South Africa: Beyond the World Cup

As the World Cup kicks off in South Africa, millions of people are watching their teams battle for victory in South Africa this June. All eyes will be on the battles fought on the pitch by healthy young men.

Sadly, few football fans will learn about another side of South Africa: the daily struggle for survival by thousands of older people trying to keep themselves and their loved ones alive.

Older people in South Africa cannot always expect support from a pension, or from their families. Indeed, many older South Africans are still working to support themselves and their own sick children or grandchildren orphaned by AIDS.

The effect of AIDS

AIDS has taken a terrible toll on South Africa. An estimated 5.7m South Africans are living with HIV in a population of 49m (that’s one in every nine people) – approximately 97,000 of them are aged over 60.

Thousands more older people are at risk because most governments and non-governmental organisations are still not targeting older people in HIV-prevention programmes. However, older people are infected in the same ways as any other sector of the population.

At the same time, many older people in South Africa have to care and provide for those who are living with HIV, as well as those children who have been orphaned by AIDS. We estimate that up to half the 1.2m children orphaned by AIDS in South Africa are cared for by their grandparents.

Caring for grandchildren places huge financial, social and emotional strains on older people. It deepens their poverty and can contribute to their ill health. Older carers can also suffer stigma and discrimination from their communities and even other family members.

Dorothy's story

Dorothy spends her £74 pension on bills and food

Dorothy, 74, is from KwaZulu-Natal. She cares for eight grandchildren and two children, one of whom is living with HIV. Dorothy says, ‘Sometimes I go without food so the kids can eat, but I don’t tell anybody because people will laugh at me. Sometimes the electricity gets cut off because I don’t quite have enough to pay the bills.’

Luckily, South Africa is one of the few developing countries to offer a pension. But Dorothy did not know this; nor did she have the relevant identity documents to claim her payments. Working with our sister organisation, HelpAgeInternational, we ensured that Dorothy got her ID card so she could claim her pension.

Dorothy says, ‘I receive [£74] per month from my pension and I spend the money on paying bills and food.’ Dorothy also covers the school fees for four of her grandchildren, but as a result of our support, was also able to access a child support grant for another four grandchildren, so that they could also go to school.

As well as looking after her children and grandchildren, Dorothy also needs to supplement her pension by making and selling jewellery from beads. With this extra money, she can afford to buy bread and salt for herself and her family. She also has to take her daughter to hospital each month on public transport.

How you can help

Dorothy is just one of thousands of older people in South Africa who we are working to help build a better life.

You can make a difference to Dorothy and others by making a donation right now.