Beating HIV and AIDS

It is estimated that 99% of children who live and work on the streets are HIV positive. The Footprints outreach team has learned through our work that although there are organisations who offer free HIV testing to children on the streets, the opportunities for post-test counselling and support are very limited. This leads to children becoming sick and dying because they do not have access to medical treatment, and children committing suicide because they are so frightened of living with HIV.

We believe that everyone is entitled to health. Footprints delivers outreach work where we spend time with children on the streets, gaining their trust and listening to their problems. This means that we are in an ideal situation to support children with HIV and AIDS, offering them counselling and advice and talking to them about how HIV affects them. We aim to work with the organisations who carry out HIV testing so that we can provide children with immediate support and direct them to places where they can get medical treatment, and are investigating opportunities to partner with relevant organisations so that we can design programmes to ensure that being HIV positive need not mean a child’s life is over.Please pray for all children who live and work on the street, for their safety and good health. In particular please pray for those who live with HIV/AIDS, that they may find grace to deal with their situation and the strength to continue with their lives in a positive way. Please pray for the Footprints outreach team, so that they may continue to work with these most vulnerable of children effectively, and pray that Footprints will be able to work successfully in partnership with other organisations so that children suffering from HIV/AIDS can be given the best possible chance in life.