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First National Bank donates R80 000 to beadwork project
01 May 2003. Cape Argus. Republished courtesy of Independent Newspapers (Pty) Ltd.
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Children watch fascinated as their mothers concentrate on the intricate beading that produces HIV/AIDS ribbons, company logos and even jewellery.
Each piece is being turned into much-needed money for families affected by HIV and AIDS.
Now these dedicated HIV-positive mothers have been offered the kind of security never available before, thanks to a hefty R80 000 donation from First National Bank Home Loans.
The donation is the latest achievement in the remarkable work of Dr Paul Roux, head of the paediatric HIV and AIDS service at Groote Schuur Hospital, which has led to 122 HIV-positive children being put on anti-retroviral drugs to prolong their lives. Forty of the children are orphans of HIV/AIDS orphans who live at Nazareth House.
Roux runs the project courtesy of funding from the United Kingdom-based charity One-To-One Children's Foundation, and has extended it in the past months to secure money to treat mothers of the children who need drugs. Currently, 12 mothers are on anti-retrovirals.
Another arm of the KidzPositive initiative, which ties into the ethos of treating the mothers so the children are not left orphaned, is providing the mothers with an income - and that's where the beading project comes into it.
In a heartfelt speech of thanks during the cheque hand-over at Groote Schuur on Wednesday, Roux said it did not help to just give out anti-retrovirals. "You need food on the table too," he said.
The Positive Beadwork Project started in June last year with a R4 000 donation from St Cyprian's School, and so far the mothers have earned a grand R110 000 from their work - an average of R800 per mother per month.
Roux said the FNB donation had given them the muscle to accumulate products in batches for export, to make ribbons for World AIDS Day all year round, and to produce Christmas cards. |
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