CHILDREN'S HARDSHIP FUND

There are over 1,000 children living with HIV/AIDS in the UK and thousands more with parents or relatives infected by the disease. These children form the hidden face of HIV/AIDS in the UK; but the impact of the disease on their lives cannot be underestimated with, for example,  90% encountering physical or verbal abuse at school because of their or a relative’s HIV status.
 

On top of the physical and emotional trauma of living with HIV/AIDS, many families also have to contend with severe poverty. This is where the Hardship Fund for Children steps in. EJAF supports the Children's Hardship Fund, administered by the Children with AIDS Charity (CWAC), to provide grants to families with children infected or affected by the disease. These grants provide essential items such as clothes, bedding, children’s goods, and help with fuel bills and child care charges.
  

In 2006 the Hardship Fund provided support to over 2,000 children and their families in the UK.

All requests to the Hardship Fund are made via a referring agent, such as a social worker, and all recipients are means tested to ensure that the grants are made to those most in need. The difference a well targeted grant can make to a child or family in dire poverty can truly be life changing:

“The Hardship Fund helped my family during a time when my back was against the wall. I became infected after I was raped and…my illness has certainly impacted upon my 3 children in the most awful of ways. I was a single mum taking sick leave from work and couldn’t even afford to buy them new school uniforms. The Hardship Fund helped in a manner which was timely, discrete and understanding.”
Gemma (31) - London
 

“I’m really grateful. When you first gave me the hardship money I felt weird… nobody wants to be a charity case but…I had nowhere else to go… Since I have grown older you’ve helped me to realise that I can go out and do anything I want, including getting a good job...one day in my life…I’ll give it all back with interest – for all those others walking in my footsteps that I know you are going to help.”
Tanya (18) - London