The Plight of the Children of Women with AIDS.

Today's first half is about children who are orphaned after losing their parents to AIDS. Studies estimate that by the year 2000, up to 125,000 U.S. children will be left parentless because of the fatal illness. AIDS workers are now beginning to realize their next step is to help these secondary victims by providing homes, food and counseling. We interview two people on the subject; a single mother with AIDS, and the head of a project designed to address the needs of orphaned kids:

1)Laura Jimenez. ("hee-MEN-ez") She is a 42-year-old divorced mother with AIDS. Jimenez lives in a housing project in the Bronx with her 10-year-old son. Her two other children, in their twenties, are married with their own kids. She has worked through desperate times to become an activist for women with AIDS.

2) Carol Levine. ("la-VEEN") She is the Executive Director of "The Orphan Project," based in Manhattan. She founded the organization two years ago, after working on the Citizen's Commission on AIDS. The Orphan Project undertook a study of how many children in the New York area were affected by HIV in their families. Levine was surprised at the numbers the study turned up. Now the project is looking at social and policy options to help these children.