Check Against Delivery

USAID'S Health Team Leader, Dr. John Crowley
Uniting to support South Africa’s Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children

July 13, 2006

Thank you, Master of Ceremonies. 

Greetings  Honorable Minister Skweyiya, UNICEF country Director,  Get name of uncef country director, other distinguished guests, and conference participants.  Thank you for the invitation to this important conference and the gala dinner.  It is an honor and privilege to be here with you tonight.

When I was growing up, my family moved so often, it’s hard to call a single place my childhood home.  I used to watch other children and long for the stable environment they had.  Moving around made it difficult to maintain long friendships, but I gained the opportunity to explore different cultures and ways of living.  The only thing stable during my child hood was my family and I grew to appreciate and cherish the value and importance maintaining stable family relationships and bonds.  For all too many children affected by HIV and AIDS these stable family bonds are either strained or tragically broken.
Growing up as a child of the 1960s, I yearned to do something to make the world a better place which led me to joined the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).  USAID provides humanitarian and economic assistance throughout the world.  I’ve been in South Africa for almost five years, working as the Team Leader of our Health and HIV/AIDS Department.    

The most humbling and rewarding part of my job is the time I spend in the field meeting with project staff and the people of South Africa.  My mind is imprinted with heartwarming incidents after meeting children and caring care-givers at many of the projects we’ve supported for some time.  Young people have a lot to say about what they need and it’s crucial that we listen to them – they are, after all, the future of this country.

But the heartbreaking experiences are those I will never forget.  These encounters involve meeting children, and care-givers,  in Soweto, KwaZulu-Natal and across the country who don’t know what to do or where to get help.  Many of them are orphans.  Others are taking care of sick parents and family.  What they say to us is that they are not thinking about what to be when they grow up or how to join the popular crowd of kids.  They are preoccupied with life-and-death issues, such as filling their empty stomachs, taking care of brothers and sisters, and all too often one or more sick parent.  
I believe that every one of you present tonight is here because you want to give hope to these children whose futures depend largely on help beyond the immediate nuclear family.  I know every part of my being wants to give them hope and a reason for continuing to live.  The American people feel the same way.  Children and orphans changed by AIDS have gone through so much trauma, they can’t possibly make sense of all the pain and sorrow.  It is important that projects include  help kids develop skills to cope with the shock they have suffered, so they can get on with daily life and gain hope for the future.  But we want to give them more than hope – we want to give them the tools to become productive members of South African society.  Working in partnership with local NGOs, FBOs, other donors like UNICEF, and the South African Government we can help provide these tools.

President Bush’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, commonly known as “PEPFAR”, supports the South African Government’s comprehensive strategy for HIV treatment, prevention and care.  The United States is providing more than $221 million this year in this country towards these aims. A significant portion of this funding supplies food, shelter, communities and care for orphans and other vulnerable children and households affected by AIDS. 
Ambassador Randall Tobias, Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance and USAID Administrator, has met orphans throughout the world and visited South Africa several times.  I saw him clap his hands to the rhythm of rural Zulu children singing and dancing their welcome to the orphanage we assist to support them.  I watched him comfort a four-year-old girl whose mother is dying of AIDS.  Ambassador Tobias says, “Children cannot reach their potential if they’re locked in a struggle for daily survival….America is offering hope to hard-hit communities by helping them develop the capacity to support their children in the future.”

USAID and other U.S. Government agencies apply funding from President Bush’s Emergency Plan to help the children we are talking about throughout this four day conference.  We do this in partnership with the South African Government, and especially the Department of Social Development, to ensure that the assistance provided by the U.S. Government is consistent with and supportive of South African policies and cultural practices.

Nongovernmental organizations and faith-based organizations implement many of the programs we support, bringing life-saving and hope-giving care to South African children.  These NGOs focus on delivering what the kids need, where they need it and at the right time.  Their dedication insures a comprehensive package of high quality services available for the growing number of children whose lives are forever altered by AIDS.  NGOs are vital partners in our efforts because they are a daily part of the communities they serve.  NGOs function as bridges between various funders, Government ministries and other organizations addressing South Africa’s AIDS epidemic and they are key to a sustainable package of assistance over time.

Programs that work best are those that local neighbors support willingly with their own hands, hearts and time.  Part of USAID’s funding enables NGOs to mobilize and train local community volunteers to learn how to best support orphans and vulnerable children where they live.  This approach supports South Africa’s Department of Social Development aim to increase community and NGO involvement with caring for orphans and vulnerable children. 

The South African boys and girls I meet at projects assisted by USAID continue to motivate – and often inspire - me.  So do their care-givers.  To see the children’s hearty appetites as they eat meals that our funding helps to provide and to see their eyes flicker with dreams about what they want to be when they grow up leave me with memorable impressions.   We must also not forget the role and burden placed of the care-givers – especially the “go-gos” or “grannies”; providing support to these individuals is often as important as the assistance we give to the child.   Helping South Africans to cope positively with the OVC impact of AIDS in a sustainable manner is one of the U.S. Government’s top priorities.

Our support makes sure children not only get healthy food every day, but they also have a chance to LEARN—to get an education, and counseling to understand their loss.  This foundation of care and nurturing will enable the children to face life prepared.  But we also need to address the roles and needs of boys and girls in all their stages of development – from infancy through adolescent with age appropriate services.  It is also important to acknowledge the additional burden that young girls face – both in terms of risk for exploitation and the burden of caring for siblings and sick parents – and to design programs to mitigate these risks and burdens.

We are accountable with our funding and provide technical monitoring and evaluation so projects can run cost-effectively to sustain their life-saving operations.  But it takes a constant supply of resources to locate and help children in need across this country.  I doubt there can be TOO many supporters with funds and other valuable resources to address AIDS orphans and children.   

The AIDS pandemic has consequence beyond individual children’s lives, devastating millions of families and communities.  U.S. assistance seeks to address the complex and interconnected needs of orphans and vulnerable children affected by HIV.  

Strategic areas include:
  Supporting families to protect and care for their children;
  Mobilizing and strengthening community-based responses;
  Increasing the capacity for children and young people to respond to their own needs;
  Ensuring that host Governments develop policies and provide essential services for the most vulnerable children; and
  Raising awareness to create an environment that enables support for children affected by HIV/AIDS.

All of us who care enough to act today, must continue to provide support tomorrow and for as long as children need our help.  AND we must encourage others to join in this effort.

We have begun the journey together, collaborating with the South African Government, UNICEF and other key players to support these youngsters who desperately need hope that our united help brings.  We must be united in support of South Africa’s response to orphans and other children made vulnerable by HIV and AIDS.  Only then can we see the true meaning of  “Ubantu”.

Thank you.