10 May 2002
CCF Highlights Impact Of Hiv/Aids At Special Session For Children
CCF’s Regional Representative for East Africa will address the U.N. Special Session for Children, which is currently
being held in New York.
Margery Kabuya, who is also Director of CCF’s Kenyan national office, will address the General Assembly concerning the
impact of HIV/AIDs on children in the developing world.
“Margey’s address presents an opportunity for world leaders to stop and consider the enormity of the HIV/AIDS issue and
to begin working together to address the conditions of poverty, neglect and abuse that these children are living with.”
“Tragically, millions of children are left to fend for themselves as the AIDS virus wipes out the parental generation in
Africa,” says Mr Laidlaw, Chief Executive, CCF NZ.
More than 2.1 million people are living with HIV/AIDS in Kenya alone, where the disease has infected 14% of the
population.
“Left with no parents or guardians to assist them, children are forced to roam the streets in search of food and work.
These children are being denied basic human rights and are suffering under the immense strain of malnutrition, disease,
little or no access to safe water, regular meals or education,” says Mr Laidlaw.
Mr Laidlaw says that although we may be far removed from the Summit in New York and the problems facing the children of
Africa, New Zealanders have the ability to adjust the scales of imbalance and make a tangible impact on the lives of
hundreds of children.
CCF NZ has recently set up its first ever dedicated project, where an entire community in Kenya of 30,000 people will be
supported, solely by New Zealanders.
“Kiwis can play their part and be the vital link between poverty and potential in these children’s lives, simply by
sparing $1.20 a day.”
ENDS