Mission Statement
[Mission] [Background]
[Priorities]
[Education] [Humanitarian services]
[Medical care and training] [Foster
care and orphanages]
The mission of the China AIDS Orphan Fund is to improve the lives of children orphaned by HIV/AIDS in central China, especially Henan Province.
Henan, located in north central China, is China's most populous province of nearly 100 million people. Currently, people in the province face a health crisis of epic magnitude. By some conservative estimates, more than one million people have contracted the HIV virus in Henan. Almost all of these individuals contracted the virus while donating blood for money to improve their standard of living in the early 1990's. In the period of a decade, the virus has spread with ferocious efficiency, and with devastating social and economic consequences. In some of the hardest hit villages, more than 40% of the adult population has contracted the virus. As adults succumb slowly to the disease, their children often must shoulder responsibility for their care and that of younger siblings.
While the situation in Henan has received attention nationally and internationally, similar circumstances have also affected children and families in other provinces, particularly rural Anhui, Shanxi and Hubei.
Our activities include fundraising, research, education and advocacy, and grants to organizations serving the affected populations in China. Our funding priorities include:
- Education for AIDS orphans.
- Humanitarian services to families affected by HIV/AIDS.
- Medical care and training.
- Foster care and orphanage programs.
Proposals are accepted by invitation only.
The Fund, established under the auspices of The Minneapolis Foundation, gives grants to non-governmental, non-profit organizations. The steering committee serves as the advisor on grants. Give2Asia, established by the Asia Foundation to facilitate philanthropy in Asia, assists CAOF in establishing reliable and accountable partnerships in the growing non-profit sector in China.
With recent reforms in education, children in rural Henan pay approximately $65 in fees for a year of primary school. AIDS orphans and children of parents suffering from HIV/AIDS often lack the ability to pay school fees and tuition. To give these children access to education and vocational skills to help them succeed in the future, CAOF provides grants for programs supporting: primary and secondary school education; vocational training; academic enrichment; and in some cases, college tuition.
Humanitarian services to families affected by HIV/AIDS
How these children fare as a whole depends not only on their access TO education and vocational skills, but also on the provision of their basic needs. CAOF targets initiatives that help families and community groups fulfill the needs of children of HIV/AIDS parents and AIDS orphans. This includes: infrastructure such as clinics, schools and water wells; community-based care systems; social support networks; and, income-generating activities.
The majority of the families affected by HIV/AIDS do not have access to medical care - both because the families lack the financial resources and because most rural villages lack trained medical staff and supplies. Prevention of vertical transmission of HIV from mother to child through breast milk is one example. CAOF supports improved access to medical care through: medicine distribution; training of health care workers; community education; and, public awareness.
Foster care and orphanage programs
CAOF supports community-based foster care and orphanage programs with emphasis on reintegrating children into mainstream society without further marginalization.