The upmarket suburb of Manor Gardens in Durban may look serene, but is home to ground zero in the fight against Aids. The iThemba Lethu Milk Bank is the first in the world to provide breast milk exclusively for babies abandoned or orphaned by the virus. The initiative is designed to help boost the fragile immune systems of these vulnerable children, many of whom are born underweight and suffering from symptoms such as diarrhoea and eczema.
The Milk Bank, which receives technical support and funding from Unicef, is part of the greater iThemba Lethu (meaning “our hope” in isiZulu) project, a non-profit organisation that seeks to help children whose future is threatened by HIV/Aids. The project consists of an HIV education programme and a transition home, where abandoned and orphaned babies are cared for until they can be placed with either their own extended family or with foster or adoptive parents. Penny Reimers, the Milk Bank coordinator, explains that, for these babies to have a fighting chance, they need an extra boost: “The babies we care for come from HIV-positive mothers. Their mothers have either passed away or have abandoned them. Many of these babies are malnourished and have eczema. Breast milk is more nutritious than formula. We have found that once we start feeding them donor milk they soon become stronger and healthier.”
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