South Africa's wine country fights alcoholism scourge

But when Marais and her colleagues asked health clinic workers if they would try out a simple questionnaire with birth mothers, "they were willing, but they felt they didn't have the time," she says. "When you have a waiting room full of people, and you have a questionnaire in front of you, even the most experienced clinic workers will rush through it. It all depends on how it is done."

Wine companies look for solutions

But while the government hospitals and clinics may be feeling overstretched – understandably so, in a country that has the largest number of AIDS patients in the world – the wine industry itself is starting to pitch in to find solutions, and to prevent FAS.

Beyerskloof Vineyards, the premier winery using indigenous pinotage grapes, is the first vineyard in South Africa to put labels on their bottles – a common practice elsewhere – warning pregnant women of the dangers of drinking. The founder, Beyers Truter, has also established a foundation, the Fetal Alcoholism and Interrelated Treatment Help Fund (FAITH) to raise funds for research, for information campaigns, and for smaller charities that help communities affected by FAS.

"We have experienced the upside of wine – seeing the world, going to great restaurants – but we have to publicly acknowledge that there is a downside to our product," says François Naude, managing director of Beyerskloof Vineyards in Stellenbosch.

"Underaged children have killed themselves driving after drinking Beyerskloof Pinotage. Husbands have beaten their wives after drinking Beyerskloof Pinotage. And women have hurt their unborn children by drinking Beyerskloof Pinotage," says Mr. Naude. "We felt some social responsibility in regard to our industry to do something about this. We don't need to sweep this under the rug."

Tisha is an 11-year-old whose mother, now dead, drank during pregnancy. As a result, performs at about a five-year-old's level. She may never learn to read.

Tisha's foster mother still calls her "my miracle baby."

"The doctors gave her a week to live," says Vivian Lourens, who has cared for Tisha since she was an infant. "That's when I get my back up. There's no way this child is going to die. They said she would never walk. She walked at 18 months. She had so many things wrong with her, but you wouldn't know it now. Obviously, she was meant to live."

As foster parents, Ms. Lourens and her husband, Peter Lourens, had seen some hard cases, but Tisha was different. She didn't even know how to suck a bottle and probably had never been fed by her mother, who was found in her cardboard shanty home, unconscious and drunk."They always blame farmworkers, that's where everyone still fingerpoints, but it happens all over the world, at all levels of society," says Peter Lourens.

Starting from zero knowledge, the Lourenes have become experts by necessity, researching on the Internet and joining parents support groups, such as www.FASlink.org, for tips on how to help a child affected by FAS. Today, the Lourenses get calls from researchers and parliamentarians, and once, by the office of President Thabo Mbeki, to learn about FAS.

From a child that doctors had given up on, Tisha has blossomed into a buoyant spirit at home and at school. She knows all the letters in her name, but cannot put them in correct order. She is great at physical activities, including swimming and ballet, and her sparkly personality has made her into a poster child for FAS.

"I'm famous," says Tisha, sitting on Vivian's lap one recent afternoon.

"She's been on TV," says Vivian.

"And on radio," chimes in Tisha.

"We really want to get to a potential parent, like a school girl, and tell her about the dangers of drinking. Then, secondarily, to a mother who already has a FAS baby, here's the best way to handle one."

But what the Lourens care about most is the children they already provide foster care for. "I've always said I've got a big mouth, and I will fight to get help for my children," says Vivian. "I just think about those who don't have that skill. What will they do?"

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