There are just over half a million children in Swaziland, a small landlocked country surrounded by South Africa to the north, west and south and Mozambique to the east. For every ten Swaziland children, one is orphaned, making orphans accounting for a huge 10% of the kingdom's population. It is anticipated that this figure will worsen as HIV/AIDS infection rates amongst 20-30year olds approach 50% ~ the number of children dying from being born with AIDS has also doubled in the last fifteen years.

This cycle is having a devastating impact on the central tenet of life in Swaziland, the family, as most families are simply disintegrating as older members die. With no adults to care for them, not even extended family or neighbours, these orphaned children quickly fall into deeper poverty and hunger making attending school impractical leaving themselves vulnerable to the already widespread child trafficking in Swaziland with children being trafficked both internally and to other countries. For girls this mainly includes domestic servitude and sexual exploitation whilst for boys the trafficking is normally for forced labour and begging or selling in markets.

Coupled with a lack of health care professionals and with 40% of all children in Swaziland suffering from chronic malnutrition, life outcomes for children are poor with a life expectancy of just 32years. This video simply shows a few children from Swaziland dancing, singing and having fun and serves the need of drawing attention to the fact the above statistics affect real children, today.

There are many charities you can contact to help children in Swaziland, offering practical aid, health care, education and much more. Check out our child sponsor in Swaziland page to review them.