some parts of South Africa, 1 in every 5 people is living with HIV/AIDS. It is hard not to think about this when visiting orphanges or other community outreach programs. To help me better understand this worldwide epidemic, I got some expert advice Dr. Johnston at amfAR in New York City. I hope that you will watch the videos below to better educate yourself about HIV/AIDS because it effects the entire world.

Part I: Understanding HIV/AIDS	Part II: HIV/AIDS Health Facts	Part III: AIDS and Africa

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