A Grandmother Caring for Two Sets of Twins

The impact of HIV/AIDS continues in lives of children and those who care for them in Uganda.  In one slum in the heart of Kampala, a grandmother struggled to care for two sets of twins who had been abandoned because their parents died of HIV/AIDS. With no income she struggled to keep them alive by the side of the road near a local swamp with the only home she could provide a cardboard box not much larger than a telephone booth. As she struggled to clothe and feed the children, her only resource was what she could collect from nearby fruit trees and the occasional help of others. Clearly the five would not long survive living in such conditions.

Upon visiting the site, Children’s AIDS Fund International, with its local partners, provided rent for a home in a safer neighborhood where the grandmother and double twins could live, as well as seed money for a small business selling fresh food (bananas and potatoes) and charcoal, which will over time be able to support the family. Today, now six months later, the twins are thriving and the grandmother’s business is growing. With mentorship she is setting goals and looks forward to the day when her income will be enough to pay for the rent, food, clothing, and all the other children’s needs.