Over the past years I have promoted and actively assisted various sundry activities close to home, in Asia and the Pacific. Africa is a distant continent....

Yes, we know that people of religious conviction staff schools and hospitals in Africa, and we may even sponsor children or donate money to salve our consciences.

But, I want to write about 120 mothers and children that began to be cared for at The Holy Family Care Centre is situated at the foot of the Drakensberg Moutains at Ofcolaco in the Limpopo province in mid 2002. See googleearth for the location.

These children ranging from new born babies to teenagers suffer from AID's/HIV and TB. Since the centre opened most of the mothers have died.

Yes, in 4 years, most of the mothers have died.

However, the death toll for the children remains much lower. Approximately 60 children are cared for.

In 2004, the local Bishops Conference recommended that the Centre be given access to anti-retroviral medication. This is being funded by PEPFAR in America, the President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief. The children will grow into adult life dependent on the medication until death, unless another medication breakthrough is achieved.

The Director is an Australian religious sister who had spent ten years in Rome supervising her orders mission work, she now is at the 'real' front lines. Both her love for the children and her appreciation for the support this 'work of love' receives is immense.

I commend this special place. as worthy of prayer and financial support. Hopefully some gentle readers will be moved to join me in assisting this work.

As an interesting aside, apart from Australian support, this work of love and human dignity also receives support from the wonderful people of Netherlands, whose land I visit in two weeks. Some are visiting Zuid Afrika at present - My first link to a non English web-site: http://www.margrietinzuidafrika.fkraak.com/. I was gobsmacked to see that a school in my early childhood abode in the county of Essex, UK is also assisting in this work.

It's great that the internet allows us to join the dots and appreciate the global humanity of the little people.