She is one of Africa s 10 million AIDS orphans. Evelyn is perhaps 16 or 17, but pretends, when asked, that she is 20. She may risk all for twice that and copulate without a condom. There are many Evelyns in the night-time streets of Kisumu, girls and boys, and some are very much younger. The authorities chase them from public places, but the youngsters find shelter in the slums and along Lake Victoria s beaches.
Sex remains a prime source of income.
In better times, the extended family would care for an orphan but AIDS has overwhelmed traditional systems. Many families cannot cope and numbers of street children are increasing. Agencies are responding, the Kenya Red Cross among them. By the end of 1999, it counted 1,352 orphans among the 25,000 people living within a home-based care project area. The counsellor knows about orphans.