Slindile Moya

"She was in the hospital, and we all hoped she would come back, but she didn't come back and when somebody came and tell us we were so sad."

Slindile is twelve and tells about her mother's death. Since she was nine, she has taken care of her four younger brothers and sisters. She lives with them at Agape, a care center for AIDS-orphans. Before their mother died, in 2000, she was faced with the heavy task of not only caring for her sick moher but also to take care of Mthobisi, her nine month old brother. Bonnisiwe, an Agape volunteer, tells:

"There was nobody to help them, so the older children took care of the younger child. It was very hard for them, to see their mother being so sick while the little boy cried; they needed someone to help them, but there was nobody."

About Mthobisi, Bonnisiwe says: "When he came here he had sores all over, on his hands and his feet. He couldn't cry, he just did nothing." After a doctor was convinced to take care of Mthobisi free of charge, the sores healed and nothing remained but scars on his legs. "He is ok now, he is happy. And naughty!"

All these experiences have made a deep impression on Slindile; she is remarkably mature for a girl of only 12. Even though her family now lives safely at Agape, she still plays an active role in the upbringing of her younger brothers and sisters.