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Close Window Senator John Kerry and Mrs. Teresa Heinz Kerry visit with Valley Trust caregivers at the home of a woman raising her sister's orphaned children with assistance of the PEPFAR funded OVC program.
Senator John Kerry and Mrs. Teresa Heinz Kerry visit with Valley Trust caregivers at the home of a woman raising her sister's orphaned children with assistance of the PEPFAR funded OVC program.
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Senator John Kerry and Mrs. Teresa Heinz Kerry visit with Valley Trust caregivers at the home of a woman raising her sister's orphaned children with assistance of the PEPFAR funded OVC program.
Senator John Kerry and Mrs. Teresa Heinz Kerry visit with Valley Trust caregivers at the home of a woman raising her sister's orphaned children with assistance of the PEPFAR funded OVC program.

A Visit to the Valley Trust Orphans and Vulnerable Children

U.S. senator and former presidential candidate, John Kerry, and his wife Teresa Heinz Kerry visit the U.S. funded PEPFAR project in KwaZulu-Natal

November 28, 2007

On Friday afternoon, November 23, Senator and Mrs. Heinz Kerry toured the Valley Trust Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) Program at Umgeni Primary School in the Valley of 1000 Hills to observe how the U.S. Government, through the President's Emergency Fund for Aids Relief (PEPFAR), works with local communities and NGOs in an effort to combat HIV/AIDS in the province of KwaZulu-Natal.

The Umgeni Primary School is one of 16 schools that participate in Valley Trust's Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) program that provides 32 caregivers (two per school) who are providing after school care and support to between 40 to 200 children per school. HIV and AIDS are addressed through recreational activities including song, drama, debates, sport, and educational support. These activities provide the children with life skills and encourage them to share their personal experiences and discuss a range of personal issues. The caregivers also make home visits and provide information and assistance to parents and family members regarding the care and support of the children.

The Valley Trust OVC program has received funding from PEPFAR, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), via a grant to Johns Hopkins Health and Education South Africa, the local office of Johns Hopkins University/Center from Communication Programs, for the past five years.

The Valley Trust works in close partnership with local health facilities and community and traditional leadership structures. Funding is also provided by the Provincial Government of KwaZulu-Natal, private foundations and multilateral donor organizations such as the United Nations.

U.S. Senator and former presidential candidate, John Kerry and his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, visited Durban from Nov. 23 - 24 in order for Mrs. Heinz Kerry to attend a special program in her honor at Maris Stella Girls School, which she attended from 1952 - 56. Mrs. Heinz Kerry, who was born in Mozambique, studied at the University of Witwatersrand following her matriculation from Maris Stella.