Aids in South Africa. (World).

Fourteen-year-old Mpho has AIDS. Last year, her best friend died of the disease.

Mpho lives on the outskirts of Johannesburg, South Africa, in Sparrow Rainbow Village, the world's first community for people with AIDS. She wants to talk about lots of things--about everything but the disease that will probably kill her.

"I like to play netball [a game similar to basketball], ride a bicycle, or play on the computer," she says.

Mpho's social worker told JS that Mpho never talks about her illness, and tries to pretend that it doesn't exist: "Even in her closest relationships, she doesn't talk about it. It's difficult for her when she sees all the people around her dying."

Such reluctance--and widespread myths about AIDS--have contributed to an epidemic (rapidly spreading outbreak). Mpho is one of an estimated 4.7-5.3 million South Africans infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

A Deadly Toll

South Africa has more people infected with HIV than any other nation in the world. And as these statistics show, the problem isn't going away:

* Half of all adults can be expected to contract the virus in their lifetime.

* By 2010, the infection rate will reach 25 percent.

* Within three years, AIDS will become the leading cause of death in South Africa.

Community Support

In a nation that suffers from widespread poverty and lack of education, AIDS has hit young people hardest.

Children are often forced to become the head of their households when a parent becomes ill. The cost of medical treatment, coupled with the loss of the breadwinner's income, has thrown countless families into crisis.

Many children must abandon school to work or to look after sick parents. Others end up on the street, turning to crime in order to eat.

Some are taken in by grandparents, who must return to work or stretch government pensions to look after their grandchildren. When the grandparents die, the children face the trauma of being orphaned twice.

The epidemic has been harder on girls because they are more likely to be pulled out of school to nurse ailing family members.

Sibongile Mkhabela, chief executive officer of the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund, says that some households are remarkably well-run by children, which is often preferable to splitting up the family.

But in most cases, says Mkhabela, social workers try to create community support networks or goelama--a local tribal word that means caring for and protecting the vulnerable.

At Nkosi's Haven in Johannesburg, there is a sense of community, where volunteers create a caring, safe environment for children with AIDS and AIDS orphans.

A Haven for Children

Thirteen-year-old Monini lives at Nkosi's. She remembers how she cared for her ailing mother in their one-room home in Soweto, a black township outside Johannesburg. Her mother had lost her cleaning job when she became too weak to work, and Monini struggled to feed and look after her while trying to continue with school.

Monini did not know that her mother had AIDS. She found out the day she came to Nkosi's.

Why hadn't her mother told her? "I think she was worried that it would affect me at school," says Monini, whose brother died of the disease when he was just 2 months old. "She said she got AIDS from my stepfather. When I went back to Soweto recently, I found out that he had died as well."

Lob, 17, also cared for her dying mother. "I massaged her and made her tea," Lob recalls.

She and Monini enjoy life at Nkosi's, a rambling house in a shabby district of Johannesburg. The haven is named after a 12-year-old boy who died of AIDS last year. Infected since birth, Nkosi became a national symbol of AIDS, and of the South African government's inadequate response to the crisis.

Lolo and Monini are grateful to be at Nkosi's. Many other young people must fend for themselves--and are unable to afford drugs that might help slow their illness. So far, the government has refused to provide these drugs through its national health services.

"The New Apartheid"

From 1948 until the early 1990s, South Africa lived under a system of apartheid (racial segregation), in which a white government oppressed the majority black population, as well as "coloreds" (people of mixed race), and Asians.

During the apartheid era, many black men were forced to seek work outside their homelands, either in mining and forestry towns or in cities. So large numbers of people were on the move, with families often separated. This contributed to the spread of AIDS.

"A very mobile population is step one for spreading infections," says Jackie Schoeman, director of Cotlands orphanage in Johannesburg.

The white government barely confronted the problem of AIDS. When Nelson Mandela became President in 1994, in the country's first multiracial election, AIDS was only one item on a long list of challenges.

Now Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a South African civil rights activist who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984, calls AIDS "the new apartheid." The threat is no longer an oppressive white government, but the disease killing South Africa.

In 1999, Thabo Mbeki (TAHbo em-BEH-key) succeeded Mandela. He caused controversy by questioning the widely accepted belief that HIV causes AIDS. Mbeki's government has refused to give pregnant women more access to nevirapine, a drug that can halve the number of infected children born to HIV-positive women.

Mbeki has cited safety concerns, saying that he does not want South Africans to be treated as "guinea pigs." But many people question his logic: The drug was approved for use in 1996 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and has been endorsed (recommended) by the World Health Organization.

Nevirapine is now restricted to a small number of test groups, even though its manufacturer has offered it free of charge to the South African government for the next five years.

But in a sign that Mbeki may finally be taking the AIDS epidemic seriously, his finance minister, Trevor Manuel, has promised that South Africa will more than double spending on AIDS. This will be a good beginning for South Africans.

"I know about AIDS now," says Monini. "I know it doesn't matter if you're rich or poor, black or white. It affects everyone."

Descriptions of South Africa from Peace Corps volunteers: www.peacecorps.gov/kids/world/africa/southafrica.html

Your Turn

Word Match

___1. apartheid   A. recommended
___2. epidemic    B. tribal word that
                     means caring
___3. nevirapine  C. segregation
___4. endorsed    D. rapidly spreading
                     disease
___5. goelama     E. AIDS drug

Think About It

Why do you think Archbishop Tutu uses the word "apartheid" to describe
the AIDS epidemic?

ANSWERS

Word Match

1. C

2. D

3. E

4. A

5. B

South Africa Time Line

Circa A.D. 300--Bantu-speaking Africans start to arrive from the north.

1488--In search of a sea route to India, Portuguese sailors navigate Cape of Good Hope.

1652--Dutch East India Company establishes a trading base on southern tip of continent, drawing first European settlers.

1770-1870--British and Dutch take more and more land from Africans; wars erupt.

1902--British win second war against Dutch; gain control of South Africa.

1910--South Africa becomes a self-governing country.

1948--Afrikaner National Party begins a policy of apartheid and segregates racial groups with laws that mirror America's South during slavery.

1964--Nelson Mandela and other African National Congress leaders are jailed.

1980s--Apartheid unravels amid riots and international pressure.

1994--Nelson Mandela is elected President in South Africa's first multiracial elections.

1999--Thabo Mbeki succeeds Mandela; the country faces many problems including widespread crime, disease, poverty, and racism.

SOUTH AFRICA

Located at the southern tip of Africa, South Africa is the wealthiest country on the continent. Long ruled by a white minority government that enforced segregation of the races, South Africa is now led by a black government.

FACTS TO KNOW

AREA: 471,444 square miles, about twice as big as Texas.

POPULATION: 43,600,000; black, 75%; white, 13%; colored (mixed black, white, and Asian), 9%; Asian, 3%.

OFFICIAL LANGUAGES: 11, including Afrikaans, English, and Ndebele.

RELIGIONS: Christian, 68%; Muslim, 2%; Hindu, 1%; other beliefs, 29%.

GOVERNMENT: Presidential-legislative democracy; Thabo Mbeki has been President since June 1999.

ECONOMY: Africa's richest and most economically developed country. Produces large amounts of gold, coal, diamonds, many other minerals.

PER CAPITA GDP (*): $8,500.

LITERACY: 82% (men and women).

LIFE EXPECTANCY: 52 years, men; 54 years, women.

(*.) The value of all products produced by the country in a year, divided by the population. (GDP stands for gross domestic product; per capita means per person.)

Questions

Study both the large map and smaller inset map to answer the questions.

1. South Africa has how many capital cities?

2. What is the administrative capital?

3. South Africa's Kruger National Park is located on the border with what country?

4. The Orange River begins in what country?

5. What city is located closest to 30[degrees]S, 30[degrees]E?

6. What country is completely surrounded by South Africa?

7. What percentage of that country's population has HIV or AIDS?

8. What percentage of South Africa's population has HIV or AIDS?

9. In which country bordering South Africa do more than 30 percent of all adults have HIV or AIDS?

10. The Tropic of Capricorn crosses which South African province?

South Africa Map

1. Three

2. Pretoria

3. Mozambique

4. Lesotho

5. Durban

6. Lesotho

7. 21 to 30%

8. 11 to 20%

9. Botswana

10. Northern Province

World: AIDS in south africa

OBJECTIVES

Students should understand:

* factors that have contributed to South Africa's current AIDS epidemic;

* how AIDS has affected the country's youth;

* the legacy of the past policy of apartheid.

SOCIAL STUDIES STANDARDS

Grades 5-8: * geography of Africa * culture and tradition * racial conflicts * AIDS

TEACHING STRATEGY

Have students locate South Africa on a world map. Explore what they already know about the country, its people, its history, and its current problems.

THINKING SKILLS

EXPLORING A HEALTH CRISIS: What major problem is confronting South Africa at this time? (An AIDS epidemic is raging there. More than 10 percent of the population is infected with HIV--the virus that causes AIDS. The disease has already orphaned 300,000 children. Unless a solution is found, that number is likely to soar.)

FINDING CAUSES: What factors have contributed to the AIDS epidemic? (Under apartheid, black men usually had to go far from home to work. There, many became infected with HIV. The government ignored the problem for years. Now it is an epidemic, and there are insufficient funds for effective treatment.)

EXPLORING IMPACT: How are children affected? (Often, parents don't tell their children that they are infected until they are near death. Kids have to care for siblings and sick parents with little preparation, no money, and often while infected themselves.)

SEEKING SOLUTIONS: What can be done? (The South African government is spending more for medication and AIDS prevention. Community groups are creating havens for orphaned children.)

ACTIVITY

Discuss: What can be done about problems that confront South Africa? They include racism, HIV/AIDS, unemployment, crime, and poor education.

RELATED ARTICLE: RESOURCES

* Corona, Laurel, South Africa (Lucent, 2000). Grades 6-9.

* Green, Jen, South Africa (Raintree Steck-Vaughn, 2000). Grade 6 & up.

Video

* South Africa After Apartheid Cambridge Educational Videos

P.O. Box 390385, Cambridge, MA 02139-0004

617-484-3993

Web Sites

* All Africa

www.allafrica.com

* Johannesburg, South Africa Mall & Guardian

www.mg.co.za