Phedisang
Phedisang, a Northern Sotho word that translates to “Help them live”, is central to the mission of the Phedisang Project. Caring for orphans and vulnerable children affected by the AIDS crisis in the Maruleng municipality of the Limpopo Province, their guiding principle is that children should be raised where they chose to be: within their broader family network and community. Visit Phedisang's website.Program Highlights
Phedisang has three main programs of support for orphans and vulnerable children. First, they provide each child at one of their seven centers with two meals per day, one before and the other after school.Second, they monitor each child’s health status and provide access to the health system that includes medical visits and access to clinics and hospitals.
Third, they assist each child and the child’s care giver to access available government programs and monthly grants, many of whom are not aware of government assistance programs and do not know how to access benefits. Phedisang relies on a team of South African and international volunteers who oversee their programs.
Development Perspective
Phedisang’s programs support the children’s preference to remain in their communities rather than live in institutionalized residential care. The reality is that other options are not always available since the number of orphans in South Africa far exceeds the government or service organizations’ capacity to house and care for them.
