CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

1.0 Introduction

The Uganda Demographic and Health Survey (2006) defined an orphan as a child below the age of 18 or below age 15 with one or both parents deceased. The UDHS (2006) further defined a vulnerable child as one below the age of 18 or below age 15 who has a chronically ill parent or who lives in household where an adult has been chronically ill or has died in the 12 months preceding the survey. However, conventionally a vulnerable child is one who , when compared to other children using a selected set of criteria, is at a great risk of suffering significant physical, emotional or mental harm that may result in the child’s  human rights not being fulfilled. Based on this definition, almost all children in Uganda are vulnerable. With 57% of our population below the age of 18, Uganda is a young country and there is no doubting that our future lies with our children, however the number of orphans in Uganda is high currently estimated by UNICEF, (2020) at  2,000,000 that is 4% of Uganda’s population, while the number of children leaving in poverty However UBOs, 2020 estimated that Orphans and vulnerable children in Uganda is estimated at, more than 4.500,000 children in Uganda, however the majority of orphans were paternal orphans living with their mothers. According to UNAIDS report of 2020, 1,700,000 orphans in Uganda is attributed to HIV/AIDS.

This means that the surviving mothers of orphans are a key population whose health and wellbeing will be paramount to the survivability of orphans today. Further statistics by UBOS, 2012 reveal that 205,272 were children with disability, 461,631 children labourers, 41,822 children heading households, 121,723 girl-children who were mothers and 944,875 idle children. The National Strategic Programme Plan of Interventions for Orphans and other Vulnerable Children (2004) revealed that there are an estimated 10,000 street children living in the municipalities and capital city of Uganda; 10,000-15,000 children living in camps in the northern District as a result of armed conflict; and an increasing number of other forms of vulnerability arising out of poverty; break up of marriages, domestic violence and divorce. Therefore, this chapter presents the general introduction of the study with particular focus on the background of the study, statement of the problem, research questions, study objectives, study scope, significance as well as the conceptual framework and the definitions of key concepts.

• Background of the Study

The orphans and vulnerable children face increasing challenges in accessing socio-economic and legal services. According to the situational analysis of OVCS in Uganda conducted in 2009 by the Ministry of Gender, Labor and Social Development, 96% of the children are vulnerable due to mostly orphanage as well as the unconducive social, economic and political environment in which they are growing.in line with the above UNICEF, (2016) Indicates that over the last three decades, the world has witnessed unprecedented upheavals manifesting through civil conflicts, epidemics and natural calamities of varying intensity and scale. As a result, many lives have been lost and maimed, leaving behind thousands of helpless dependents. Children in particular, have become susceptible to social and economic hardships due to loss of parents, illness in the home, displacement and often involuntary neglect. At the end of 2003, there were an estimated 143 million orphans in the world and by 202O The number has increased, according to According to UNICEF (the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund), there are roughly 153 million orphans worldwide (UNICEF, 2020), A major contributing factor to these figures is considered to be HIV and AIDS, without which the global number would be declining. In Sub-Saharan Africa, AIDS is said to have increased the number of children orphaned from all causes from 30.9 million in 1990 to 48.3 million by the end of 2005, however the number has reduced that an estimated 32.1 million orphans by 2020 (NAR, 2020).

The rights of the OVCS are grossly abused and seeking redress is particularly hard given their level of vulnerability. Striking poverty, disease burden especially HIV/AIDS and the political unrests worldwide continue to leave many children orphaned and greatly vulnerable (Pillay, 2020) Although there has been increased commitment on the side of the government and NGOs to protect the rights of OVCS as explicitly indicated in the National Orphans and other vulnerable children policy (2004) and the National Strategic Programme Plan of Interventions for Orphans and other Vulnerable children (2004) orphans worldwide are facing challenges in accessing basic needs (Ntuli et al.,  2020).

The rights of children are internationally, regionally and nationally recognized as indicated by the various legal and policy instruments like the Convention on the rights of a child (UN 1989), the African Charter on the rights and welfare of the child (1999) as well as the various national constitutions and Acts of parliaments worldwide. Besides being entitled to the whole set of rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) as well as other international, regional conventions and treaties, children need to be accorded special rights to facilitate their proper growth and development in all aspects of life (UNICEF, 2014). Although the above legal instruments provide a universal guide to the protection and advancement of the rights of the children in general, there has been great realization for the need to enhance the protection of the rights of orphans and other vulnerable children at all levels of socio-economic and political organization, With several studies done all around the globe showing the increasing number of OVCS due to striking poverty, diseases especially HIV/AIDS as well as armed conflicts, putting up special avenues through which the rights of OVCS can be advanced is of paramount importance

(Kibachio, and Mutie, 2020).

Due to the disproportionate presence of the three factors (poverty, disease and armed conflict) on which the high numbers of OVCS is blamed on in the world, undoubtedly Africa has the highest numbers of OVCs, On the national scene, while the accurate statistics on vulnerable children is not known with certainty, Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) (2010) shows that orphans constitute 14.1% of the 17.1 million of the children are under 18 years. Despite the inability to accurately estimate the number of vulnerable children in the country, the poverty levels, disease burden as well as the country’s political turmoil especially in the North and not forgetting the many natural disasters that have hit the country in the recent past, the level of vulnerability the children are exposed to is steadily increasing (Kalibala & Elson, 2009). The 2009 situational analysis of OVCS indicate that 96% of the children in the country are vulnerable and that 51% of these are critically vulnerable. Among these are; neglected children, children with disabilities, street children, child labors, children in child and single mother headed households, children from very poor households and children in areas of armed conflicts. Due to their predicament, OVCS are powerless and consequently their rights are grossly violated and hence the need for legal aid services. In most developed countries and a few developing ones like South Africa, Kenya and Ghana, it is the duty of the state to provide for OVCs key services like Education, Health and legal aid services in the national budgetary allocations .

NGOs and faith based organizations are playing a big role in providing care for orphans and supporting families using a variety of approaches. However, although the scope of needs and challenges faced by orphans is really wide, not many of the NGOs and FBOs undertake interventions in more than one area. Consequently, their services remain largely limited in scope. NGOs operate with different principles, have limited outreach capacities, are partial, cost-ineffective and do not reach the poorest of the poor. Loss of parents due to HIV/AIDS is the leading contributor of OVCs, other factors include poverty and preventable diseases. This places children in compromising situations like taking lead as family heads to meet the day-day needs (food, education, clothing and shelter) of their siblings, taking care of their sick parents (Ojo and Olayinka 2019).  In Uganda the care of OVCs has been observed as one having many gaps and many of the orphans are left with no specific care , UBOs, 2019 report indicates that OVCs are most likely not going to be employed, they can’t afford proper medical care and also they lack the basic despite the presence of NGOs in Uganda . It is against this Background that this study intends to assess the effects of NGOs on the resilience of OVCs in Mbuya parish a case of Reach out Mbuya HIV/AIDS Initiative.

1.2 Problem Statement

The striking poverty, disease burden especially HIV/AIDS and the political unrests worldwide continue to leave many children orphaned and greatly vulnerable. According to the situational analysis of OVCS in Uganda conducted in 2009 by the Ministry of Gender, Labor and Social Development, 96% of the children are vulnerable due to mostly orphanage as well as the socially, economically and politically unconducive environment in which they are growing. Within this environment, the rights of the OVCS are grossly abused and seeking redress is particularly hard given their level of vulnerability. Although there has been increased commitment on the side of the government and NGOs to protect the rights and enhance their resilience, OVCS are missing out on key basic needs and this therefore has led to the questioning on the relevance of NGOs towards the resilience. The UBOS 2012, Uganda had population 19,566,000 as children and 52% of the children under 15 years. The OVCs are faced with multidisciplinary challenges ranging from health, education, food security, legal services, and psychosocial support. About 11% of total children under the age of 15 in Uganda are orphaned and 38% of the children under the age of 15 are vulnerable (UDHS 2011), However, despite the efforts by NGOs OVCs are failing to be resilient towards the challenges brought about by the HIV/AIDS as indicated by the Uganda has more than 2,048,000 children aged between five years and 17 years engaged in child labour (Ubos UNHS 2016/17).Additionally Uganda has the second youngest population in the world with 78 per cent being young people less than 30 years old and 49.3 per cent being children less than 15 years (UBOS, 2019), however most of the orphans in Uganda are facing challenges with acquiring basic needs. This therefore further indicates that the Presence of NGOs has not aided OVCs much to be in position to be resilient and overcome the challenges brought about by HIV/AIDS, It is against this Background that this study intends to Assesses the effects of NGOs on the resilience of OVCs in Mbuya parish A case study of Reach Out Mbuya HIV/AIDS Initiative.

• Objectives of the Study

This section includes the; general objective and specific objectives.

General Objective

To assess the effect of NGOs on the resilience of OVCs in Mbuya Parish, a case of Reach Out Mbuya HIV/AIDS initiative

Specific Objectives

• To examine the NGO activities on OVC resilience at Reach out Mbuya HIV/AIDS Initiative.
• To investigate the challenges that NGOs face in while supporting OVC resilience at Reach out Mbuya HIV/AIDS Initiative.
• To determine the strategies to curb down the challenges NGO face while supporting OVC resilience at Reach out Mbuya HIV/AIDS Initiative.

• Research Questions
  • What are the NGO activities on OVC resilience at Reach out Mbuya HIV/AIDS Initiative?
  • What are the challenges that NGOs face in while supporting OVC resilience at Reach out Mbuya HIV/AIDS Initiative?
  • What are the strategies to curb down the challenges NGO face while supporting OVC resilience at Reach out Mbuya HIV/AIDS Initiative?
• Scope of the Study

The scope of this study is determined by the time scope, conceptual scope as well as geographical scope.

1.5.1 Content scope

The study will concentrate on the following variables; NGO activities on OVC resilience at Reach out Mbuya HIV/AIDS Initiative, the challenges that NGOs face in while supporting OVC resilience at Reach out Mbuya HIV/AIDS Initiative and the strategies to curb down the challenges NGO face while supporting OVC resilience at Reach out Mbuya HIV/AIDS Initiative.

1.5.2 The geographical scope

The study will be carried out at Reach Out Mbuya HIV/AIDS Initiative that operates within Mbuya parish, Nakawa Division kampala district.

1.5.3    Time Scope

The period of data to be considered from Reach out Mbuya HIV/AIDS Initiative will be from 2015 to 2020; this is because, during this period, there has been an increase on the number of OVCs in the streets of Kampala and the NGOs also have increased in Kampala.

• Significance of the Study

To the policy makers at ministry and local government levels, findings may inform revision of existing policies and or development of new policy concepts. To the advocators in the support of OVCS, findings may serve as empirical basis for programming and resource allocation implementers. In the academic field, the study results will serve a reference source and as a basis for subsequently researches in related areas.

The study findings will be so significant in academic, policy and service delivery circles. In the first place data on the available NGOs that will be captured during the study will be instrumental in linking up service users and providers. This will be possible as the study will avail information on NGOs as well as capturing the views of the users. This will be a useful guide in formulating and implementing appropriate reforms to improve accessibility to NGOs services not only in the study area but also in Uganda as a whole.

Besides, the factors influencing accessibility to legal aid services that will be captured will go a long way in vividly bringing out the barriers to accessibility to legal aid services. This has the potential of informing policy makers and service providers on how best to overcome the barriers and improve on service provision.

From the academic point of view, the study will make a useful contribution onto the pool of knowledge about the phenomenon under study. The findings of this study will generate useful debates which may in future provide the basis for further research.

• Justification of the study

Though there has been numerous research studies on assessing the effect of NGOs on the resilience of OVCs, none has been so exhausting and none has been specifically on in Mbuya Parish, a case of Reach Out Mbuya HIV/AIDS initiative. Some of the studies on orphans and vulnerable children like the 17 country assessment of sub Saharan Africa, (“OVC RAAAP Initiative, USAID, UNICEF, UNAIDS, and WFP” 2005:3), ‘Sub Saharan Orphan crisis” (Lombe and Ochumbo 2008), 20 country research by World vision Switzerland 2008 in Sub Saharan Africa, of which Uganda was inclusive, (Belshaw and Coyle 2001) on 14 NGOs and 28 Projects in Ethiopia. The 15 districts assessment by (Ministry of Finance 2006: 23) on poverty reduction which would have drawn the best picture because the study included the role of NGOs but looked at men and women households and not OVC households (Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development November 2006: 22).

The design, implementation, and evaluation of community-based interventions for orphans and vulnerable children continue to be a key gap in the evidence base” was recently echoed by Schenk in their study in 2010 (Schenk et al. 2010: 325).   There was a need therefore for a study to analyse the strategies of NGOs and see how they are enhancing child-wellbeing in OVC households in Uganda. It was also important to ask questions about NGOs interventions to beneficiaries who posses right to social protection on how effective are NGOs strategies. This study will specifically enable the government have necessary critical information specifically the OVCs situation in Mbuya parish.

• Conceptual Framework

The gross abuse of children’s rights, lack of educational resources, and general lack of basic needs due to their vulnerability amplifies the need to question their resilience. Therefore, in order to achieve the objectives of this study as stated above, the study variables will investigate the following variables in a systematic pattern of analysis presented in figure 1.1 below.

This study will investigate the relationship between the effects of NGOs (Independent variable) and resilience of OVCs (dependent variables) by orphans and vulnerable children. The dimensions of effects of NGOs include; provision of education, provision of psychosocial support, provision of health services and provision of food security while the resilience of OVCs is measured on; the ability to attend school, ability to have good shelter, quality health services and ability to have legal services.

• Definition of Key Terms

Vulnerable child:      The UDHS (2006) further defined a vulnerable child as one below the age of 18 or below age 15 who has a chronically ill parent or who lives in household where an adult has been chronically ill or has died in the 12 months preceding the survey.

Orphan:                     Any person who is below the age of 18 years, who has lost one or both parents due to death (MoGL&SD, 2009).

: Any child below the age of 18 years who has lost one or both parents to any cause (World vision 2000).

Violence against children:    All actions or omissions/inactions that harm children’s physical and emotional wellbeing. It includes sexual, physical, emotional abuse, child neglect and abandonment, subjection of children to hazardous work, conscription in armed conflict and child sacrifice (Hunter & Williamson, 2000).

Vulnerable child:                  A child who is suffering and/or is likely to suffer any form of abuse or deprivation and is therefore in need of care and protection;

This is a child who, based on a set of criteria when compared to other children, bears a substantive risk of suffering significant physical, emotional or mental harm.

In HIV/AIDS programing, all children affected and infected with HIV/AIDS           are termed as orphan and vulnerable children (OVC) (UNAIDS 2002).

Children:

Children are defined as boys and girls below the age of 18 years. An orphan is a child below the age of 18 years who has lost one or both parents.

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 Introduction

This section of the study presents the findings in line to the study objectives; to examine the NGO activities on OVC resilience at Reach out Mbuya HIV/AIDS Initiative, to investigate the challenges that NGOs face in while supporting OVC resilience at Reach out Mbuya HIV/AIDS Initiative and to determine the strategies to curb down the challenges NGO face while supporting OVC resilience at Reach out Mbuya HIV/AIDS Initiative.

2.1 To examine the NGO activities on OVC resilience at Reach out Mbuya HIV/AIDS Initiative.

Children without parents are not only among the most vulnerable members of society – their care and protection also presents a major child-care policy challenge. To date, finding the necessary resources to protect orphans has become a priority for the international aid community (Ennew 2005). This is reflected in ‘rights-based approaches’ to child welfare underpinned by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). Among other things, the UNCRC establishes standards for the fulfillment of the well-being of children without parental care. Different articles of the Convention also stipulate the provision, protection and participation of orphans and other vulnerable children in similar circumstances. These include Article 9 (on children’s right to continued contact with parents when in the care of the state); Article 10 (on family reunification if children and parents become separated by national borders); Article 20 (on the state’s responsibilities and alternative forms of care for children separated from their parents); Article 21 (on adoption); and Article 25 (on the need for periodic reviews of placements for children without parents in institutional or alternative care).

Although rights-based approaches tend to be powerful at present, they are not the only framework for the care and protection of orphans. Throughout history, different actors of development (the state, the family, charitable organizations, NGOs) have been promoting different strategies of care for orphans and vulnerable children. These strategies not only change with time, but also are dynamic according to what one might call the ‘language of development’. This paper explores the policy implications of problematic constructions of ‘global orphans’ and the challenges of their care in the contexts of deepening poverty and social inequality. It argues that policy interventions for orphans and other vulnerable children mirror globalised ideals of proper childhood that shape the discourses of care. The paper first discusses the social history of orphanhood and the ways in which orphans are viewed variably in different societies. Secondly, it explores how orphanhood is associated with victimhood, innocence, vulnerability and dependence, and examines a wide range of care interventions for orphans, including family care, institutional care, community-based care and rights-based care. Drawing on an example of a ‘globalised’ model of institutional care, namely SOS children’s villages, the paper finally examines broad challenges of poverty and marginalization facing children in low-resource countries and suggests some policy options to ensure the well-being of children in need from a rights-based perspective

The NGOS provide legal aid services to OVC inorder to enable them be resilient to the HIV/AIDS.  Legal aid is provided by countries that recognize the social obligation to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor which is a fundamental human right enshrined in various international, regional and national human rights instruments (UNODC, 2011). Legal aid service provision is usually distinguished as primary legal aid which involves legal representation, legal advice, mediation and legal counseling. On the other hand, secondary legal aid involves human rights training, legal awareness, law reform, legal research and advocacy (Policy project, 2005). The world over, legal aid service provision is delivered using a number of models among which include the Judi care model, state attorney model and a community legal clinic model.  Under the judi-care model, the services of a private lawyer and law firms are used whereas under staff attorney model, a salaried lawyer is employed. Under the community legal clinic model, a variety of legal services are provided to a specific community by agencies (Aravinda, 2006). Aravinda furthers mentions that whereas in most developed countries, it is the duty of the state to provide for legal aid services in the national budgetary allocations for the justice sector, in most developing world, the provision of legal aid services has been largely left to civil society organizations and NGOs that rely on external donations.

Available literature indicates that different states employ different models of legal aid provision although a good number of them use a mixture of these models. In the United States for example a Legal Service Corporation was created to provide federal funding for legal aid services. The federal government and some states have offices of public defenders that assist indigent defendants, while other states have systems for outsourcing the work of private lawyers. This is however limited to criminal cases. Legal aid for civil cases on the other hand is provided by public interest law firms and community legal aid clinics which very often impose income and resource ceilings as well as restrictions on the types of cases they will take, because there are always too many potential clients and limited resources (World Law Direct, 2009).

In England and Wales, legal aid is administered by the Legal Services Commission, and is available for most criminal cases, as well as many types of civil cases.  Whereas criminal legal aid is generally provided through private firms of solicitors and barristers in private practice, civil legal aid is provided through solicitors and barristers in private practice but also non-lawyers working in law centres and not-for-profit advice agencies due to the limited number of public defenders (Storer, 2007).

In Australia, legal aid is mainly delivered through State and Territory legal aid commissions (LACs), which are independent statutory agencies established under State and Territory legislation. The Australian Government funds the provision of legal aid for Commonwealth family, civil and criminal law matters under agreements with State and Territory governments and LACs. A grant of assistance legal representation may be assigned to either a salaried in house lawyer or referred to a private legal practitioner. The Australian Government and most State and Territory Governments also fund community legal centers, which are independent, non-profit organizations which provide referral, advice and assistance to people with legal problems. Additionally, the Australian Government funds financial assistance for legal services under certain statutory schemes and legal services for Indigenous Australians (Coumeralos et al, 2006).

Sanganyi (2012) did a study on challenges facing cash transfers for orphans and vulnerable children programme: The case of Kasarani, Nairobi, Kenya. The findings showed that orphans are more likely to be cared for by households – those that have the means to take on, feed and educate additional members if there is a guarantee of additional support, like the OVC-CT programme. The study recommended that a number of policy initiatives need to be reviewed and clarified, and guidelines for implementation and enforcement need to be drawn up and disseminated to the relevant authorities. Key policy areas that need attention include: inheritance rights; access to education, medical services and accommodation.

Gitobu (2012), studied implications of cash transfer programmes for social relations: Kenya‟s Cash transfer for orphans and vulnerable children. The study found that the programme has resulted in social capital gains within beneficiary communities; it has also had perverse effects that have simultaneously engendered threats to social cohesion. The negative outcomes are largely seen to emanate from programme processes, particularly the small percentage of households targeted. Ultimately the study highlights the necessity for directing focus towards a comprehensive social protection system with a universal orientation to maximise benefits of transfer programmes. Meanwhile, there is need to expand the evaluative space to take cognizance of the range of impacts engendered by such programmes, including relational outcomes.

2.2 To investigate the challenges that NGOs face in while supporting OVC resilience at Reach out Mbuya HIV/AIDS Initiative.

The numbers of orphans in the world would be declining if it were not for HIV/AIDS (UNICEF, 2004).  By 2010 UNICEF estimates the number of children orphaned by AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa to reach 15.7 million. The UN states that “the worst is yet to come”, as young adults now living with HIV eventually develop AIDS and die, they will leave behind large number of orphans (UNICEF, 2008; UNICEF, 2003). The number of orphans generally increases with age, hence older orphans greatly outnumber younger ones (UNICEF, 2004).  These children will suffer long before they lose their parents.  They may miss out on their education as they may be taken out of school to care for their sick parents. This is especially a problem for girls as they are often the first ones to be given the responsibility of caring for the sick. Studies show  that  in addition  to be deprived of  their education,   these children often  live  in households with less food security and have a higher risk of suffer from anxiety and depression (Richter, 2004). Orphaned children may also be forced to relocate and in this process lose their social networks and the community they are familiar with (UNICEF, 2008). There is no doubt that the children orphaned by AIDS and the problems they face needs attention and solutions. However, this focus on children orphaned by AIDS has put the sufferings of orphans of other reasons in the shadow (Foster, 2005), as donor and aid campaigns have often been directed at solely helping children orphaned by AIDS.

Inequality is a complex and multi-faceted phenomenon. Grusky and Szelenyi (2007) believe that inequality is multi-dimensional to the extent that conventional studies can hardly exhaust its many forms. The negative impacts of inequality are numerous on many segments of the society but have great impact on women and children. In addition, policies associated with economic restructuring use existing patriarchal assumptions about women’s labor and endurance abilities, and therefore reproduce inequalities. In Nigeria, children who need special protection on account of being in vulnerable situations such as orphanhood and homelessness are observably increasing due to growing levels of poverty and the poor socio-economic situation of the country.

Interrelated social, cultural, political and economic forces which have in recent times over-stretched the coping capacities of families, communities, and governments fuel the above disturbing trend. The family, being the primary socialization agent and a safety net for the care and support of the underprivileged including orphans and vulnerable children, no longer performs its functions. This is a clear indication of social disorganization in the society. This has a number of implications on the children, the communities and the society. A vulnerable child has less access to nutrition, health care, and education. In addition, report of the Rapid Assessment Analysis Action Planning (RAAAP, 2004) indicates that a vulnerable child is less likely to enroll in school, and more likely drop out of school to engage in risky sexual behavior, and engage in substance abuse. Often such child is exposed to abuse, exploitation and social exclusion.

Child Rights Protection  issues cover a wide range of areas bordering on obligations of, all levels and tiers of government, parents, families, communities, civil society groups and other stakeholders, to orphans and vulnerable children in the society. Ladan (2006) observes that obligations to observe, respect, promote and protect the survival, development, protection and participation of OVC’s rights are grossly lacking when viewed against the various manifestations of child abandonment, exposure to moral danger, maltreatment, abuse and all forms of exploitation in Nigeria. The result is OVC are vulnerable to victimization and child-trafficking, ritual killings, drug abuse, sexual/labor and economic exploitations and recruitment as agents of destruction in times of civil disturbance. In such situations, they also are deprived of their rights to life, human dignity, qualitative and quantitative education, health and access to health care services, growing up within a family with care, love and affection, and to a safe or secure environment free from neglect, violence, exploitation and all forms of abuse.

There are over 12 million Orphans in Sub-Saharan Africa, where it is estimated that 9% of all children have lost at least one parent to AIDS. The UN Children‟s Fund (UNICEF, 2008) estimated that the number of OVC in sub-Saharan Africa would climb to more than 16 million orphans and vulnerable children by 2011. In Kenya alone, it is estimated that there are 1,100,000 Orphans, with a similar number in South Africa, Tanzania, Malawi and Zimbabwe (UNICEF 2008). This is a relatively high number as it comprises almost 10% of all children in Kenya (UNICEF, 2008). The same report also suggested that the heaviest concentrations of both vulnerable children and children orphaned by AIDS lie in the age segment 10-14 years old (48.6% for boys and 46.8% for girls).

A child who loses one or both parents to AIDS might also be infected with HIV.  Orphans often find themselves battling the very disease that took their parents (World Health Organization, & UNICEF, 2010). Orphans are also at greater risk of malnourishment and stunted growth. Young orphans, healthy or not, are often forced into adult roles long before they should be. An eldest child who loses parents to HIV/AIDS might carry the heavy responsibility of caring for brothers and sisters. The loss of one or both parents has serious consequences for a child‟s access to basic necessities such as shelter, food, clothing, health and education. Many Orphans find they need to contribute financially to the household, in some cases driving them to the streets to work, beg or seek food. AIDS orphans often leave school to attend to ill family members, work or to look after young siblings. Many children already function as heads of households and as caregivers and need to be supported as part of the solution.

2.3 To determine the strategies to curb down the challenges NGO face while supporting OVC resilience at Reach out Mbuya HIV/AIDS Initiative.

The assumption in international social work and children’s rights is that families are the best place for children’s rights and well-being to be secured. The duty of a state is to support families in doing this by providing accessible social services and social protection (Articles 18, 26 and 27 particularly), as well as ensuring the integrity of the family (as, for example, in Articles 7, 8, 9 and 10). The role of social networks of families in looking after parentless children is immense. In sub-Saharan Africa, the extended family system has for generations met most of the basic needs of children and provided a protective social environment in which they could grow and develop (McKerrow and Verbeek 1995; Nyambedha et al. 2003; Verhoef 2005). Children are purposefully sent to live with relatives in normal times for reasons that are different from resolving the problems of orphanhood and child destitution (Kayongo-Male 1984). In periods of crisis, kinship systems have dictated various social, economic and religious obligations towards the family lineage, as well as the social and material rights of the parentless children within the lineage. Consequently, on the death of the biological parents, the continued care of a child within the extended family has been guaranteed (McKerrow and Verbeek 1995).

The extended family system care for most of these children, but there are still many that are left on their own (Ahiadeke, 2003). Like in the rest of Africa, the functioning of the extended family system is changing. It has for generations functioned as a safety-net for orphans and vulnerable children, but due to modernization this is changing. Migration to urban areas creates a distance between people and their extended family and people tend to lose their feeling of responsibility towards more distant family members. The growing idea of the nuclear family also contributes to the notion of the family consisting of mainly mother, father and children, leaving out “the rest”. Poverty is also a major reason why orphans are rejected by their extended families. The share number of orphans are becoming too much to handle for poor households. They simply do not have the resources to care for them. The children that have been taken in by their extended families sometimes risk abuse and neglect, but as a result of poverty they also risk being sent out to steal or practice prostitution. The latter is especially a problem for girls. Some children are also denied access to basic education, proper healthcare and nutrition (Ahiadeke, 2003). At community level, various community groups have developed a wide range of responses through their own initiative and also through support by NGOs working in their locality.

However, the number of orphans in many African countries is increasing rapidly, placing a heavy strain on traditional child care within families and kinship systems. A careful analysis of the research on the capacity and sustainability of extended families points to two polarized theories of care (see Abebe and Aase 2007 for details on this). The first theory is captured by the ‘social rupture thesis’, in which the traditional family structure is seen as being either overstretched or as having collapsed so that it is no longer considered capable of coping with the burden of caring for orphans (e.g. Guest 2003; Kalebba 2004; UNICEF 2004). This perspective is typified mainly by international organizations like UNICEF (2001), which argue that contemporary orphanhood has outstripped the capacity of African societies to offer any form of alternative care, leaving growing numbers of children to fend for themselves:

Community-based care; The mid-1980s saw the emergence of another important approach, namely community-based care, as an alternative for taking care of orphans in the contexts of poverty and impoverishment. As noted above, the role of the state in the care of orphans in many parts of the world is minimal. Following independence from colonial rule, many African countries attempted to develop social welfare programs for disadvantaged social groups based on the Western, modern, welfare-state model. These programs were propelled by modernization theories that saw the increased institutionalization of poor children (orphans, abandoned children, street children etc.) in foster homes and large-scale orphanages. The period also witnessed the expansion of schools and modern educational institutions. However, a lack of resources and reductions in social spending associated with foreign debt and structural adjustment programmes significantly hindered these developments. With recurrent civil war and economic recession, and also increasing pressure from the state for taxes, organized charitable NGOs and institutions emerged. The functions of these NGOs have been to provide a home where infants are brought up, to serve as ‘alternative actors’ in welfare and development, and to ‘save’ the failed role of the state in child protection.

Community-based care refers to local, community-driven care arrangements carried out with different levels or degrees of community ownership and participation (Ansell and Young 2004; Sanou et al. 2009). Like care by or within extended families, it draws on the resources and strengths of communities in mobilizing resources and takes on the responsibility of administering them (Harber no date; Kalanidhi 2004; White 2002). The approach is also driven by the principle that care should be endogenous, participatory and needs-oriented, and that it should fulfil the basic needs of families and households (Friedmann 1996; 36). Ansell and Young (2004) identify three variants of community-based care for orphans and vulnerable children: care within the community (i.e. not in institutions); care organized at the community level, where service provision (e.g. food, education, health care) is coordinated through the use of already existing traditional community institutions, and religious-based and village based committees; and care by the community, where resources (time, labour, money) are mobilized from community members in order to support orphans (see Sanou et al. 2009). ‘Empowerment’ and ‘participation’ are unique features of community-based care, although as Skovdal et al. (2009) point out, they are both contested and are never straightforward approaches, since they problematically suggest the cooperation and cohesiveness of local community members and that there is an identifiable, stable community ready for participation (Ansell and Young 2004). As Campbell and Murray (2004) further note, residents of geographical communities do not always share common identities and values. This could leave, for example, some community-based cash-transfer programs open to nepotism, especially if these approaches are scaled-up to address the rising demand for material interventions (Skovdal et al. 2009).

REFERENCES

ibachio, D.N. and Mutie, P.M., 2020. Challenges affecting orphans and vulnerable children (OVCS) in Embu County. International Journal of Sociology, 2(1), pp.18-36.

Kibachio, D.N. and Mutie, P.M., 2020. Challenges affecting orphans and vulnerable children (OVCS) in Embu County. International Journal of Sociology, 2(1), pp.18-36.

NAR, C. (2020). 2020 Orphan Report. Human Rights.

Ntuli, B., Mokgatle, M. and Madiba, S., 2020. The psychosocial wellbeing of orphans: The case of early school leavers in socially depressed environment in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. Plos one, 15(2), p.e0229487.

Pillay, J., 2020. Social justice implications for educational psychologists working with orphans and vulnerable children in South Africa. School Psychology International, 41(1), pp.37-52.