Global IssuesSWAZILAND: Finding Ways to Care for HIV Orphans
In the poor, drought-stricken community of Kangcamphalala, AIDS orphan Nomvula Dladla* is in tears. The 17-year-old has been told that her aunt, the only surviving relative she could live with, passed away a few hours ago of an HIV-related illness. And if she had been living anywhere else in the country, it would have made Dladla destitute.
But Dladla is in Kangcamphalala and she lives at the Cabrini Ministries' Orphans and Vulnerable Children Hostel, which also funds her schooling at St. Philip’s High School. She is one of 130 orphans whose parents died mainly of AIDS-related illnesses who live here. Twelve of the orphans are infected with HIV and they are on anti-retroviral therapy.
The faith-based organisation is an oasis of hope in the community which has an unemployment rate of about 90 percent. According to sister Barbara Staley, the Cabrini Ministries director of childcare, half of the 6,000 people tested for HIV in the area since 2004 have tested positive.
'This has resulted to an overwhelming number of orphans in this area,' said Staley. She said Cabrini Ministries established the hostel to provide a safe home for the AIDS orphans.
Save for establishing neighbourhood care points, facilities where AIDS orphans are given food and basic education during the day, the government has not come up with a solution that will address the issue of child-headed households. There are 130,000 orphans and vulnerable children in Swaziland and most do not have relatives to live with, making them vulnerable to abuse such as rape.
For instance, said Staley, when Dladla’s parents died of AIDS-related illnesses when she was 10, the girl lived with her uncle who made her sell traditional beer and dance for the patrons at his homestead. Later, she was taken in by her HIV-positive aunt.
'As a result she (Dladla) was addicted to alcohol because she used to drink with the patrons and that’s how she got hooked. We had to help her overcome her addiction,' said Staley. 'Other girls end up being victims of sexual abuse.'
Although Dladla said she would have liked to live with her aunt with whom she had a very close relationship, she preferred to stay at the hostel because here she has regular meals, and somebody to help her with her homework. These were things her sickly aunt could not offer her.
'Everybody is warm here and it feels like home but, of course, I missed my aunt,' Dladla said sadly.
Rural health motivators, community women who encourage people to lead a healthy lifestyle, nominate about 1,000 needy children in the area for admission to the hostel. Cabrini Ministries further assesses these children according to their needs. Staley said some children need a comprehensive care which includes boarding, meals, education, health services, psychosocial support.
Some children are assisted with tuition, uniforms and transport fees to and from school. The organisation also builds houses for those children whose homes are dilapidated and provides medication, including ARVs, for those children who require it.
'We categorise the children according to their needs and take about 150 kids to the hostel while the others are assisted under the guardianship of their families,' said Staley.
The organisation spends about 170,000 dollars a year on this programme. They receive about 700 dollars in funding from government and the remainder from international donors.
Staley insists though that this is not an orphanage but a hostel where Cabrini Ministries staff raise the children with the assistance of relatives, neighbours and the community. The children spend all their school days at the hostel, which is within St. Philip’s Primary School compound, and on holidays they visit their families. Staley said the Cabrini Ministries does not want the children to lose their cultural values and ensure that they interact as much as possible with their families and communities. Although this organisation is based on the Catholic faith, the children are not forced to convert.
'Parents, relatives or guardians are free to visit the children at the hostel and we allow the kids to go home for family events such as weddings and funerals,' said Sharon Singleton, the psychosocial/psychosocial officer.
If there is a problem with a child such as misbehaviour, she said, the parent or guardian is called in to help talk to the child.
'The guiding principle is to work as co-parents with the child’s family in order to foster existing family ties, and thereby strengthen the entire community fabric,' said Staley.
When they return home during school holidays they take food hampers comprising of maize meal, beans, cooking oil, candles and soap to last them for a week. Cabrini Ministries drop off food hampers for the remaining two weeks at the children’s homesteads.
That is why the closing of schools is always good news at a Maziya homestead where three of the six children live at the hostel. 'At least when the children are home we have something to eat because they receive food from the hostel,' said Cebisile Sithole, an aunt to the children.
While the 29-year-old is not infected with HIV her two sisters and mother are on anti-retroviral therapy. Food is a scarce commodity in this family because none of them are working. And she is happy that at least three children are taken care of at the hostel.
*Name has been changed to protect the identity of the minor.
© Inter Press Service (2010) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service