Campaign News and Resources

Starfish Greathearts Foundation works to bring life, hope and opportunity to orphans and vulnerable children in South Africa. Updates from two wonderful child-centred projects in KZN:

? ?God?s Golden Acre? orphanage at Cato Ridge is one of several across the country receiving monthly donations of nutritious, protein-rich Lucky Star tinned pilchards from Oceana Brands. What a clever way to link social responsibility with popular products, tied up with a perfect partnership name = ?star + fish?!
? A new cr?che for the ?Gozololo? orphanage in Bhambayi has been sponsored by Starfish UK to replace the tin shack that children and staff had been using for teaching and child-care.

Show that you are a Greatheart = Could you run 89km downhill in the 2005 Comrades Marathon on 16 June, SA?s Youth Day, as a Starfish Greatheart? You could make your own achievement touch the lives of many others.

For more information, contact the Starfish Foundation at:
Postnet Suite 510, Private Bag X9, Benmore, 2010 or
82 Wessels Road, Metropolitan Life Office Park, Block F, Rivonia 2191
Tel: 011 259 4000 or 082 858 1161 Fax: 011 259 4111
e-mail: [email protected]

The Joint Civil Society Monitoring Forum: aims to help with ensuring the efficient application of the national HIV/AIDS operational plan, by keeping a continuous check on the activities and experiences of service providers, patients and their families and communities. The national Forum met for the third time in February in Durban and, among other topics, discussed strengthening public health services to roll-out anti-retrovirals for children.

At hospitals and clinics across the country, and especially in rural KZN, there is a severe shortage of doctors, nurses, pharmacists to issue drugs and laboratory staff to process HIV tests. Overloaded and stressed administrative personnel deal daily with long queues, waiting lists, sick and frightened patients and their worried families. Care facilities and systems for all of these stakeholders are inadequate, and there is a perception that issuing ARVs for children is very complex and risky, something that only specialists can handle.
Because this results in many children being referred to already over-burdened hospitals, and creates more expense for their caregivers, the Forum recommended increasing ARV access for children by simplifying treatment for children by nurses, and calling for the set-up of additional accredited sites for child-centred ARV roll-out.

ACESS ? Alliance for Children?s Entitlement to Social Security:
has produced two new Fact Sheets for parents, caregivers and any other people working with children?s rights. One deals with access to education, and covers issues like school fees; the other deals with the extension of the Child Support Grant (CSG) to 18 years. These colourful and easy-to-read materials have been printed in English, Xhosa, Zulu, Afrikaans and Sotho and are offered free of charge, by order.

To order the pamphlets (maximum of four per order), please fill in the ACESS Fact Sheet Order Form, and send it directly to:
Bukelwa Voko
ACESS
PostNet Suite #78, Private Bag X3, Plumstead, 7801
Tel: (021) 761 0117
Fax: (021) 761 4938

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