News Updates
Eliki's Story
July 2010
Nine-year old Eliki* wants to spend more time at the Children’s AIDS Program (CAP) than anywhere else. Eliki comes to CAP at HEAL Africa to receive medication for HIV which he contracted from his mother at birth. But much more than medical care is being dispensed at CAP. While many reject him because of the lesions on his skin and head, CAP’s staff care deeply for him, and he knows it.
(photo Adam Kennedy)
Dr. Eulalie Vindu sees more than 150 patients in her six-day work week, but she still makes time for home visits and takes notice of each individual patient. In Eliki’s case she has provided much-needed clothes including something special, a prized karate uniform that he wears almost daily.
Eliki is one of 700 children who have found a “home” with Dr. Vindu (see photo_ and her staff at CAP, which was created through the support of Global Strategies donors in 2006. It has nearly tripled in size since then. UNAIDS estimates over 120,000 children under age 15 are HIV positive in Congo.
Eliki’s father died when he was an infant and his mother died as a result of HIV when he was just three. The only remaining adults in his family included his uncle, whose wife refused to care for Eliki and his brother because of his family’s history of HIV. So the brothers have managed on their own. The daily struggle to survive has taken a great toll on both boys.
As a result of this ongoing emotional trauma, Eliki has been looking for love and acceptance. He often goes to other homes, uninvited, to be with other families.
Dr. Vindu emphasizes that this child who she describes as brilliant and brave, still needs the nurturing of a family. For now, his brother and the staff at Heal Africa are Eliki's only family. As a supporter of Global Strategies’ CAP, you have become like an extended family to Eliki and many others.
Because of donations from Global Strategies’ supporters, children like Eliki are helped every day:
- Eight‐year old Melissa may become a mother one day.
- 13‐year old Din dreams about owning a bicycle & singing his favorite pop songs.
- Two‐year old Makemba claps & smiles when her mother, a widow, sings playtime songs.
* Although Eliki’s story is true, his name has been changed to preserve confidentiality.