When Nick arrives the family is facing another crisis
- an Aids test for little Florence, because she was born just weeks
after her mother died of the disease.
Initial tests showed she had her mother's antibodies,
but now that she's two she can be properly tested to see if she is HIV
positive.
Joseph's and his siblings' story is typical. Across
southern Africa thousands of children are losing their parents to Aids
every day and the whole of sub-Saharan Africa is ravaged by the disease.
It is estimated that five people die from Aids every
minute of every day and that there are nearly 30 million adults and
children living with Aids in the region.
"I thought I was at least a little prepared for what
I would see in Zambia.
"While doing City Hospital I've spent time with patients
who know they are dying, families who know that this will be their last
Christmas with their loved one, but the reality of what millions are
going through in Zambia, especially the country's children, was on a
level that I could never have imagined.
"We need to help Sport Relief and the projects it supports.
It's not just about giving them food, which they need, but giving them
education, support and care."
Nick Knowles visited a home based care programme run
by the Archdiocese of Lusaka and CAFOD in Zambia. The programme helps
the sick and the dying and supports the thousands of 'aids orphans'
they leave behind.
Joseph is desperate to get an education because he knows
it's the only way he'll be able to get a job and support his siblings
as they grow up.
He goes to school whenever he can but a large part
of his day is spent trying to earn money and caring for his family.
The Archdiocese of Lusaka is helping to ensure that
Joseph, and so many other children with all the responsibilities of
little mums and dads, gets an education so they have a chance of a better
future.
Money raised by Sport Relief '04 could help this work
continue.
Patrick in India
Vijay left home two years ago and has been living rough
as one of India's thousands of railway children ever since.
He sleeps on the platforms and makes the best living
he can sweeping the trains and begging for money from passengers.
He left home because he felt he was a burden on his
family because there simply wasn't enough money to feed the three children.
Many families in India live close to starvation and
Vijay's family is no exception. Since Vijay left, however, his family
has spent every spare penny trying to find him.
Patrick's is a magical journey because, with the help
of Sport Relief money, a project called New Hope is managing to reunite
some railway children with their families.
Patrick goes with Vijay on an extraordinarily emotional
journey, from his life on the railways to the chance to start over.
Starting in Kolkata and ending in rural Tanuku, Patrick
meets dozens of India's homeless children along the way and sees for
himself how tough life is for them.
There are around 200,000 children living on the streets
of Kolkata alone with a third of those being under 10 years of age.
Life on the streets is as tough as it gets and these
young kids have to scavenge to survive.
"The first few days of the trip was spent in Kolkata
seeing just what these kids have to do to survive.
"We met a young lad who spends all day every day
collecting plastic bottles amongst the filth and the rubbish. He needed
to get a whole kilo bag full to get 6 rupees, which is about a penny.
"One of the girls we saw, she must have been no older
than eight, was selling lemons to passengers on buses.
"She was darting in and out of moving traffic in
the heart of the hustle and bustle of Kolkata - the noise and the fumes
were something else, and there she was having to jump on and off these
moving buses to make enough money to buy food.
"You look at these kids and you just want to take them
out of all of that, but we're talking about thousands of youngsters
here.
"That's where the projects that Sport Relief fund
come in. They give these kids shelter, food and the chance of an education,
the chance of a way out."
Patrick also visited SEED, a member of the charity The
Railway Children Federation in India, which provides basic shelter to
the most vulnerable street children.
Victoria in Peru
Of the quarter of a million children working in Peru's
capital, Lima, 80 per cent are under the age of 12.
In rural areas the situation is no better with a huge
62 per cent of rural, school-aged children suffering from malnutrition.
Victoria met Dinah, who's just 11 years old. Dinah's
mum died three years ago and she lives and works with her dad on a rubbish
tip.
She sifts through years of compacted and burnt rubbish
to find bits of old glass, metal and even animal bones - anything they
can sell.
It's no place for children and the local clinic is full
of kids with stomach and lung problems, fungal infections and parasites.
As Victoria says, Dinah is just a child like any other.
She's bright and she works incredibly hard in the most unfair of circumstances.
She deserves a better life than this.
"I felt really privileged when Sport Relief invited
me to go to Peru to visit one of their projects.
"I've never experienced anything like it. The poverty
that people face everyday is unbelievable. To Dinah it's just part of
normal everyday life and her positive outlook stays strong in spite
of the difficult circumstances.
"As a mother, to see children living with these challenges
every day is heartbreaking but they continue to remain upbeat.
"To witness the struggles of one family first hand
and spend time with them has been unforgettable.
"By doing this film piece I hope to raise awareness
for these types of issues and help to raise money for Sport Relief,
and, in turn help people like Dinah head towards a brighter future."
The film is a 大象传媒 and Open University co-production
for Sport Relief.
Sport Relief was set up by Comic
Relief and 大象传媒 Sport to tackle poverty and disadvantage, both in the
UK and internationally.
Its debut in 2002 raised more than 拢14 million, and
that money is now hard at work.
This time around, Sport Relief is aiming to do even
better. The vision is to harness the power, passion and goodness of
sport to help change the world.
Notes to Editors
Sport Relief Saturday on 10 July on 大象传媒 ONE: an unmissable
evening of live television and the day when thousands of people all
over the UK will take part in the biggest Mile event in history.
A Mile In Their Shoes is a 大象传媒/Open University
co-production for Sport Relief.
The Open University and 大象传媒 have been in partnership
for over 30 years providing educational programming to a mass audience.
In recent times this partnership has evolved from late
night programming for delivering courses to peak time programmes with
a broad appeal to encourage wider participation in learning.
To book a place on the Fitness First Sport Relief Mile, visit
or call 08712 44 44 11 or text "kit" to 84466 (texts will cost no more
than 75p, which contributes towards postage and packaging. Please ask
bill payer's permission before texting).
Or simply register through any one of the 149 Fitness
First gyms throughout the country.
buy and fly! covers the cost of a number of international and domestic
flights for Sport Relief staff and helpers.
This enables visits to current and future projects to
see how money can be spent at no cost to Sport Relief.
buy and fly! collectors can now donate their points
to Comic Relief.
For further information on how to collect and donate
visit .
Pictures will be available, for media use only, via the
Press Association. Terms and conditions for use apply.
Background to the projects
CAFOD and The Catholic Diocese of Lusaka, Zambia
HIV/Aids kills 120,000 Zambians a year - that's more
than 300 people every single day, leaving an estimated 570,000 children
orphaned.
In the capital city, Lusaka, HIV has had a huge impact.
The city is recovering from a severe food crisis and also widespread
unemployment.
Both of these factors have contributed to the devastating
spread of the HIV/Aids epidemic.
CAFOD is supporting the Catholic Diocese of Lusaka to
provide a home based care programme which comprises of three people
who work with a team of volunteers from local communities.
The volunteers provide psychological and emotional support
to individuals and their children who are affected by HIV/Aids.
The project manages to help around 250 people living
with the disease.
The project also helps with the provision of basic foodstuffs,
including high energy protein supplements, and HIV/Aids testing and
counselling facilities, as well as emotional counselling.
The Railway Children
There are up to 200,000 street children living in each
of India's main cities.
Having left home because of poverty, family breakdown
or the death of a parent, children find themselves on the streets alone
and vulnerable to abuse. Many live around India's railway stations and
lines.
Wherever possible, The Railway Children tries to reunite
street children with their extended families.
It also provides vital shelter, food and healthcare,
and offers basic education.
One of the ways The Railway Children will use Sport
Relief money is to provide shelter for young girls who otherwise sleep
near a shrine or red light area opposite the station in Kolkata.
ChildHope and Proceso Social
50% of Peruvians are living in poverty, struggling each
day to survive.
Some people are so desperate that they are forced to
send their entire families out to work.
It is estimated there are now over three million children
working in Peru. Many of these children work in areas around the capital
Lima, working as rubbish pickers in dumps.
Children who make their living by collecting rubbish
work in some of the worst physical conditions. Conditions are filthy.
Children who are working have often never attended school
or have dropped out - many parents can't afford to send their children
to school.
ChildHope's project, which is implemented by local partner-NGOs
Proceso Social and ADEVI, intends to help children back into school
through an education programme and enables young people to promote and
access their rights through a range of activities in the community and
an advocacy programme.
The project also helps parents access alternative employment
opportunities.
This project will give children and their families alternatives
which mean that children should not be forced into hazardous child labour
from an early age because there are no other options for their survival.
听
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