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AIDS and poverty: destroying young lives in Swaziland!
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 - 66% of the orphans in Swaziland are AIDS orphans: 63,000 of them.
- 15,000 Swazi children are HIV-positive themselves.
- In African society, AIDS orphans are stigmatized by their associations with a disease which reflects fear and shame—they are often denied education, health care, and public assistance.
- In addition to the world's highest AIDS rate, Swaziland is also experiencing one of the country's worst food shortages—this year delayed rainfall, heavy winds, and hail storms have predicted the worst food crisis in Swaziland's history.
- According to Swaziland Judge Quinsille Mabuza, because of the African folk-legend that AIDS can be cured by intimacy with a virgin, "The crime of rape has become so prevalent that there is no week where there are not reports of it in the press." Young girls raped by HIV-positive men generally develop the virus as well.
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 One Story...
AT 10, HE'S THE HEAD OF THE HOUSEHOLD. His brothers are seven and four. This eight-year old sister is a target for molestation by local drunkards. Both parents died of AIDS. They urgently need care! We can provide it, through the amazing new Mercy Center project we've already started in Swaziland.
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