South Africa has an estimated 1.9 million AIDS orphans and abandoned children. Their sad tally is swelled by an average of 500 children a day, mostly through the twin perils of HIV/AIDS and crippling poverty.

Our mission is to raise awareness of the poverty and ignorance  that lead to children being orphaned or abandoned through conditions such as HIV/AIDS. We recognise that this is a massive task, currently beyond the capability of any single government or world body.

That does not mean that people of goodwill and determination should not tackle the challenge.  Through our incorporated not-for-profit association, KasCare, we have embarked on that long journey, seeking to create a groundswell awareness of these children's plight.

• bring comfort and hope to orphans and abandoned and homeless children through the provision of lovingly hand-knitted blankets via our knit-a-square program
• create a grassroots movement to inform the world of this growing crisis through our program, Pledge for an Orphan
• foster a student-led movement  through the introduction of our schools' program, KasKids™.

How our work contributes to the welfare of orphans and abandoned children

KasCare's initial impact is on some of the most marginalised and poor people on earth. For these orphaned and abandoned children, survival is a daily challenge. Simply staying warm – one of the most basic of human needs – is often denied them.

Staying warm is also one of the most essential techniques in fighting the impact of HIV/AIDS. In a country where an estimated

5.68 million people, or 12.1 percent of the 47 million population are HIV positive, poverty and cold can be a literal death sentence. Blankets are in chronically short supply.

We also have an impact on those who wish to help. The knitters of the world have responded magnificently. Through the Square Circle forum and other online groups, they have formed online communities for mutual encouragement.

Many have found new energy, enthusiasm and spirituality, as well as making like-minded friends.

The impact on students involved in the KasKids™ Schools' Program has been reported to be profound, as they both learn to understand the issue and become involved in the activities by which they can make a difference.

The new Pledge for an Orphan program is launched. We hope that it will act as a springboard to catapault the issue of orphans and abandoned children to a new level of public consciousness.

Through these programs and media including newspapers, radio, blogs, Twitter and Facebook, we are achieving our second goal, which is to raise global awareness of the plight of these children.