(12 Feb 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Vereeniging, South Africa – 12 February 2025
1. Women carrying food handed out by the Emtonjeni centre
2. People loading aid into their wheelbarrows
3. Woman handing out food parcels to beneficiaries
4. Angelina Msimanga, USAID beneficiary, walking away with food parcels
5. SOUNDBITE (Sesotho) Angelina Msimanga, USAID beneficiary:
"I wish for the organisation to continue helping people living with HIV, for them to continue going to the clinic so they can get their treatment and be alright like other people and not default on their medication."
6. Woman leaving with food parcels
7. SOUNDBITE (Zulu) Nomvula Mthimkhulu, USAID beneficiary:
"Who will help us following this aid crisis? It won’t be easy. Life won’t be as normal like it used to."
8. Social worker handing out clothes
9. Social worker handing out food parcels
10. Woman dragging bin containing food parcels
11. SOUNDBITE (Sesotho) Harriet Mutle, Social Worker at Emthonjeni:
"Here at Emthonjeni we provide physiological support as well as helping clients that are taking HIV/AIDS treatment. We help them get back on the treatment and we also assist vulnerable homes and people living with HIV."
12. Social workers sitting at Emthonjeni
13. SOUNDBITE (Sesotho) Harriet Mutle, Social Worker at Emthonjeni:
"I would be happy if the American President, Donald Trump, stops the whole crisis and takes things back to normal. Because I don’t think he is aware that the funding was helping us and the beneficiaries of the funding. We are here because of the beneficiaries as they are the ones who are greatly affected. We are here because of them and we wouldn’t be here if it was wasn’t for them. I hope whatever is happening comes to an end so we can continue serving the community."
14. Woman pushing wheelbarrow and collecting food parcels
15. Community members exiting the Emthonjeni centre with food parcels
STORYLINE:
Community members in Evaton, South of Johannesburg, gathered at the Emthojeni Awareness Centre to collect food parcels donated by South Africa’s department of social development on Wednesday.
Emthonjeni Awareness Centre is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that specialises in orphans and vulnerable children as a result of the HIV pandemic and also has other programmes to help women and youth in the community.
The NGO is one of many that have been affected by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and USAID freeze by U.S. President Donald Trump, which has left many of their staff and beneficiaries worried about the future.
Shortly after returning to the White House Trump signed an executive order freezing almost all U.S. foreign aid.
Many Africans had known that Trump’s “America First” outlook meant their continent was likely to be last among his priorities.
But they hadn’t expected the abrupt halt to foreign aid from the world’s largest donor that stops money flowing for wide-ranging projects like disease response, girls’ education and free school lunches.
Angelina Msimanga a beneficiary of the funding said she had previously defaulted on her medication and is worried that she will suffer without the help of the NGO.
“I wish that the NGO could continue helping people living with HIV/AIDS for them to continue with their treatment and live a healthy life like other people and not default on their medication,” Msimanga said.
The NGO has over 200 patients living with HIV/AIDS along with 15 staff members who are mobilised to conduct patient visits.
AP video by Alfonso Nqunjana
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