I've given up my dreams. I have no hope. Some still try, but communities like Tsepho's are becoming saturated with orphans, and families can't afford to take on another kid, leaving thousands alone. Now many must fend for themselves, struggling to survive. The trauma of losing parents is compounded by the burden of becoming a breadwinner.
Most orphans sink into penury, drop out of school, suffer malnutrition, ostracism, psychic distress.
The orphans' present desperation forecloses a brighter future. Without education, girls fall into prostitution, and older boys migrate illegally to South Africa, leaving the younger ones to go on the streets. The present disaster could be dwarfed by the woes that loom if Africa's epidemic rages on. The human losses could wreck the region's frail economies, break down civil societies and incite political instability. In the face of that, every day good people are doing good things.