Our Vision

Global Camps Africa equips South Africa’s vulnerable youth with the tools to lead healthy, empowered lives and make positive impacts on their communities.

The Need

South Africa has the largest HIV epidemic in the world.

7.7 million people live with HIV while over 70,000 people succumb to AIDS.

240,000 South African adults and children are newly infected annually.

There are about 260,000 children, aged 0-14, living with HIV and over 2.4 million orphaned children, aged 0-17, due to AIDS virus. Even with the high prevalence rates of HIV/AIDS, the majority of the population, particularly in Soweto, have never been tested for the virus. Only 45.8% of people aged 15-24 can correctly answer simple questions about how to prevent the spread of HIV.

Rates of HIV infection in young women in South Africa are 3 times higher than among men.

This can be attributed to many reasons including violence against women, inequality within the family, or having no say in condom use. (3.7% of young men are HIV+ versus 11.3% of young women).

Global Camps Africa’s Response

Access to curriculum-based sex and HIV education programs is a powerful tool for prevention.

Many adolescents who participate in curriculum-based HIV-prevention education programs experience delayed or decreased sexual behavior and/or increased condom use. Programs for children and adolescents are most effective when they include life skills, especially those that enhance their ability to refuse sex, insist on condom use, and avoid unsafe situations. Global Camps Africa provides curriculum-based programs through camps and year-round clubs that focus on the development of life skills, equipping young people with the tools they need to lead healthy, empowered lives, including: