This dissertation is an exploration of the experiences and challenges faced by children who are heads of households, and are obliged to head families, which entails caring for their siblings, assuming adult roles and taking care of the general running of the households. A review of the literature revealed that research based on the experiences of children who are heads of households is a neglected field of study and there is limited information on the topic. This study aimed to explore, describe and interpret the experiences of children who are heads of households. The study attempted to highlight relevant issues that may provide guidance to different stakeholders in their efforts to deal with orphaned children, child-headed households and children who are affected by HIV and AIDS. Qualitative research processes were used in this study. Data collection took the form of face-to-face interviews, using an interview guide in making the interviews more flexible and at the same time covering all the aspects the researcher wanted to cover. Findings of the study revealed that orphaned children who are heading households experience various problems in addition to material needs. The study revealed that the main problem is poverty, lack of support structures, for example, support from family members, friends and the community at large and secondly, the unavailability and inaccessibility of service providers. The study also revealed that social discrimination experienced by orphans in child-headed households impacts negatively on their social functioning and education. Based on these findings, recommendations are made with regard to the roles of the Departments of Social Welfare, Health, Education and Home Affairs in ensuring satisfactory services to orphaned children who are heads of households. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2007.

Victims of HIV/AIDS are not only those who are infected with the disease, but also those who are affected by it; such as the children of infected parents and relatives, and indeed, all children living in communities in which the disease has reached epidemic proportions. As the number of orphaned and vulnerable children continues to rise unabated in South Africa the question remains as to who will look after these children once their parents, and relatives, have died. Research shows that the extended family continues to be the first line of support for such children; however, the dissolution of the extended family, due to HIV/AIDS, is also widely documented. The aim of this study is to explore two non-kin models of care which are available to orphaned and vulnerable children in KwaZulu-Natal; a transition home and a cluster foster home. The two organisations chosen for the study cater for children who are at different stages of childhood; one caters specifically for babies and toddlers, while the other caters for children and young adults between the ages of five and the early twenties. Both organisations emerged as a response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic which is profoundly evident in the areas in which the organisations are situated. The theory of social rupture thesis is utilised as it asserts that the extended family is reaching breaking point in terms of absorbing orphaned and vulnerable children, and therefore that it is slowly losing its ability to act as the first line of support against the disease. Based on the research and findings of this study, this hypothesis was found to be true, as was evident in the large (and increasing) numbers of children who can be found living in non-kin models of care around South Africa. An interesting phenomenon which was documented in both organisations was the re-emergence of the father figure in the home setting. South Africa is a country where the majority of children grow up without a traditional father figure and these two homes expressly include men in the lives of the children in order to highlight what they consider to be the necessary role of men within a family setting. This study explores the central themes which emerged during the research; that of the impact of shifting care-givers on the development of children, as well as the many socio-cultural issues which foster parents face while raising foster children. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2010.

This dissertation examines the housing conditions experienced by the AIDS orphans at Malangeni. It documents and highlights the housing conditions and makes policy recommendations with regards to addressing housing needs of AIDS orphans. AIDS orphans are faced with the problem of inadequate housing. They are living in houses that have a variety of defects. These houses have broken windows, broken doors, leaks, holes in roof, cracks on walls, mould as well as poor ventilation. These, AIDS orphans are being cared for by their relatives, like their aunties but in most cases it is their grandparents that are getting money from the pension grant to support the whole family. The community of Malangeni is very poor and it does not have adequate funds to provide assistance to solve this problem of inadequate housing. The government and the community organizations have done very little to trying and provide assistance in this regard. AIDS orphans get emotional and moral support from members of local churches who visit each and every household that has AIDS orphans. It can therefore be argued that given the inadequate housing conditions that AIDS orphans live in, there is a need for housing policy to address the problem by providing AIDS orphans with housing that has basic infrastructure facilities that ensure basic health and safety and most importantly, improve the overall quality of life. / Thesis (M.Housing)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2006.

Thesis (Ph.D.(Educational Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (MA (Play Therapy))--University of Pretoria, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2009. / Full text also available online. Scroll down for electronic link.

Thesis (DPhil(Social Work)--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references.

Magister Artium - MA / This study aimed to explore the gender imbalances that exist in access to education and participation in schooling of the female orphans and vulnerable children, and also how this relates to the continuing feminisation of the HIV and AIDS pandemic in Zambia. The study was based on the premise that the girl child is disadvantaged in this area, and the HIV and AIDS pandemic in worsening the situation for female orphans and vulnerable children. / South Africa

Magister Educationis - MEd / In many countries, the scale of poverty, and the alarming number of children now being orphaned by HIV and AIDS, has increased the roles and responsibilities of grandparents as caregivers in their grandchildren's lives. Not only do grandparents have to care for their grandchildren on a daily basis but they also carry the burden of seeing them through school, possibly with the fear that they might not be able to see them achieve all their dreams. This study examined the complex issues surrounding school attendance for orphaned children in Mbekweni, a township in the Western Province, in South Africa. The study explored the relationship between the attitudes of orphaned learners and their caregivers towards education and schooling itself, uncovering the struggles and the strengths of caregivers and orphaned children that directly relate to success or faiolure in school. / South Africa

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.