Student Number : 0217201P - MA (Housing) dissertation - School of Architecture and Planning - Faculty of Humanities / South Africa currently has the fastest growing HIV/AIDS pandemic in the world. Against this backdrop it is therefore not suprising to learn that 4 million children or about 10% of the entire South African population will be orphaned by the year 2015 (Davis, 2002:52; Whiteside & Sunter, 2000 in Madhavan, [2000:1]). These projections paint a clear picture of the challenges that lie ahead for accommodating and sustaining a prevailing family structure of households that are headed by children who are left behind by parents succumbing to the ravages of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Because of their vulnerable age and laws and policies that do not fully cater for their needs, these children become victims of exploitation and abuse and forfeit their human rights enshrined in the Bill of Rights of the South African Constitution (1996). This study aims to unearth the plight of these children. In particular it will focus on the right of entitlement to family property when their parents die or are debilitated by HIV/AIDS related diseases. It concludes by challenging government and other stakeholders to review existing policies and to ensure that legislation is in place that mitigates against any form of violence, abuse, trauma or ostracism to which orphaned children are subjected to by unscrupulous caregivers.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Final Submission June, 2015. / The HIV and AIDS pandemic has increased the numbers of orphans globally. The severity of the problem is greater in developing countries, especially in Sub Saharan Africa. In Malawi, as in many other developing countries, grandparents have stepped in and have embraced the role left by the deceased parents, seeing the orphans through school, providing food, clothing and shelter for them, even where the grandparents themselves have no steady source of income. Despite the heavy burden placed on grandparents as a result of HIV and AIDS, limited attention has been given by governments, scholars and researchers to documenting in detail the challenges faced by the elderly who look after orphaned children. This study examined the challenges faced by elderly people looking after children orphaned by HIV and AIDS in Malawi using the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework (SLF). This framework looks at household needs and holistically categorises them in terms of social, financial, physical, natural health, and government policies. Following a qualitative approach, this study used a phenomenology approach in documenting the challenges facing the elderly in Malawi, with a special focus on the Rumphi and Zomba districts. The livelihood approach is part of rural development theories that has moved away from the conventional approaches towards development to holistic understanding of the relationship between poverty and economic development. The study also provided a case study on the role of social pensions in Lesotho. Social protection, which is part of social development, focuses on local community development with the emphasis not only on economic development, but also on improvement of health, education, environment and standard of living as critical contributors to sustainable development. This is seen as a medium that discourages dependency and promotes the participation of people in their own development. The aim was to profile social protection benefits for the elderly in Lesotho as an example so that insights could be drawn from the experience. The study used structured and semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions as tools to elicit information from grandparents, orphans, community leaders, teachers, local leaders and policy makers. The findings of the study indicate that the level of rural poverty in elderly headed households has increased due to the challenges resulting from the HIV and AIDS pandemic. The Sustainable Livelihoods Approach presented in this paper advocates that sustained development is only successful if it is based on evidence and understanding of household or community needs holistically and systematically. This study has highlighted five key elements required to understand the elderly households through the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework. Firstly, the evidence from this research challenges the SLF in that it does not take into account all key factors necessary to understanding the elderly households’ needs, As a result, this study proposes other necessary enhancements to the SLF, such as the role of cultural practices as part of social capital in supporting elderly livelihoods, especially where patrilineal and matrilineal family systems exist. Secondly, evidence from this study indicates that the notion of social capital that includes dependency on community networks as key in improving the general livelihood of societies has completely diminished due to community fatigue in relation to offering care and support. The study further reveals enhancements in the forms of social capital like belonging to “secret friendships” or being a member of the village banking scheme. However these social networks have limited elderly membership because of community perceptions that elderly members may not contribute much, be it financially or otherwise, hence the elderly are excluded from social networks. Thirdly, as a result of the many challenges faced by the elderly, this research has highlighted an increase in negative coping strategies in elderly households due to limited support from government and other stakeholders. Negative coping strategies in this regard include engaging in activities like casual labour (ganyu), selling alcohol, school dropouts, selling green maize and begging. The more the elderly adopt negative coping strategies, the more vulnerable they become over time. Fourthly, the livelihoods framework has been used in this study to provide a full understanding of situation of the elderly headed households. This approach provides a new dimension to this body of knowledge as it is used for the first time on elderly households. The research presents a foundation that will require future researchers to look at elderly households holistically and systematically within their context using this research as a guideline or as a point of reference. Finally, this research suggests a possible framework that would address the needs of the elderly, with a combination of the livelihoods framework as the analysis tool and the social pensions as the response mechanism for alleviating the burden on elderly headed households. Social pensions will act as a poverty cushion to the elderly members of the society to meet their needs in raising orphaned children. This research conclusively reinforces the role of social protection for supporting the elderly livelihoods. The researcher’s contribution to theory is embedded in the premises of integration of livelihoods frameworks as an analysis tool that provides an holistic picture of understanding elderly household challenges and needs. Social protection through social pensions can be an intervention for supporting the household challenges of the elderly. The combination of these two frameworks results in an holistic and systematic analysis of elderly livelihoods and subsequent support necessary to respond to their challenges. / MT2016

This study looked at how children who are exposed to the impact of HIV/AIDS in their immediate families are affected and what coping strategies they employ. Research was conducted in Lusaka, Zambia, involving eight female and eight male Zambian children between the ages of thirteen and sixteen, as research participants. Separate gender specific focus group discussions were held, after which the recorded proceedings were transcribed and analysed using thematic content analysis. The study found that children experience socioeconomic difficulties, psychosocial deprivations, and insecurity as a result of parental death or illness. However, they are still able to find ways to survive and cope with their difficulties. State and private sector efforts have focussed primarily on addressing the socioeconomic needs of these children as this has been understood to be the most critical. The psychological impact of HIV/AIDS on children in Zambia, and the resultant needs that arise, will need to be tackled as a matter of priority.

After the transition from apartheid to democracy, the South African government embarked on designing policies and laws to address social problems and protect vulnerable groups in communities. Orphaned children are regarded as being vulnerable. The Children’s Act No. 38 of 2005 (as amended) is a legal document set to address issues related to vulnerable children and to ensure that their best interests are met. In terms of Section 150 of the said Act, orphaned children could be identified as children in need of care and protection if they are without visible means of support. However, this section of the Act is open to various interpretations and expectations. Social Workers at the Department of Social Development are currently under pressure to recommend to presiding officers of the Children’s Court that an orphaned child be legally placed in the foster care of the relative. However, presiding officers often question such recommendations because in their opinion the child does not present as a child in need of care and protection and as a result the recommendation made is rejected. This response lowers work morale because it displays disregard for the professional integrity of Social Workers and also increases their already high caseloads. This research study explored the perspectives of Social Workers regarding the legal placement of children in the foster care of relatives. Purposive sampling was used to recruit research participants, 30 foster care Social Work based at Department of Social Development in the Johannesburg Metro Region. A qualitative research design was adopted. Data was gathered using personal interviews and focus groups. A semi-structured interview schedule was utilized to guide the structure of the personal interviews and focus groups. Data gathered was analyzed using thematic content analysis. Findings has provided insight into what intervention strategies are deemed to be in the best interests of vulnerable orphaned children from the perspective of social workers and possible recommendations for policy changes.

Abstract The focus of this thesis is early attachment among institutionalized infant orphans. Previous research has pointed towards attachment problems in dysfunctional institutions, but did not take a comparative approach to understanding attachment. The present research was conducted in an orphanage in Kaya, a little town located in the Center North Region of Burkina Faso, Africa. The 22 children at the institution were aged four months to five years and were mostly from the Mossi ethnicity. Using mixed psychological and anthropological methods such as behaviors checklist, attachment questionnaires, and participant observation, this research indicates that orphans do not display evident features of unsecure attachment such as avoidant, resistant, or disorganized attachment: 79% of the children would seek proximity with caregivers, 93% would make visual contact, and 79% would often explore their environment. However, a significant number of children in the orphanage showed disinhibited reactive attachment: 36% of the children would seek contact with a stranger; only 21% would be anxious to see a stranger. Using a cross-cultural approach, the study questions the classification of disinhibited reactive attachment as a problematic ailment and suggest that the behavior might not be seen negatively, but can have positive outcome in the transition process from the orphanage to the adoptive family. The research also examines the factors related to orphanhood that can have consequences on the future of children and consecutively on their chances to form secure attachment. The research underlines many other difficulties between caregivers and orphans such as the lack of training, the young age of the caregivers, and the reluctance to get attached to the children in order to avoid difficult separations. This study emphasizes the complexity of the early attachment process of institutionalized orphans.

The 2014-2016 Ebola pandemic in Sierra Leone significantly increased the orphan population and the need for social support programs, especially for student-orphans in higher education. Poorly prepared disaster response managers have little knowledge about how college student-orphans experience social services. The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to explore how post-Ebola student-orphans enrolled in an agricultural university in rural Sierra Leone experienced post disaster specialized case management to enhance student performance. Criterion sampling techniques including specific inclusion and exclusion criteria guided the recruitment, that included 10 research participants taking part in the semi structured interviews. Ecological system theory and postpositivist ontology informed this transcendental phenomenological research. The modified van Kaam transcendental phenomenological data analysis enabled the development of themes from lived experiences of post-Ebola case management for student-orphans. The findings of the research showed that student-orphans experienced specialized case management with three characterizations: (a) sadness, (b) happiness, and (c) anger which included information helpful for crisis and disaster case management administration and staff across similar circumstances. The social change implication for the study results include information useful for human service administrators and staff in designing and employing post disaster programs for college student-orphans.

Thesis (M.A. ( Research Psychology)) --University of Limpopo, 2014 / The study investigated the academic performance of orphaned primary school learners between the ages of eight and ten in Mankweng circuit. The study used both quantitative and qualitative methods. The quantitative component of the study included the sampling of 200 learners from ten schools in Mankweng circuit. One hundred learners formed the experimental group (orphans) whilst another hundred were placed in the comparison group (non-orphans). Availability and quota sampling was used for sampling the experimental group and simple random sampling was used to sample the comparison group. Four learning areas chosen for the study include Sepedi, Numeracy, English and Lifeskills. In all learning areas, it was found that the comparison group fell within level 2 (50-69) area whilst the experimental group fell within level 1 (0-49) area suggesting that the comparison group is performing better than the experimental group. The qualitative component of the study involved sampling ten educators from ten sampled primary schools in Mankweng Circuit, i.e. one educator per school. The main theme that emerged from these transcripts was the educators’ view that orphaned children tend to perform poorly at school when compared to non-orphaned children. Furthermore, the educators were of the view that orphaned children are more likely to show poor grades, lack of concentration and inability to write schoolwork when compared to non-orphans. The educators were also of the view that orphaned children were more likely to display behavioural and emotional problems when compared to non-orphans. Educators also suggested that guardians of orphaned learners are not coping well, and as such, are unable to adequately attend to the needs of these children. In conclusion, interventions at school, government as well as community levels are suggested. A suggestion is also made regarding the support that should be provided for grandparents (guardians) who tend to be drained as a result of having to look after orphaned children.

<p>By 2010 it is estimated that one third of the African children will be orphans as an effect of HIV/AIDS. The crisis is already a fact and most orphans are absorbed by the extended family where the grandparents become the primary caretakers. This qualitative study was carried out in Kenya to explore the situation of these grandparents and to define their current resources and needs. Eight grandparents living in rural village or urban slum caring for their orphaned grandchildren were interviewed. The results showed that these families live under extremely poor conditions lacking food, other vital neccesities and a basic social network. Local churches and support groups emerged as the grandparents main sources to enhance strength and support. Key factors causing the acute poverty is HIV-related stigma and lack of access to land.</p>

Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2007.

By 2010 it is estimated that one third of the African children will be orphans as an effect of HIV/AIDS. The crisis is already a fact and most orphans are absorbed by the extended family where the grandparents become the primary caretakers. This qualitative study was carried out in Kenya to explore the situation of these grandparents and to define their current resources and needs. Eight grandparents living in rural village or urban slum caring for their orphaned grandchildren were interviewed. The results showed that these families live under extremely poor conditions lacking food, other vital neccesities and a basic social network. Local churches and support groups emerged as the grandparents main sources to enhance strength and support. Key factors causing the acute poverty is HIV-related stigma and lack of access to land.