Helen, 12, looks out the window of her shared bedroom at Omoana House, a facility providing intensive rehabilitative care to sick and malnourished children in Njeru, near Jinja, Uganda. Helen (last name withheld) came to Omoana almost two months ago.
Children affected by HIV/AIDS, mostly through the death of one or two parents, make up the majority of kids living at Omoana. Across Uganda, about 1.2 million children have been orphaned by AIDS, according to UNAIDS data from 2009. These children may live with social stigma and be neglected by relatives and neighbors. Stays at Omoana House last from two months to two years, though long stays are rare, said Adrien Genoud, Omoana's founder and projects coordinator.
When the children are well enough, they rejoin their families or guardian. "Omoana" means "child" in Luganda, a language spoken in Uganda.
Photo by Laura Elizabeth Pohl/Bread for the World
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