Blind Future

Blind Future

CHOWAMBA, ZAMBIA - As she sits outside an overcrowded hospital wrapped in a blanket under the warm Zambian sun, Zinenani tells author Deborah Ellis the story of her life. Zinenani’s father died of AIDS in the midst of her childhood and she tells Ellis, “My father was sick in l995 the same way I am now. He died, right here in this same hospital. Maybe I will die, too”. These are not the words of a teenager with hope for the future.

The future is something most children look forward to. They think of the things they like and maybe what they want to be when they grow up. As teenagers, all of these dreams start to become realities. However, seventeen year old Zinenani is blind to her future, she does not look at what is to come any more because she doesn't know if she will have a future. As a child she wanted to be a school teacher because she loved playing with the other children. Now she has no energy to do anything because her body is weak. Seventeen year old Zinenani has AIDS.   

Those who are infected, especially by birth, live in a world with limited options and shortened life spans. Although HIV and AIDS affect people all over the world, Africa is one of the places that has been affected the most by this epidemic. No matter what the cause of this, be it lack of education or lack of money, the children are suffering the consequences.

Of all the children around the world that have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS 85 percent live in sub Saharan Africa. And of those who are living with HIV themselves, 91 percent are located in sub Saharan Africa (Avert). None of these children have a choice. Those who lose their parents struggle to get by, only some getting help from others in their community.

Children deserve options to create the foundation for the rest of their lives. However those affected by HIV and AIDS have very few. About 1.8 percent of South African children under 18 are HIV positive (Media Aids). Most of these children are infected from birth. Other possibilities of infection include poor medical practices such as unsanitary blood transfusions, drug use with infected needles, and marriage at a young age. Girls who are married off as children usually have older partners and are subject to sexual violence, and are less likely to be able to negotiate the use of condoms (Gilborn).

Of all of these children who are HIV positive, 90 percent are infected through mother to child transmission or MTCT (Avert). This transmission can be during pregnancy, labour, delivery, or even breast feeding. Once born, treatment must be administered immediately or else serious complications arise. Without it, their life spans are severely compromised. Antiretroviral treatment used for HIV has been shown to reduce mortality rates in children by about 70 percent (Media Aids). However, it can be very difficult for them to attain such medication and follow through with treatment especially when they have been orphaned by the disease itself.

Some children, although free from this horrific disease, suffer through the loss of one or both parents. They either are taken in by relatives with overcrowded homes, become the head of their own households and raise their siblings, or end up on the street. Most children in this situation are no longer able to receive an education due to financial instability which has an extreme emotional impact. Children are left with psychological issues such as anxiety, anger, and depression more so than other children. An interview with children orphaned by AIDS showed that 12 percent of children in this situation wished that they were dead (Avert). This is 12 percent more than it should be. A change must be made to make this number non existent, these children need help.

Zinenani sits in the sun as her mother drapes more layers upon her chilled body. As AIDS takes over her body as it has her life, she loses hope daily (Ellis). As she speaks with Ellis, she looks back at her childhood dreams and days with her father. However, seldom thinks about her hopes for the years to come. She is one of the many children across the globe that has lost sight of the future ahead of them because of HIV and AIDS.

Works Cited

Bird, William, Rachel Bray, Gemma Harries, Helen Meintjes, Jo Monson, and Natalie Ridgard. "How Children Are Affected by HIV and AIDS." Media Aids. Anova, 2005. Web. 05 Mar. 2015.

"Children, HIV and AIDS." Children, HIV and AIDS. Avert, n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.

"Children Orphaned by HIV and AIDS." Children Orphaned by HIV and AIDS. Avert, n.d. Web. 05 Mar. 2015.

Ellis, Deborah. "Our Stories, Our Songs:." Faze Magazine. UNICEF, n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2015.

Gilborn, Laelia Zoe. "The Effects of HIV Infection and AIDS on Children in Africa." Western Journal of Medicine. Copyright 2002 BMJ Publishing Group, Jan. 2002. Web. 10 Mar. 2015.