One of the challenges facing health care professionals today is the phenomenon of rendering care to children who have been orphaned in the AIDS pandemic. The number of AIDS orphans in South Africa has risen out of all proportion and is causing existing health and social structures to become stretched in providing care to this vulnerable population of children. The objectives of this study are to explore and to describe the lived experience of children living in a township who have become AIDS orphans and to develop broad guidelines for Primary Health Care Nurses (PHCN’s), related professionals and partners involved in the care of AIDS orphans living in a township. The theoretical grounding of this study is found in Kotze’s Theory on Nursing Accompaniment (Kotzé, 1998:3). The proposed research design was based upon a qualitative study using an explorative, descriptive, contextual and phenomenological strategy of inquiry. Data was collected by means of in-depth interviews from a purposively selected sample and then analysed using the steps of qualitative data analysis proposed by Tesch (in Creswell, 1994). Guba’s model was used to assess the trustworthiness of the qualitative data. Based upon the findings, guidelines were developed to assist PHCN’s related professionals and partners involved in the care of AIDS orphans living in a township. Through this study the goal of the researcher was to give a voice to AIDS orphans living in a township and to represent accurately their lived experience.

Thesis (M.A. (Clinical Psychology)) --University of Limpopo, 2008 / The aim of this study was to investigate the psychological difficulties encountered and ways of coping by HIV/AIDS orphans in Limpopo Province. The sample was comprised of 70 children whose parent(s) died of HIV/AIDS related diseases between the ages 05 and 18 years. The data were collected through the use of face to face interview and questionnaires. The study results show that as a results of trauma resulting from taking care and witnessing ill parent(s) die, HIV/AIDS orphans suffer from sadness, helplessness, anger, guilty, aggression and frustration that often lead to withdrawal and subsequent depression, In quantitative study Beck Depression Inventory was also used to determine the levels of depression (mild, moderate, and/or severe levels) and it was discovered that HIV/AIDS orphans experience moderate to severe depression. The study further looked on whether demographic factors including (age, gender, religion, home language, number of siblings, and level of education) have an impact on the experience of depression. Qualitative study findings also discovered that HIV/AIDS orphans do not experience the relationship with their caregivers as being supportive. Furthermore, mixing with non-orphaned peers was reported to be a mission and emotionally distressing. Qualitative study also discovered that HIV/AIDS orphans lack many adults whom they can trust and who they could be able to express their feelings, as result they try to find their own ways of coping with their circumstances. However, quantitative study also looked at three ways of coping (cognitive, behavioural and avoidance ways of coping) that could be used by HIV/AIDS orphans. This was achieved through the use of ways of coping scales. The findings of this study discovered that HIV/IADS orphans use cognitive and avoidance ways of coping more than behavioural ways of coping. Furthermore, the study looked at whether there is a relationship between ways of coping and biographic factors (age, gender, religion, home language, number of siblings, and level of education). It was discovered that HIV/AIDS orphans are psychologically distressed and need to be transferred for psychological therapy after the loss of their parents.

The study seeks to explore and identify factors that prevent AIDS orphans in presenting themselves for Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT). Socio-cultural factors, notably, stigma and the resultant discrimination by community members, have been presented by many researchers as the main aetiological factors that hinder the use of VCT by AIDS orphans. It is on the basis of this that this study was conducted to identify factors that hinder AIDS orphans from accessing VCT. The study used a qualitative approach following an explorative and descriptive, contextual research design and was conducted at Ubuntu Education Fund, Port Elizabeth. Purposive sampling was used to determine a sample of AIDS orphans. Participants of the study had to be orphaned as a result of AIDS, isiXhosa-speaking, between 12-17 years, living in the care of a primary care-giver and had not presented themselves for VCT. Data was collected by means of semi-structured interviews. Semi-structured interviews are suitable in cases where the researcher is interested in an issue that is complex or personal (De Vos, Strydom, Fouche and Deloport, 2005). Data was analyzed according to the framework provided by Tesch (1990) as described in Creswell (2003). The major findings of this study were that people are locked in a ‘poverty-of-the mind cycle’, in respect of HIV and AIDS, and this is exacerbated by educational impoverishment and general poverty. The recommendations that emanated from this study are made from policy and service delivery perspectives. It is recommended that in order for AIDS orphans to access VCT they should be developed and empowered through sustainable programmes that enhance their capacities to the outmost realization of their potential. It is also recommended that health and other professionals should encourage AIDS orphans and community members to present themselves for VCT and thus curb the spread of HIV and AIDS.

The recent increase in the number of children orphaned and rendered vulnerable by HIV and AIDS in South Africa has placed an added burden on schools as sites of care and support. Education policies mandate schools to develop strategies to support such children, but this is no easy task in contexts where teachers are already struggling to fulfill instructional requirements. Literature reveals that teachers in under-resourced schools, where the problem is more severely experienced regard this increased pastoral role as an added responsibility that they do not feel competent to execute. Since there is unlikely to be any significant improvement in the circumstances of these children in the near future, there is a need to discover creative ways to address this problem. I was led to ask how teachers could support children to better cope in the face of adversity in a way that could be easily integrated into the academic curriculum, so as to minimise the perceived burden of providing care and support. Based on my knowledge of the value of bibliotherapy in promoting resilient coping in individuals, I was interested to see if folktales could be used in a similar way with groups of children. Working from an asset-based perspective, and proceeding from a transformative and participatory epistemology, I adopted an action research design to explore the potential of traditional folktales to enhance positive coping responses in children orphaned and rendered vulnerable by HIV and AIDS. My choice of traditional folktales was influenced by the importance that resilience theory attaches to cultural variables in the resilience process. The participants were isiXhosa speaking children who were orphaned and rendered vulnerable by HIV and AIDS (OVC) between the ages of nine and fourteen years (n=30) in Cycle One who lived in a children‟s home or with foster parents. In Cycle Two, the study was conducted in a school setting with thirty (n=30) participants. I conducted two cycles of reflective action research enquiry to ascertain how folktales could be used to enable teachers to meet both pastoral and academic requirements. In the first cycle, I used a pre-post time series design to explore if merely telling the stories would enhance the resilience of the children. Although this use of the stories was teacher-centred, I knew that it would be an easy and time-saving way for teachers to provide support, if it proved to be effective in enhancing resilience. Drawings and accompanying explanations were used to generate data pre-and post-intervention. The thematic analysis of the data revealed that, post-intervention, there appeared to be an increase in two resilience-enhancing indicators: the children appeared to have a more positive sense of self and improved positive relations with peers/friends. Critical reflection on the process also revealed ethical and methodological concerns and problems when working with vulnerable children. The findings from this cycle informed my second cycle, in which I adopted a more participatory approach to engage the children in making meaning of the stories and explore how they related to their own lives. I used participatory arts based methods such as drawings, collages, drama and more usual qualitative strategies, such as focus group discussion and observation, to generate data. The findings from this cycle suggest that using such strategies will equip teachers with tools to enhance the resilience of OVC in a way that also promotes the attainment of instructional outcomes. This study has contributed important theoretical, methodological and pedagogical insights. Theoretically, this study has contributed to the social ecological perspective of resilience by confirming that cultural resources, such as indigenous African stories (folktales) can enhance the resilience of vulnerable children. Lessons learnt from this study had a methodological contribution to the ethics of working with children and the use of culturally appropriate resources in the field, which were folktales. This study has also contributed to the meaning making implications of using folktales, which can aid the pedagogical strategies that teachers use. Although this study was meant to be small- scale research and was not intended to be generalisable, the findings do suggest that teachers could have a resource that is time efficient, effective and could assist them to reach both their pastoral and academic goals.

M.Ed. / Orphans living in child-headed households within underprivileged communities are amongst the most vulnerable children, and protection of their rights deserves to be the main focus of all individuals, governments and agencies dealing with such children. There is a need to stimulate broad-based discussion, heightened awareness of, and sensitivity to their plight, special needs and ... rights.

D. Tech. Education / The HIV/AIDS pandemic is one of the greatest humanitarian and development challenges ever faced by the global community. It is alarmingly estimated that by 2015 more than 30 per cent of all children younger than 15 years of age will have lost their mothers to HIV. This means that, by 2015, a total of 5.7 million children in South Africa will have lost one or both parents to AIDS. Research has shown that children orphaned by the pandemic - if not cared for - are likely to engage in alternative actions that pose a risk to themselves and society. This implies that it becomes critical to raise orphaned and vulnerable children well to ensure that we don't have a society filled with people who pose a danger to themselves and others. The study is based on systems theory which unravels the multilayers of the government system to bring to bear the challenges regarding care-giving and education experienced at the level of national, provincial and local government. The purpose of the study was to investigate the care-giving process and education of orphaned and vulnerable children.

HIV/AIDS has presented humanity with various challenges, one of which is the manner in which it has affected family structure and patterns. Parental illness and eventual death due to the HIV/AIDS pandemic is escalating. One of the major challenges of HIV/AIDS in southern Africa is the increase in the number of orphaned and vulnerable children. As a result new family forms are emerging such as the "skip-generation" family in which children or adolescent siblings head the family. It is anticipated that HIV/AIDS in South Africa will progressively increase the number of such families. During this time of profound family change, the family as an institution has remained remarkably resilient. The present study utilised the Family Resilience Framework and the Resiliency Model of Family Stress, Adjustment and Adaptation to explore and describe the resilience of HIV/AIDS’ adolescent headed families. A qualitative, exploratory-descriptive research design, which was assessed against Guba’s (1985) model of trustworthiness, was employed and the participants were sampled using non-probability purposive sampling. The Masizakhe Community Project volunteers (an AIDS Community Project in Kwazakhele, Port Elizabeth receiving support from the iThemba AIDS Foundation) assisted in identifying participants according to the predetermined inclusion criteria. The sample consisted of four female, adolescent heads of HIV/AIDS’ affected households, who volunteered at the Masizakhe Community Project and resided in Kwazakhele. The data that was collected via audio-recorded semi structured interviews were transcribed verbatim and subjected to Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis. Family resilience factors that emerged included intrafamilial strengths (family cohesion, organisation, hardiness, and adaptability); social support resources (especially from the community project, friends, and community members); family appraisal processes; and problem solving and coping strategies. Extended family support was partial and largely financial. The findings from this study provided insights into the resilience of adolescent-headed families; provided guidance for the development of intervention programmes to assist these families; and affirmed the existing strengths of the families. Furthermore, it has contributed to the research and literature on family resilience and formed the foundation for future research projects.

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the Degree of Master of Education (Educational Psychology) at the University of Zululand. 2006. / The research investigated the factors which contributed to orphaned learners resilience. Resilience was measured as good academic achievement of orphaned learners. This stud} further investigated the relationship between an area type and custodian type respectively and the resilience of orphaned learners. Data was collected by means of a questionnaire. The sample consisted of 183-orphaned learners, in the intermediate phase of Primary school. 12 schools in Vryheid District participated in the study. The findings of the study suggested among the three factors: familial, societal and school factors, family factors were the most significant factors in relation to resilience. No significant relationship was found between the custodian type and academic achievement of orphaned learners. The significant relationship found in this study indicated that the type of an area appeared to influence the resilience of orphaned learners. The study further revealed that a large number of orphaned learners stayed and were cared for by their grandparents.

No description available.

The purpose of this research was to highlight the benefits of a Memory Box Programme on the social and emotional developmental functioning of orphaned children. The study focused on the memory box approach used by Sinomlando Centre with orphaned children. The Sinomlando Memory Box Programme has been in existence since 2000. The overall objective of this Memory Box Programme is to enhance resilience in vulnerable children and orphans affected by HIV and AIDS through the methodology of memory boxes In contributing to the discourse on memory work, an interpretive method of data collection and analysis in the form of a focus group discussion and thematic analysis was utilized in this study. Three focus groups were conducted with 26 orphaned children between the ages of 12 years to 15 years. Sampling of the children was based on a purposive sample, targeting children orphaned by AIDS who attended a 5-day camp conducted through a local NGO. The results of the study indicate that children who attended the Sinomlando Memory Box Programme had benefited from their involvement in the programme in diverse ways. They felt that being involved in a Memory Box Programme equipped them with better coping mechanisms and skills. These included the appropriate expression of feelings, the ability to talk about their parent’s death, and overcoming their sense of alienation so they could better cope with their difficult circumstances. / Thesis (M.A.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2009.