DRC: When our parents died, we were accused of sorcery
Photo: Anne Isabelle Leclercq/IRIN
Street children at Bakanja Centre in Lubumbashi
Kinshasa, 22 June 2007 (PlusNews) - When David Kanyama's parents died six years ago, he and his four brothers went to live with their grandfather, but were soon chased from his home.
"My grandfather said that we were sorcerers; that we had killed his son through our sorcery and that we did not have the right to benefit from the property of a person whom we had sacrificed," said David, who is now 16 years old.
"Before our parents died, the little money they had was finished taking care of their illnesses; managing AIDS is overwhelming. My father's relatives also abandoned him during his illness.
Life became very difficult for us; so much so that we were forced to sell the minibus we had inherited from our father. Unfortunately, the small business we established with the money from the sale of the minibus soon went bankrupt.
Our grandfather then forcefully chased us from our parental home, thus beginning our life of destitution. With none of our relatives willing to take care of us, we lived in the streets for two years, sleeping and living in fear of violence and deprivation.
We were no longer going to school and on some days we had nothing to eat. At the same time we were afraid of suffering from the same illness [as our parents].
We were the objects of curiosity, the children whose parents had died of the 'scourge of the century', as AIDS is referred to here.
Five years later, three of us got assistance from an AIDS NGO [non-governmental organisation] (Action Communautaire Sida/Avenir Meilleur pour les Orphelins), enabling us to return to school.
My two older brothers did not continue with their studies. One is a commission agent while the other is running a business, which is not doing very well.
I dream of continuing with my studies so that I can take care of my family, and recover the house that our father left us. However, I am afraid that the assistance being offered by the NGO will cease one day and affect my education.
I would like to find an AIDS cure and help the people who are dying, leaving their young children to be mistreated and without hope."
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Theme (s): HIV/AIDS (PlusNews), Stigma/Human Rights/Law - PlusNews, Urban Risk, Youth - PlusNews,
[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]