Background information, Our Programmes, Research, Our Core Values, Purpose, Vision, Mission &Partners

Education of Hope Africa is a youth-led non-profit organisation based in the community of Kagiso in Mogale City, Krugersdorp in Gauteng Province, South Africa. Education of Hope Africa was founded in 2017 in order to tackle the high rate of HIV, AIDS and TB within the communities, schools, churches, workplace and to early childhood care givers by developing their capacity and resilience to effectively address socio-economic and health issues in the context of high HIV and AIDS burden with the ultimate vision of creating an HIV free generation.

 EOHA envisions a world where the creative energy and courage of young people with the knowledge and expertise of academia and professionals shall build a unique capacity that will help the youth and adolescent girls to reach across false boundaries of nationality, race and economic status to affirm our common humanity and work towards a shared vision.

Education of Hope Africa further envisions a world where the economy works for people instead of people working for the economy; a world where universal human rights takes precedence over profits. We believe that together we can shape a world where longitude and latitude do not determine economic destiny, a place where industrialised countries no longer take advantage of those that are on a path to development. We believe that young people in South Africa and in Africa at large are partners in development and should not be seen as threats but be embraced as opportunities; the engine of positive and sustainable development.

An African girl Child is at risk of not having a bright future or more painful no future at all. The African continent has been ravaged by HIV/AIDS epidemic, poverty, illiteracy and orphaned children due to social inequalities and conflicts such as wars, and political instabilities. South Africa remains the epicenter of the HIV pandemic as the largest AIDS epidemic in the world – 20 percent of all people living with HIV are in South Africa, and 20 percent of new HIV infection occur in South Africa. The country also faces a high burden of tuberculosis (TB), which amplifies our HIV epidemic. Of particular concern are the hyper-epidemics, many in KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga provinces, and the concentration in specific populations like adolescent girls and young women. Of the estimated 7.2 million South African living with HIV, nearly 60 percent are women over the age of 15. HIV prevalence in other key populations- female sex workers, men who have sex with men, transgender women, and people who inject drugs remains unacceptably high, in some cases double the national rate of approximately 19 percent. New infections in young men and women remain alarmingly high (nearly 87 percent of the total) and viral suppression rates, a key to preventing those living with the virus from passing it on, are under 50 percent or the population under the age of 25, the sheer numbers of those becoming infected and overall prevalence of HIV will stay alarmingly high without a massive decline in the new HIV infection rate.

The central question is how to interrupt HIV transmission in young adults, and where and whom to target. One answer is that Education of Hope Africa (EOHA) has targeted Adolescent-Girls and Young-Women (AGYW) and Youth Bulge who are at higher risk or HIV acquisition in South Africa, as they are elsewhere in Sub-Saharan Africa. The reasons are both biological and social, including high rate of teenage pregnancy, an epidemic of gender- based and interpersonal violence, lack of quality education, and widespread poverty and unemployment. High rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) increase the risk of HIV acquisition, and mental health issues can lead to risky behaviors. New infections are the highest in adolescent girls/young women. EOHA aims to close the gap, the sooner we get to them early with our evidence-based programmes, and we’ll reduce the load on the nation and the continent. Lack of knowledge can impact young adults’ informed prevention and treatment choices. There has been an associated decline in HIV and treatment literacy, which means that young people often don’t understand how the virus affects the body and the impact of lifelong ART. The most recent national survey data from 2017 shows the same low level of condom use among 15-24-year-olds as the last survey in 2012, an increase in sexual debut before the age of 15 for boys, and an increase in multiple sexual partnership for women under  24.

One barrier is the provision of basic health education and service delivery in schools. While South Africa has a national policy on school-based health education, some provincial officials, school governing boards and other gatekeepers often prevent services from being provided, even though the age of consent for health services is 12. Schools are an important entry point because there is a high rate of school retention in South Africa and, once out of school, it is difficult to reach young people, hence we provide our HIV/AIDS prevention awareness programmes in the communities commonly known as “townships” or “locations” where the most affected live and were stigma is very much live.

The spiraling socio-economic, inequalities problems are being compounded by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, which resulted in many children being orphaned. Some leave home to escape abuse and neglect, many of these children find themselves as ‘heads of the family’ resulting in an increase of children fighting for survival leaving him/her as a destitute to fend for him or herself. In order to cope an African child has resulted to abusing substances/drugs, prostitution and crime.

African morals have degenerated in most parts of the continent such that if we don’t sound the alarm, the future of an African child is doomed more especially the girl child. Some adults have taken advantage of the situation by abusing these children by recruiting them as their “blesser”/ “blessee” phenomenon which contributes to the spread of HIV, drugs, child soldiers, cheap child labour, human trafficking and prostitution. Adolescent girls are particularly vulnerable to HIV in our communities because of economic and social insecurities; they are often at risk of being forced into sex, have sex in exchange for support. Education of Hope Africa has programmes that aim to renew the focus on children, putting emphasis on eliminating new infections and building resilience in families.

Education of Hope Africa (EOHA) is an organisation that partners with companies, communities, churches, schools, hospitals and other Non-Profit Organisations for the purpose of effecting and changing the lives and destinies of the children of South and Southern Africa and giving a message that there is hope regardless the huge challenges facing our world today.