Fred, 14, Uganda
Becoming a Parent at Age 8

Childhood is not as it should be for 14-year-old Fred. He was forced to take on the role of family caregiver when he was only eight years old, after losing both parents to AIDS.

Fred is the guardian of his nine-year-old brother, Emmanuel. Although he manages the balance between being a child and a guardian responsibly, he admits that in the beginning, life was not easy. He had to scavenge for food amidst worries about their future and his brother’s sickly condition.

Fred reveals that shortly after his father’s death, his relatives chased him and his brother away from their home and took the property for themselves.

His father’s relatives blamed the boys for his death. It was from them that Fred learned his parents had suffered from HIV and died of AIDS-related illnesses.

“One of our aunties came here and started saying that Mama killed Father because she brought him AIDS. And she said we would die of the same disease.

Saknarai, 12, Thailand
Stay With Me

Saknarai makes a birthday card for his mother, forming the words with great care. He may not be doing this again.

His mother, Nongluk, has HIV. His father died of AIDS when Saknarai was just a toddler. Mother and son have only each other.

Their financial situation is fragile, but Saknarai is a World Vision sponsored child and continues to attend school. He loves physical education, especially football. But while he proudly displays the ball and jersey sent by his sponsor, it’s clear where his priorities lie.

“The thing I treasure most is my mother”, he says.

Nongluk is using her opportunities wisely, to prepare her son for the future.

“Anything I teach him, he has to learn”, she says. “I told him he has to be a good student, and clean the house. When I die, this house will belong to him.”

But they are determined that it won’t happen yet. In the birthday card, Saknarai wrote, “I would like you to be happy in life. I want you to love me, and I love you mum.”

Rekha, 16, India
Against All Odds

Sixteen-year-old Rekha remembers new clothes and bangles. She recalls going to the cinema with her friends. She also remembers her mother, who recently died of AIDS. The thought brings excruciating pain.

“She would not get up from the bed to drink water or eat food. She lost her memory. I used to come home every day and cry.”

Rehka’s father had died of AIDS three years before. Now Rekha must raise her younger brother and sister alone.

Rehka’s day begins at 5 a.m. She works for a nearby family, as a housemaid. Her second job begins at 9:30, and doesn’t wrap up until 9 p.m. She has only a 30-minute break.

The work is dangerous. Rekha works with hot kerosene and fire, welding pipes. She does this through exhaustion, pain and illness; no work means no pay.

Thoughts of her brother and sister keep her going. “If I let them study they can go ahead with their life. I need to see to it that I bring them up well.”

“If I am not there for them then they have nobody.”

Youselène, 11, Haiti
Carrying a Dream

Every morning 11-year-old Youselène, puts on a black dress — a sign of mourning. Waving to her older sister, she heads out for school — a sign of hope.

Before the girls’ mother died of AIDS, she talked to her children about the importance of an education. Little Youselène, didn’t need much convincing. She had always dreamed of becoming a teacher.

Youselène’s big sister, Flornie, also had dreams. But in Haiti, illness costs dearly.

“I sold all our belongings to pay for the treatment of my wife, and it still was not enough,” recalls the girls’ father. Days before their mother died, the money ran out altogether.

Flornie had to leave school to sell sandals at the market. Their father was about to take Youselène out as well, but she clung to her hope of become a teacher. And thanks to the World Vision child sponsorship program, Youselène, remains in school.

The morning wave between sisters carries great meaning. “I hope Youselène, the smartest member of the family, will pursue her dream” says Flornie – “and mine too.”