In Zimbabwe, hundreds of thousands of children will not be celebrating Mother’s Day this year. Nearly one million children have lost one or both parents to AIDS. And 3,000 more people are dying from AIDS every week. Traditional safety nets are unravelling. Extended family and communities are struggling to care for the thousands of children who are left without parents. (more…)

by Ann Cotton, Camfed Founder & Executive Director

Last month, I was sitting in the headmaster’s office of a primary school in Samfya, in the heart of rural Zambia. Mr Ben Charma leads 46 teachers in his school of 1,700 children, more than half of whom have been orphaned by AIDS. (more…)

Cindy is 13 years old. She lives in a village in rural Zambia. Her best friends are Precious and Exildah and she dreams of becoming a lawyer. (more…)

When Camfed Director Lucy Lake first met Fiona Muchembere, she was working as a cleaner in an office building in Harare – despite having achieved some of the best school exam results in Zimbabwe. Her dreams of going to university seemed far beyond reach. But with Camfed’s support and encouragement, she defied the odds to become the first member of her rural community to go to university and is now a fully-qualified lawyer. (more…)

Women financiers gathered last month to hear how Camfed is turning the tide of poverty in rural communities across sub-Saharan Africa by educating girls. The Competitor Diversity Forum (CDF) was set up by female managing directors from the world’s leading investment banks to promote women in the financial services industry. At their annual charity dinner in London, these high-flying women heard from Camfed’s Executive Director Ann Cotton and Camfed patron Allison Pearson – prize-winning journalist and author of I Don’t Know How She Does It. (more…)

My dad was a cook for a commercial farmer. My mother used to work in his fields. Our house was just within the fence of the farmer. With my brothers and sisters, I used to play with his children – Richard and Adam. I am sure they are now big men. It was really a beautiful time for us because the farmer would ask my dad to cook extra food for us. We used to go fishing. We used to ride horseback. (more…)