Voiceless Children
Voiceless Children supports young people and their caregivers so that their struggle to survive becomes a struggle to be even better than they ever dreamed they could be.
Approximately 25 to 40 million people--63% of HIV-infected individuals in the world--live in the sub-Sahara region of Africa. These numbers have created an unprecedented 13 million orphans. A large number of these children are being cared for by their grandmothers, women representing thousands of their kind, who, in this late stage of life, are literally starting over again to raise these children.
The challenge for these grandmothers is enormous: they must deal with the grief of their own losses, and their own poor health in order to feed, educate and care for this ever-growing number of orphaned children. They struggle on a daily basis to come to terms with a disease they do not understand -- an unnamed disease whose stigma isolates them further from the communities they depend on to survive.
By providing direct financial support for housing, farm supplies and land, Voiceless Children works to develop self sufficiency for these families. Voiceless Children also pays school fees to enable the orphans to attend secondary school, helping build their future.
The stories you will read on this site are the voices of both the grandmothers and the children, ever hopeful that the world will recognize their struggle and continue to share their blessings with them. As Freda Makokha, one of the grandmothers has said, "Today I'm alive. I used to be very sad, but today I walk with pride, strong and fast."
Voiceless Children was founded by Felix Masi in honor of his own grandmother, who took on the task of raising him when he was orphaned at age eight.
Approximately 25 to 40 million people--63% of HIV-infected individuals in the world--live in the sub-Sahara region of Africa. These numbers have created an unprecedented 13 million orphans. A large number of these children are being cared for by their grandmothers, women representing thousands of their kind, who, in this late stage of life, are literally starting over again to raise these children.
The challenge for these grandmothers is enormous: they must deal with the grief of their own losses, and their own poor health in order to feed, educate and care for this ever-growing number of orphaned children. They struggle on a daily basis to come to terms with a disease they do not understand -- an unnamed disease whose stigma isolates them further from the communities they depend on to survive.
By providing direct financial support for housing, farm supplies and land, Voiceless Children works to develop self sufficiency for these families. Voiceless Children also pays school fees to enable the orphans to attend secondary school, helping build their future.
The stories you will read on this site are the voices of both the grandmothers and the children, ever hopeful that the world will recognize their struggle and continue to share their blessings with them. As Freda Makokha, one of the grandmothers has said, "Today I'm alive. I used to be very sad, but today I walk with pride, strong and fast."
Voiceless Children was founded by Felix Masi in honor of his own grandmother, who took on the task of raising him when he was orphaned at age eight.
