Displaying 1 - 10 of 13
Abstract
This paper challenges the view that, in the context of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, the African extended family is no longer able to care for and support orphaned children. The paper is based on a qualitative case study conducted in a South African urban area on the lived experiences of orphaned children aged 9–14. Data were collected from the children, their teachers as well as their main caregivers. The study found that, despite the poverty facing the extended family, emotional support, family cohesion and support for learning can serve to meet the educational needs of orphaned…
Abstract
The representation of HIV/AIDS as a sexual and self-inflicted disease has drawn popular and scholarly attention to stigmatized populations. Little is known about the experiences of children with HIV-positive parents. This study reports on children’s experiences of living with HIV-positive parents within the family context of Bangladesh. A qualitative research design using in-depth interviews with 19 HIV-positive and HIV-negative children was undertaken. The results indicate that children felt high levels of psychological distress after learning of their parents’ HIV diagnosis.…
Abstract
The aim of this mixed-method study was to explore the trajectories of leaving home, and views and experiences among children and youth in the Kagera region in Tanzania, who have lived on the streets or been domestic workers. The main results showed that orphanhood and mistreatment were the main reasons for leaving home: few children lived with their parents before they left, and leaving home was a complex process over several years where three trajectories were identified. The children who had left home showed strong agency and competency but lived in vulnerable conditions,…
As a result of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, there are now more than 12 million orphans in sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of these children have been absorbed into their extended families. A minority of AIDS orphans and other vulnerable children are living in residential care facilities. Although concerns have been raised regarding the care received in such facilities, very little is known about children's perspectives on their own experiences residing in these institutions.
As part of an ongoing initiative to better understand the impact of HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa and what can be done to…
Research was conducted in five Rift Valley towns (Eldoret, Kitale, Molo, Nakuru, and Naivash) in Kenya in 2011 to understand the link between emergencies and the perceived increase of children joining the streets. The findings are based on interviews with 3,138 children, of whom 2,696 were directly connected with the streets.
Findings show that food insecurity is one of the biggest factors (59%) that cause children to drop out of school and gravitate toward the streets to find food and earn money. Other major factors identified included abuse at home (23%), particularly when…
This report presents key findings from a small-scale pilot research project that explored the experiences and priorities of young people caring for their siblings in sibling-headed households affected by AIDS in Tanzania and Uganda. Qualitative and participatory research was conducted with 33 young people living in sibling-headed households and 39 NGO staff and community members in rural and urban areas of Tanzania and Uganda.
The report analyses the ways that young people manage transitions to caring for their younger siblings following their parents’ death and the impacts of caring on…
ABSTRACT
This paper explores the ways that young people express their agency and negotiate complex lifecourse transitions according to gender, age and inter- and intra-generational norms in sibling-headed households affected by AIDS in East Africa. Based on findings from a qualitative and participatory pilot study in Tanzania and Uganda, I examine young people's socio-spatial and temporal experiences of heading the household and caring for their siblings following their parent's/relative's death. Key dimensions of young people's caring pathways and life transitions are…
Save the Children Sweden in collaboration with the Swedish Association for Sexuality Eduation (RFSU) have recently published a report documenting children’s opinions about the services and education they receive on sexuality and HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. “Tell Me More: Children’s Rights and Sexuality in the Context of HIV/AIDS in Africa” found that young children are rarely targeted in work on HIV/AIDS prevention and sexual and reproductive health initiatives and they are rarely asked their opinions about the services they are provided. This report explores children’s…
Many children have been left as orphans as a result of HIV and AIDS. In much of Africa it is grandparents who have stepped into the care gap. In sub- Saharan Africa the percentage of orphan children estimated to be living with grandparents in 2000 was 61%1. Over 50% of children orphaned by the HIV and AIDS pandemic in Tanzania live with their grandparents. Given this situation it is important for us to begin to understand more about the lived experience of children being brought up by grandparents. The KwaWazee Project provided a unique opportunity to work with groups of children living in…
The province of KwaZulu-Natal is particularly hard hit by HIV and AIDS as a result of high prevalence coupled with high levels of poverty and low levels of service reach and resources in relation to other provinces in the country. In such communities, children face multiple risk factors to their healthy development due to the impact of HIV and AIDS and poverty. HIV and AIDS can render children vulnerable in a multitude of ways, including placing them at increased risk of experiencing negative life events, exposing them to increased poverty, losing their parent and other significant adults,…