Not long ago, a group of sixth-grade students in Wisconsin was learning about the Rwandan Genocide. They learned that approximately 800,000 people lost their lives during one hundred days of slaughter.^[1] These children were learning about a significant historical event that, sadly, many people don’t even know about.

West African governments are facing a deluge of obstacles that are hindering economic stabilization. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have estimated that over 11,300 deaths in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia were caused by the Ebola virus. Although the World Health Organization (WHO) has recently declared all three of these countries free of the Ebola virus, the widespread casualties have left an urgent need to provide food and shelter for thousands of orphaned children.

Senegal, the western-most country in Africa, is home to 14 million people, and between 50,000 and 100,000 of them are children who survive by begging on the streets. A survey in 2007 determined that about 90 percent of these children are boys called talibés [1] (from the Arabic ṭālib which means “student” [2]).

Mothers in the US, UK and other developed countries are concerned not only with if their kids eat, but, with what they eat. Balanced nutrition is so important. Pediatricians measure a child’s growth against statistical averages both physically and mentally. Children living at the poverty level in these countries eat well compared to children in many parts of Africa.

In the wake of the sweeping ebola virus of 2014 in Africa ten thousand innocent children have lost either one or both parents. These survivors of this deadly pandemic are left to live in confusion and uncertainty. Stigmatized by the fear that they can infect others, they’re left isolated, with no relatives or surviving adults to care for them. Psychologically damaged and without food or care these little ones are facing a dark future.

Imagine for a moment that you are the only surviving member of your family. Imagine the aftermath of witnessing the horrific deaths of many members of the community you grew up in; many of whom were the only faces you have known; many of whom were the only family you have in this world. Imagine the loneliness, fear and anxiety of not knowing what tomorrow holds, of not feeling cared for, accepted or even wanted by anyone. This is the reality of an Ebola orphan.

The Ebola outbreak of 2014, declared a global health emergency, has finally shown signs of slowing down. Children who fell victim to the crisis, however, are continuing to become orphaned due to the loss of family.

Africa has made great strides in getting children into schools–this according to UNESCO’s 2015 Education for All (EFA) Global Monitoring Report. [i]

The changes, which were measured from 1999-2012, were most notable in ten regions: Burkina Faso, Burundi, Ghana, Guinea, Lesotho, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Senegal and Zambia.[ii]

Family planning does not only improve the choices and lives of women and their families, it is crucial to developmental goals as well. Women and girls with access to family planning can decide whether to wait until they finish school to have a child. They can consciously decide how many children to have based on their income, which not only improves chances that they can provide for themselves but for their existing children as well. Together couples can decide to work and save enough money before they make the decision to have a child.

On July 1^st 2013 UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon issued The Millennium Development Goals Report 2013. In 2000 the Millennium Summit issued eight goals which Sub-Saharan Africa is supposed to be working towards relating to poverty, hunger, health, gender equality, education and environmental indicators. Ideally the goals will be met by 2015. According to the report, Africa is doing relatively well.