The boys have fended for themselves since their mother died five years ago of AIDS, followed by their father a year later, catapulting Richard into the role of caretaker, breadwinner, and protector. Now we are used to it. I thought of my own five children, secure at home in Seattle. As confident and capable as they are, I can't imagine how they would manage alone. Some 930,000 Ugandans currently suffer from AIDS, including 67,000 children under age 15.
Poverty compounds the crisis.
Half the population lives on less than a dollar a day. Only 42 percent of the rural people have access to health care. Many orphans like Richard struggle to think about the future. But despite the trauma they have endured, Richard and his brothers plan ahead. Their hope is based in Christ, their Comforter.