“Lots of our children are suffering from sexual violence and unplanned pregnancies. The sad part is the fathers of the babies disappear after they find out about the pregnancy.
Then, the girls are forced to get married at the youngest age, to older men. Many of the men have HIV.”
In Kwa-Zulu Natal, where Crossroads works, sugar daddies prey on children by offering them food, money or phones, and then later demand sex in return.
Nearly 1 in 4 girls in South Africa become pregnant as a teenager - in many cases as the result of statutory rape (where a child is simply too young to consent to sex).
Early pregnancy forces girls to drop out of school and be trapped in a cycle of poverty.
They may also be forced into an early marriage, increasing their chance of experiencing intimate partner violence.
This all contributes to South Africa having the highest HIV infection rates in the world.
With your support, Crossroads is working with the local community to prevent new HIV infections and protect children through health education, HIV support groups, and community projects.
“My grandchildren live with me as my children had to leave South Africa to find work.
There are many orphaned children in the community because their parents died from HIV-related illnesses
Crossroads has supported us with our own warm home with a door that locks. I also receive clothes and food for my grandchildren.
They teach us grannies to keep an eye on the children, to make sure they are not playing where you cannot see them.
In our communities, it seems ok to let a child walk naked, but we need to make sure this does not happen.
We now teach our grandchildren that they must not talk to strangers and also not to take anything, even money, from strangers.
We are taught health education - it is very important to educate yourself about safe sex, to avoid HIV and unwanted pregnancy.
Women and girls need to stand and fight for gender equality, by empowering ourselves with skills and better education, so that men can see they shouldn’t treat women like slaves.
Crossroads has taught me hand sewing, crochet, and baking skills. With my hands, I can sew morning gowns and sell them.
I would love to buy a sewing machine to teach the girls to sew so they can make a living.”