Africa, AIDS Orphans and their Grandparents documents the AIDS orphan crisis in Africa and the daily challenges faced by the grandparents who care for them. Grandparents deal with two distinct sets of issues: (a) their own HIV positive adult children who are nearing death and (b) the AIDS orphans left behind by their dead children. Once the adult children die of AIDS, grandparents must take over the care and support of the children left behind. In resource challenged environments, these grandparents face an uphill battle to meet the health, educational, shelter, and other needs of their AIDS orphaned grandchildren.

"Rhoi Wangila and Chinua Akukwe have written a resourceful book on AIDS orphans and their grandparents in Africa. Both are eminently qualified to undertake this enterprise. Rhoi educated most of us on the issues of AIDS orphans in Africa long before it became a mainstream issue and had worked with AIDS orphans for more than two decades. Chinua is widely recognized today as one of the leading authorities on HIV/AIDS issues in Africa and has written extensively on HIV/AIDS and other health issues in Africa."
-Melvin P. Foote, CEO, Constituency for Africa

"There is no better person more qualified to write about African orphans and their grandchildren as Rhoi Wangila. Rhoi has been a mentor, surrogate mother, and friend to this courageous group of teenagers, many of them orphans and all affected in some way by AIDS. Thanks to her tireless efforts, they have a voice in the fight against AIDS, a way to stay in school, and someone to believe in them. If only we could clone her!"
Christine Doerr, Vice-President of Pangea: Giving for Global Change

"The work of Rhoi Wangila and the Ark Foundation of Africa is a model of effective, compassionate, and supportive service. Everyone who wants to bring about positive change in Africa should read this book and learn how to provide people-centered care."
-Karen Mulhauser, Mulhauser and Associates

"If you talk about tough and hard working African women, Rhoi is among them. Rhoi is a true African child. If all other Africans that live abroad mirrored her vision, our continent would be a better place. This book is a light to all of us." 
-Athuman Mdoe, District Commissioner, Kinondoni, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

"Rhoi Wangila is a true African who is the voice and hope of many grandparents and grandchildren who lost their loved ones to AIDS and HIV in Africa. This book is just a window to her world that needs our attention and support."
-Haile Gerima, Renowned Filmmaker and Educator.

Rhoi Wangila founded the Ark Foundation of Africa (AFA), Washington, DC in 1986. She is the Executive Director of AFA and manages field staff and volunteers in Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania. For nearly 15 years, the AFA tracked the lives of hundreds of orphans under the care of their grandmothers and grandfathers. During this long term interaction and engagement with AIDS orphans and their grandparents, Rhoi Wangila and her Ark Foundation team witnessed the highs and lows in the lives of these households.