News Bureau

August 2, 2011 - When a parent dies from AIDS, the children left behind often suffer not only the loss of a loved one, but also the loss of financial support, making daily survival a challenge and education a dream. USAID’s Community Based Support for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (CUBS) Project, led by MSH and Africare, is providing assistance to the communities that support these children in 11 Nigerian states.

In Taraba State, the CUBS project assists the Ferdinand Patrick Nyameh Memorial Foundation, a community organization, in identifying and supporting orphans and vulnerable children. When Phillip Peter, a 12-year-old boy who became disabled after a high fever, lost his father to AIDS, his mother was unable to care for him as his health deteriorated. He had to drop out of school.

Regina Paul, a volunteer at the foundation who had been trained in psychosocial support for orphans and vulnerable children by the CUBS Project in August 2010, identified Philip and his mother as needing support. Since October 2010, the foundation has provided Philip with school supplies, including shoes and a bag, and reintegrated him back into his school. The foundation also provided Philip’s family with a place to live and capital for his mother to start selling food to earn income.

Phillip is now doing well in school and hopes to become a teacher himself. His teachers and community consider him a beacon of hope.