To help the staggering number of children orphaned by AIDS to mature into emotionally and psychologically stable adults capable of forming lasting and loving relationships, of being nurturing parents to their own children and responsible and participative citizens of South Africa.

In developing Noah’s model, the guiding principles were that the model must:

Noah’s model is one that starts with an approach by a community, followed by mobilisation of the community through the establishment of a committee, all the while building an approach based on the notion of the extended family caring for its orphan children. The mobilisation process leads to the establishment of Arks which are community based and through which motivated and caring individuals from the community are guided to set up their own network of support, people and resources. These people are in turn equipped with the skills and confidence to care for their orphaned and vulnerable children, and eventually to do this without the direct support of Noah. Noah’s overall goal is to support communities to improve the quality of life of our orphaned and vulnerable children and their families, and to sustain such, in key areas of health (nutrition, physical and emotional), education and economic status

Now several years later, more than 33 000 orphans and vulnerable children are part of Noah across the provinces of KwaZulu Natal (KZN) and Gauteng (with one Ark in the North West) and presently support is delivered by 112 community Arks through a network of over 855 Ark committee members, 1000 volunteers and 510 full-time staff members. (June ‘07 figures)

To build in willing individuals, the confidence and expertise to act as community-based responses providing humane support to the orphans and vulnerable children among them. The future of South Africa depends on what kind of citizens our orphans of AIDS grow up to be.

To learn more about NOAH please visit our website at www.noahorphans.org.za.

Thank you for making a difference.