Young Heroes

Some statistics for Swaziland:

70,000 orphans
15,000 child-headed homesteads
120,000 orphans projected by 2010

Word got around quickly that I'm a photographer and I was quickly enlisted to do some shooting for the "Young Heroes" program where a couple of the Baylor Clinic doctors' partners work. Young Heroes was set up as part of Swaziland's response to the AIDS crisis. They support children who are double orphans living on their family homesteads. Young Heroes counts on donations from the US and elsewhere to support orphan families, and they are looking for some good images to use for marketing their program. Today I went out with Phephe and Angela from Young Heroes on a monitoring trip to photograph at several of the homesteads they support. This was a totally different side of Swaziland than we have seen. The homesteads are far from electricity and running water and sometimes off the dirt roads down narrow trails. Each homestead consists of several small structures ranging from primitive mud huts with thatched roofs to more modern brick buildings. Chickens and hungry looking dogs wander the grounds and laundry hangs from clotheslines. The purpose of today's trip was to make sure that the aid coming to the families from Young Heroes is being put to good use. They were also testing some of the children for HIV/AIDS at the homesteads. With the rapid test they can test in the field know right away if a child is infected, but they wait until the child is seen in a clinic where counseling is available to share the results. One of the six kids we tested today was positive. I went along today to document life on the homestead and hopefully get some images that will get someones attention. This is a great chance for me to be useful while I am here and use my photography to help some of the kids in Swaziland.

Check out the website for more information:
Young Heroes

Mike