The working class is dying in Africa - leaving behind children and an older generation struggling to support them. These numbers reflect the harsh reality that the consequences of the AIDS pandemic in South Africa will have staggering consequences in every level of society. The Risk AIDS in South Africa is an uninsurable risk to children in the region largely due to denial, both by citizens and the nation as a whole. There is a stigma and shame inextricable from AIDS in Africa. She writes about Laetitia Hambahlane, age 51, and her brother - both of who have AIDS but only Laetitia is branded as an outcast by her community as well as her family because she admits it.
Denial extends to the national level.
The result of this attitude on children is the fact that they have to deal with the role transition from child to adult and care for an ailing parent-many of whom do not even know they are dying of AIDS because they refuse to get tested. Private organizations and government are increasingly becoming dictators of the new family system. The children that depended on their parents for sustenance are now orphans and taking on the role of family providers for younger siblings - children as young as 13. It is customary for the extended family to take in orphans but even this family system is under terrific strain and many turn children away. The concept of adoption is beginning to take hold in Africa due to the increase in the number of orphans.