Empowering HIV Children and Mothers

Yabonga was founded in 1998 and initially provided support for educare centres that were operating informally in squatter settlements. Later these backyard educare centres were provided with containers that had been converted to create more permanent and secure facilities.

In 2001 Yabonga built the Fikelela Children's Centre for HIV orphans in Khayelitsha.The operational management was subsequently handed to the Anglican Church.

Yabonga has since focused on providing support for HIV-infected mothers and their children. In 2001 a pilot project was initiated with the aim of training infected mothers in HIV education, self-growth and income generation. The expectation was that the trainees would benefit on a personal level, and also serve as peer group educators in their home communities.

The pilot project was converted into a 4-month training programme and thus far 200 women have graduated as peer educators. Ten HIV/Aids support centres have been established in the communities and 120 women are employed in these centres as peer educators.

Where We Operate

We currently have 13 centres across South Africa - in Gauteng, Western Cape, Northern Cape and Eastern Cape.