In a country where one-third of all 15 year olds will die of AIDS, your gift to support Global Camps Africa will save lives. It is not an understatement to say that the children's very survival depends on the knowledge they gain at camp.

Living in a country with the largest HIV-infected population in the world, many children don’t expect to reach adulthood. Our camps offer these children new possibilities, give them tools to cope and provide them with skills and knowledge to make a difference in their lives and in their communities.

Most of the children at Camp are from Soweto. Some are AIDS orphans; many are HIV+; still others have close family members who may be sick and dying of AIDS. Many of the girls have been raped; most of the children have never been tested for HIV/AIDS.

Camp gives these vulnerable children critical life skills so that they learn to protect themselves from HIV/AIDS and to defend themselves from exploitation and abuse. But just as with camps in the United States, fun is a critical component. Children start off their stay shy and insecure. By the time they leave camp, they have gained self-confidence and a vision for a future.

As follow-up to camp, we provide biweekly Kids Clubs meetings year-round at four locations in Soweto to reinforce the lessons learned at camp, to give the children a chance to have fun, and to provide them with have fun and for love and positive reinforcement of the lessons they learned at camp.