I (Thea) lived in Africa for two and a half years, teaching in Zimbabwe. I loved visiting the children in the village behind our school and taking their pictures. My friend, a single mother, lived in the village with her small son. Whenever I visited her, the small children would run away and cry. They weren’t used to white people – I was a white demon to them. But as I continued to visit, bringing them toys and clothes which my friends from America had donated, the children soon swarmed around me instead of running away. They loved to pose for my camera.

Images of the children.

But life was not all fun and games for these children. Many were being raised by their aunts and uncles, grandparents and single moms. And the single-room mud huts they lived in were no picnic either. They had no kitchen, no bathroom – just one small room for the entire family. But they were lucky, since there was one water tap in the middle of the village – they did not have to walk to the river and carry buckets of water on their heads. They also had one community bathroom in the middle of the village – they did not have to use a hole in the ground.

Well, since I left 10 years ago, things have gotten worse. The economy has totally collapsed and the HIV/AIDS situation has worsened. I saw hungry children on the streets 10 years ago – today there are many more children who are fending for themselves, since all the adults in their families have died of AIDS. When I lived there, my house was broken into three times. The third time, it was by a teenage boy whose parents had both died of AIDS. He was hungry.

I could not help all the hungry children when I lived in Africa. Neither can I help them all now. And you can’t help them all either. Even AFnet can’t help them all, but if we all work together, we can help feed, clothe and educate a few more children who would otherwise go hungry today. I personally know Johann Combrink who started AFnet and who works so hard to help these orphans. Thank you for joining us as we celebrate this happy occasion of our marriage by partnering with AFnet to help a child celebrate today as well. To make a donation with a credit or debit card using PayPal, click on the Make a Donation button below and enter "in honor of Thea and Tim" in the description area.