With quiet dignity, three African orphans took their seats on stage at BYU's School of Social Work's Orphan Awareness Conference Friday.

The children, far from their home in Mozambique, whispered back and forth with their translators as researchers and non-governmental organization representatives shared statistics with an attentive audience about the realities of the sub-Saharan orphan crisis-realities that Luis, Amelia, and Afonso Belchior live with every day.

Jini Roby, associate professor in social work and conference organizer, said that becoming an orphan hinders children's education and nutrition. Orphans also becomevulnerable to abuse and neglect, and subjects them to social stigma, legal battles over inheritances, child labor, child trafficking, and prostitution.

"This is not just a list of sensational things that could happen," Roby said. "These are things that are happening."

Roby also said that the extended families of many of the 43 million orphans in sub-Saharan Africa want to care for them, but simply don't have the means. Presenters at the conference said the best way to deal with the orphan crisis is to make it possible for children to grow up in families rather than orphanages, preferably families in their native cultures and communities.

"The answer, as far as we're concerned, is making the villages capable of taking care of those kids," said Lon Kennard, co-founder of service organization Village of Hope.

Despite what outsiders think, many dying mothers view orphanages as the best care option for their children because they believe that such establishments can consistently offer children food, medical care, and education, Roby said.

"Mothers don't have the luxury of worrying about the psychological impact of institutionalization," Roby said.

Jennifer Boehme Kumar, executive director of service organization Help International, said that what these mothers don't know is that most orphanages are at full capacity.

"The caretakers that we work with genuinely love and care for the children, but they are so overwhelmed," Kumar said.

Before their placement in an orphanage, the Belchior children lived in the roofless house their father was unable to finish building before his death.

Fourteen-year-old Amelia told the audience about the day-to-day hardships she and her brothers experienced. They had no money to buy soap to wash their clothes and no stove to cook on. She described their dirt floor as being "very different" from the polished hard wood in the Hinckley Center, where the conference was held.

Amelia said that she watched her brother go door to door begging for food.

The children's older brother, who left his school in another city when their parents died, arranged for his siblings placement in an orphanage so that he could serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Life in the orphanage was also difficult for the children.

"There is a lot of sickness," Amelia Belchior said. "All of the children, they get infected, because they sleep in the same room."

Disease, specifically AIDS, is one of the biggest factors contributing to the orphan crisis in Africa. Both of the children's parents and older brother died of AIDS. Because of the social stigma in Mozambique against the disease, many are in a state of denial.

Sixteen-year-old Luis Belchior, who was informed of the cause of his parents' deaths just two weeks ago, said he sees the need to recognize it for what it is.

"AIDS really exists," Luis Belchior said. "Many people don't believe this, but it exists. I didn't accept that (my parents( had died of a sickness like that, but as time moves on, the capacity of the human increases. I started to search for full understanding. "

Mothers Without Boarders founder Kathy Headlee, who also spoke at the conference, said, "I applaud and thank these children for connecting two worlds. It's hard for them to come here and see what we have and wonder 'why didn't I draw that straw?'"

The children said that the fact that their trip to the United States was made possible was nothing short of miraculous. Luis, who has been teaching seminary in Mozambique since he was 14, said that he hasn't always been as comfortable talking to people about his life as he is now.

"I started to talk because I started to see the situation I was in," Luis Belchior said. "I knew that I had to gain courage. I had to speak."

Sharon Slater, president of the Family Watch International organization, which sponsored the children's trip, said that the children's membership in the LDS church gave them strength.

"The church was their life," Slater said.

The children were introduced to the gospel by their older brother, who before his death, taught them to share their testimonies, give talks, and read the scriptures.

"I know that Jesus Christ has a message for me to give," Luis Belchior said. "It is this: what helped us survive is work. Without work there is no life."

During the question-and-answer session at the end of the conference, presenters addressed audience questions about how BYU students can get involved now.

"Don't underestimate the power that your pocketbook has," said Jennifer Boehme Kumar, executive director of service organization Help International.. "Rent for a month in Mozambique is $17. How often do we blow $17 going out to Cold Stone or something? Even if your funds are small, give something."

Presenters also said that there are many organizations with foreign aid volunteer programs that can be relevant to any major.

Melissa Flores, an exercise science major who attended the conference, said part of receiving a higher education is learning about the problems in the world. For Flores, learning about problems was enough to make her want to help. She did so through the Help International organization in El Salvador.

"You never forget," Flores said. "You always remember that compassion, that understanding that you gain from those experiences."

To learn more about how to help the Belchior children and others like them, visit familiesfororphans.org.