care of orphans and vulnerable children

Care of Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC)

One of the two main works we do at Cabrini Ministries Swaziland is

Care of Orphans and Vulnerable Children, or OVC (the other major work

is Health Care Outreach). This program was established in 2002 to

respond to the HIV/AIDS and TB pandemics by caring for OVC and helping

their extended families.

We take care of 127 beautiful children at the hostel. We have 7 kids

in high school, 7 in preschool, everyone else in primary school grades

1-7. There are 70 girls and 57 boys. The average age is probably

around 13.

Of the 127 children at the hostel, 84 of those kids have both parents

dead, 36 have one parent dead, and we have several children that come

from very vulnerable situations. We try to keep siblings together.

There are 36 family units (brothers, sisters) and 24 single children.

To read about an average day for the children, click on this post:

Typical Schedule for the Children.