More than a Million innocent children are orphaned or abandoned to live on roads in Zimbabwe due to the devastating effects of HIV/ AIDS crisis. These kids have lost their both parents and all elders in family to the AIDS pandemic and experts fear that 1 out 5 children will become orphan by the end 2010 in Zimbabwe. 90 % of these children are raised through extended families and not in orphanage. Efforts to provide basic food, education and health facilities to these children are getting hampered because of the current political, economic and humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe.

These children are facing triple threat of cholera, Influenza A H1N1 and measles outbreaks while Zimbabwe is having second highest monthly inflation rates in the History of Mankind. Every 1 of the 7 living in the age group o 15-40 years is suffering from AIDS in Zimbabwe. More than half of adolescents are in fear of getting infected with HIV virus in a few years of time.

Absence of social safety, parents or guardians, spiraling inflation, deteriorating physical infrastructure, erosion of livelihoods, food insecurity, rising malnutrition, inadequate fund to support education, the severe impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic is having a dramatic impact on the overall well-being of the children in Zimbabwe. These orphans struggle for the basic necessities: food, clothing, education and medicine.

Around 120,000 children are living with HIV in Zimbabwe along with the most of the taxable population of the country. They are living on margins, mostly on the Food Aid. The School attendance has declined from 85 % in 2007 to less than 20% in 2009. The student turn-out is low as a majority of public schools have pegged school fees to match the running costs.

Consequently, a majority of Zimbabwean children can not afford to pay these fees, have stopped attending classes and access education; even if schools are open and teachers conduct lessons. These orphan children (and others infected by the virus) are particularly affected by the multiple traumas of chronically ill caregivers, orphan hood, lack of quality education and high food insecurity.

Many NGOs have come forward to address this issue along with UNICEF and other helping bodies. One such organization, Heart4Kids is working for the cause since 2003 in Zimbabwe.

Heart4Kids is a non-profit 501 3(C) organization dedicated to improving the quality of life of children around the world whose lives are shattered by the HIV/AIDS virus. Heart4Kids seeks to protect these children by providing them with food, clothing, educational and medical assistance, and above all hope.

More information on how the organization is helping these children and bringing hope to them can be collected from their website http://heart4kids.org/