Robert Mugerwa is one of 850,000 children in Uganda who have lost parents to Aids.

  "My father died three years back. My mother died in the same year," says the 17-year-old orphan.

  Robert, who lives in Kataale-Sseguku, a small village 6km south of the Ugandan capital Kampala, is now surrogate father to seven children.

  These include three sisters, two brothers and two cousins whose parents also died with Aids. His two brothers have been diagnosed with HIV.

  Robert dropped out of school last year to support his family. Local villagers refer to the seven children as "Robert's children". He wants to ensure the children go to school.

This story was featured in the radio program “Health Matters” on the BBC World Service, August 3, 2002.

  Since he is 17, Robert knows he could leave to make his own way in the world.  It would be much easier for Robert alone.  But he accepts that these children are his family and he wants to try to make ends meet as best as he can.  Robert and his family are fortunate to have a local charity available to provide some help.  The charity is based at a local hospital.  Its goal is to help families like Robert’s with emotional and financial support.

  Robert’s family has received help with school fees for his seven children.  It has also contributed to medical care costs.  Recently, the charity built the family a new house.  Robert was surprised and grateful to have a house built for the family he cares for.  The charity works to support children, who can live on their own as Robert’s family does. 

  Many children are helped this way and it is wonderful.  How blessed is Robert’s family, to have a faithful young relative care for them.  These children will live and grow in a household that is close to a family life in the Ugandan tradition.

  But many of the 850,000 AIDS orphans in Uganda do not have a surviving elder who is able to care for them.  Many of these children have only aged grandparents or other relatives who are too old to work.  They cannot handle all the physical tasks needed to care for several children in their homes.  The needs of these children are very different from those children who still have a surviving parent or older sibling.  COTREAS hopes to help those children who need additional support to live with surviving relatives.  We want to address the needs of the children whose elder relatives are no longer able to fulfill the parent’s promise of the assurance of life, of support and of guidance into their future.  For these children to go to school, they must be boarded with a family or at a boarding school while school is in session.  When the school is at recess, they must stay with what relatives or family they may have.  Often this family member is elderly and not able to support the child.  Supporting the child by supporting the family structure is the mission of COTREAS.  We want to maintain the traditional family structure of Uganda or Rwanda for these orphaned children.

   By James & Nancy Baldwin for COTREAS News.