2007年VOA标准英语-UNICEF Urges Help for Zimbabwe's Orphaned Child

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
25 February 2007

orphans2 in Harare (File)  " hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070522/1403530.jpg" width="204" vspace="2" border="0" />

An unidentified girl looks from a broken window at the Just Children Foundation for orphans in Harare (File)

The U.N. Children's Fund says the number of orphans and vulnerable children in Zimbabwe continues to rise as the country's social and economic situation continues to sink. UNICEF is appealing to the international community to support the hundreds of thousands of children in Zimbabwe who are deprived of the most basic needs. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from Geneva.

If the latest economic statistics compiled by international agencies are any indication, Zimbabwe's economy is in shambles³. The International Monetary⁴ Fund reports inflation skyrocketed to 1,600 percent in January. Unemployment is very high. The population is getting poorer.

The U.N. Children's Fund says Zimbabwe's children are suffering from an orphan¹ crisis that is depriving them of the chance for education and good health.

UNICEF Spokesman, Damien Personnaz, says Zimbabwe has a population of 15 million, of whom an alarming two million are vulnerable children.

"We know that one in four Zimbabwean children is an orphan. So that is quite a lot. We are talking about 250,000 children being orphaned⁵ in Zimbabwe. It is difficult to know exactly the right figure because it is difficult to get access to official figures, but it is quite a high number," said Personnaz. "We know that this prevalence of HIV/AIDS has dropped in recent years in Zimbabwe thanks to a lot of preventative measures, which have been put in place. But, the number of orphans basically remains⁶ the same and the number of vulnerable children continues to rise."

UNICEF says orphaned and vulnerable children are more likely to be deprived of basic goods. It says they have psychological problems and many are subjected to forced sex in adolescence⁷.

Personnaz tells VOA these children suffer discrimination from their own families and communities. He says UNICEF works with local aid agencies to try to enroll⁸ these children in schools and to protect them from violence, abuse and exploitation.

"Because they are being ostracized⁹ or stigmatized¹⁰ are basically left on their own in the cities and, of course, this is a very dangerous place for them to be," he added. "What we also try to do is to boost some school nutrition programs together with the World Food Program. We have a major program in doing that. It is very important to have access to these kids. School is one of the main entry points for all the humanitarian¹¹ organizations including UNICEF to have access to these children."

Personnaz says children who stay in school stay out of trouble. He says one way to keep them at school is through the feeding program.

UNICEF is calling on international donors¹² to support Zimbabwe's National Action Plan for orphans and vulnerable children. It says more than $250 million is needed for the five-year program. The plan aims to help 350,000 children this year.

1 orphan   

n.孤儿；adj.无父母的

参考例句：

• He brought up the orphan and passed onto him his knowledge of medicine.他把一个孤儿养大，并且把自己的医术传给了他。
• The orphan had been reared in a convent by some good sisters.这个孤儿在一所修道院里被几个好心的修女带大。

2 orphans   

孤儿( orphan的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The poor orphans were kept on short commons. 贫苦的孤儿们吃不饱饭。
• Their uncle was declared guardian to the orphans. 这些孤儿的叔父成为他们的监护人。

3 shambles   

n.混乱之处；废墟

参考例句：

• My room is a shambles.我房间里乱七八糟。
• The fighting reduced the city to a shambles.这场战斗使这座城市成了一片废墟。

4 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

5 orphaned   

[计][修]孤立

参考例句：

• Orphaned children were consigned to institutions. 孤儿都打发到了福利院。
• He was orphaned at an early age. 他幼年时便成了孤儿。

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

7 adolescence   

n.青春期，青少年

参考例句：

• Adolescence is the process of going from childhood to maturity.青春期是从少年到成年的过渡期。
• The film is about the trials and tribulations of adolescence.这部电影讲述了青春期的麻烦和苦恼。

8 enroll   

v.招收；登记；入学；参军；成为会员（英)enrol

参考例句：

• I should like to enroll all my children in the swimming class.我愿意让我的孩子们都参加游泳班。
• They enroll him as a member of the club.他们吸收他为俱乐部会员。

9 ostracized   

v.放逐( ostracize的过去式和过去分词 )；流放；摈弃；排斥

参考例句：

• He was ostracized by his colleagues for refusing to support the strike. 他因拒绝支持罢工而受到同事的排斥。
• The family were ostracized by the neighborhood. 邻居们都不理睬那一家人。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

10 stigmatized   

v.使受耻辱，指责，污辱( stigmatize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was stigmatized as an ex-convict. 他遭人污辱，说他给判过刑。 来自辞典例句
• Such a view has been stigmatized as mechanical jurisprudence. 蔑称这种观点为机械法学。 来自辞典例句

11 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

12 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》