Ithemba Elitsha - Bringing New Hope
Bringing new hope to the lives of orphans in South Africa
Orphanhood is a major consequence of the AIDS pandemic globally. In South Africa most children who are AIDS orphans live in township communities. These children are often uncared for and unsupported and experience recurrent psychological trauma and much personal suffering. This project illustrates how ‘Ithemba Elitsha’, meaning ‘New Hope’ in Xhosa can be brought into the lives of these children. A fusion of the text and images collected during Dr Sharron Frood’s PhD and the illustrative genius of Jane Porter enabled the creation of this book. ‘I learnt in this partnership with Jane, that indeed a picture does paint a thousand words and that there is more than one way to demonstrate research findings.’
The aim of this project was to creatively and uniquely tell the story of children who are AIDS orphans living in township communities in South Africa and to present the key aspects of the strategies developed by Sharron in her PhD to ‘Provide care and support to children living as AIDS orphans in township communities in South Africa’. These illustrations will be used to present the stories of these vulnerable children and demonstrate the cornerstone of an intervention to engage communities, NGOs, governments, academics and others willing to listen and become part of the solution in providing care and support to these children.
Jane Porter brought ingenuity, kind thought and much consideration to create, through beautiful illustrations, the story of suffering and New Hope ‘Ithemba Elitsha’.
Collaborators
Dr Sharon Frood – Department of Child and Family Health, King’s College London
Jane Porter - Lead artist