Missing generation: African AIDS epidemic leaves elderly to raise kids

Sue SprenkleInternational Mission Board

Looking for hope - This South African grandmother lost three of her children to HIV/AIDS. Now her grandchildren live with her. She also has one great-grandson living in the overcrowded one-room, mud brick house. Two of her grandchildren are already showing signs of HIV.

South Africa (BP) - Children run wildly up and down the path - turning cartwheels and chattering along the way. Several steps behind, their granny walks stiffly, holding onto her oldest granddaughter's arm for a steadiness she hasn't had in years.

The contrast between youth and the elderly is drastic in this country. An entire middle generation is missing, creating the huge gap. HIV/AIDS wreaks its havoc in South Africa almost daily.

"People are dying and no one wants to talk about the cause," a South African grandmother says as a bell tolls five times in the background. The ringing bell signals to the rest of the village that someone just died. "Every day that bell rings and every Saturday we go to funerals. Our young people are dying like never before."

A South African survey published in March 2004 shows that South Africans spend more time at funerals than they do having their hair cut, shopping or grilling out. It found that over twice as many people had been to a funeral in the past month as had been to a wedding. It is estimated that about 600 people in South Africa die of HIV-related illnesses each day.

The missing generation can be found if you look hard enough. Many are buried beneath fresh graves. To find others, take a stroll to the backrooms of flimsy, tin shacks dotting the country. Emaciated and weak, this missing generation barely makes a wrinkle under blankets.

"I wouldn't wish this fate on anyone," says Margret Sithole, a young adult who volunteers as a home-care worker for HIV patients. "My peers are dying. Soon there will not be enough left in this age group to take care of the children or the elderly."

Typically, half of the people with HIV become infected before they are 25. They then develop AIDS and die by the age of 35. They leave behind a generation of children to be raised by grandparents or left on their own in child-headed households.

Sue SprenkleInternational Mission Board

AIDS orphans - Children orphaned by AIDS often miss out on their childhood. They are forced to drop out of school because there is no money to pay school fees. Even children as young as 2 and 3 help take care of their ailing parents. They must also help with daily living chores traditionally done by adults.

AIDS is generating orphans so quickly that family structures are struggling to cope. Traditionally, aunts, uncles and grandparents absorb orphans into already existing family systems.

So far, the AIDS epidemic has left behind an estimated 15 million orphans worldwide. Around 80 percent of these live in sub-Saharan Africa. The most recent United Nations UNAIDS reports estimate that the number of children orphaned by AIDS will rise dramatically in the next 10-20 years. In South Africa alone, it is estimated that by 2010, there will be 1.5 million children orphaned as a result of AIDS.

"In the old days, the young took care of the elderly and children," a South African grandmother says. "Now, there are only grannies and children left."

Nearly 90 million Africans could be infected by HIV in the next 20 years if more is not done to combat the epidemic, the UN has warned. Currently, some 25 million Africans have HIV, which causes AIDS.

While things might seem hopeless as a generation of providers falls victim to HIV/AIDS, International Mission Board missionaries Andy and Gay Wilkinson say there is still hope.

"If we can reach this younger generation before they become infected, then we can stop the cycle," Andy says. "The hope is in the kids. They will have to break cultural barriers and not have sex outside of marriage. They need to know Christ and live godly lives.

"AIDS is a pandemic, but it's also the greatest opportunity to bring people to Christ."