www.botshabelo.org

When one of our staff writers visited South Africa in 2006, the founders of a rural AIDS orphanage invited her out to tour their facility. They hoped that she might use her literary talents to spread the word about their situation.

When she came back to work, she brought video and photos and she told us many stories about her experience there.

She also brought a trailer for a feature length documentary film “Angels in the Dust.” This film was co-produced by Participant Productions and Dream Out Loud films. (Since we first saw the trailer, it has been released and it is garnering awards and critical acclaim.)

We were moved, and Botshabelo quickly entered our vocabulary, and we set out to create a powerful online presence to help them.

We believe that when people learn about this orphanage, its children, its founders, and their circumstances they want to give them the support they so desperately need.

The orphanage/school is home to both AIDS orphans (children whose parents died of AIDS) and economic orphans (children whose family may be still living, but can’t afford to feed and care for them). School population varies from 130 to 250+ children. With the village, there are about 500 people living at Botshabelo.

The first phase of this website launched in the early summer of 2007, and our commitment to help this orphanage is stronger than ever. Phase two of the site will be bigger and better.

Learn more at www.botshabelo.org