Losing the family breadwinner can be ruinous to Zimbabwean families with children. Public school fees in this poor African nation have skyrocketed in the last two years, making education a luxury for cash-strapped families. Mercy Corps is helping by paying for infrastructure improvements, textbooks and other supplies in return for tuition waivers for 750 orphans and vulnerable children. Studies show that HIV/AIDS risk decreases with every year of school a girl attends and increases their self-confidence, income potential and awareness of sexually transmitted diseases. For these and other reasons, education remains a key bulwark against the disease's vicious cycle of disease and poverty.
Mercy Corps helped prevent the further spread of cholera by ramping up activities promoting health and hygiene. Mercy Corps has integrated hygiene education into all programs, distributed water-purification tablets, oral rehydration salts, soap and five-gallon buckets to community groups and orphanages. We are providing small support to district-level Ministry of Health offices and are working with medical supply organizations to secure family hygiene kits.
How a meal-a-day program provides much more than lunch to orphaned and vulnerable teenagers and children.
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