Mozambique: Orphans deprived of their inheritance
On a farm in the district of Bárue, in the central province of Manica, 16-year-old Helena Ivan hurries home with a small bundle on her head. After hours packaging potatoes, she's allowed to take a few for herself and the two brothers she has been supporting since her parents died of AIDS-related diseases in 2005.
Of the possessions Ivan's mother and father left – a kiosk, a house, a minibus and some goats – only the house was handed over to the children, and only because it had been registered in the name of the youngest child, Januário, who is now 12.
"My uncles took the rest. They said we weren't old enough to take care of business, but they never come to leave us money to live on, and when we go to ask them for provisions they say they don't have any money," said Ivan.
