Addressing Psychosocial Needs Helps Children Cope with Loss

Orphans and vulnerable children have emotional and social needs that can be devastating if left unmet. They need help to cope with the trauma of witnessing their parents’ deaths and the possible separation from their siblings. Many face overwhelming family responsibilities after their parents are gone. Community organizations can play a critical role in the healing process. Bereavement counseling and peer support groups give young people the opportunity to express their feelings and talk with others who are in similar situations. Recreational, sports, and arts programs allow children to play and be children again and create an opportunity for information sharing and support.

Helping Children Stay in School

An education is a child’s future. One of the most distressing effects of HIV/AIDS is the increasing numbers of children who must leave school because their parents or caregivers cannot pay their school fees. Community organizations often work to help children stay in school. They may provide school fees, cover the costs of uniforms and books, negotiate with local schools to reduce or eliminate fees, or help children get the food and counseling they need to be able to learn.

Creating Livelihood Opportunities Helps Caregivers Provide for Children

Poverty often prevents potential caregivers from being able to take in children in need. This situation makes youth vulnerable to prostitution and labor exploitation as they struggle to support themselves. Many community groups create income-generating activities for caregivers, offering microcredit loans and small business training. Others provide agricultural supplies or livestock to families in rural areas. Some provide vocational education and skills training to young people who are heads of households. In many cases, material support such as food and clothing is supplied when the head of household is too ill or too old to work.

Supporting Caregivers’ Needs Helps Children Remain in Family Care

It is difficult for those caring for young children to manage their childcare responsibilities in addition to working or attending school. Caregivers who are elderly or ill often need a respite. Childcare programs may focus on the special needs of disabled or HIV-infected children, or may simply provide relief so caregivers can continue to earn money to support their families while knowing their children are being well cared for. Support groups give caregivers the opportunity to receive psychological comfort, as well as tools for meeting the emotional and developmental needs of the children in their care.

Addressing Gender Inequality Gives Girls a Fair Chance

In the most severely affected regions, five girls between the ages of 15 and 19 are infected with HIV/AIDS for every boy in the same age group. Economic and social inequality and their roles as caretakers put girls at greater risk for dropping out of school and makes them more vulnerable to sexual exploitation and HIV infection. Many community groups give girls tools to resist unsafe sex and sexual abuse. Some programs offer shelter, counseling, and legal advice to girls who have been abused. Programs to keep girls in school recognize that the more education young women have, the more likely they are to marry later, send their own children to school, and earn income enabling them to break the cycle of poverty.

Protecting Children’s Legal Rights Safeguards Their Future

Orphaned children are at high risk of being separated from their siblings, losing their rights to family property, and being mistreated by caregivers who do not have their best interests at heart. Some groups address these risks by encouraging parents to communicate plans to ensure the best possible care for their children after their death. This can include designating caregivers and helping children get the legal identification they need to protect their rights to their family’s land and an education. Some community organizations engage in advocacy to change local and national customs and laws to ensure that children receive the protection, education, material support, inheritance, and care that is every child’s birthright.

Antiretroviral Drugs (ARVs) Prolong Parents’ Lives

Until ARVs and drugs to prevent mother-to-child transmission become more available in Africa, the HIV/AIDS-related death toll will continue to rise at an unacceptable rate, leaving increasing numbers of children in need of care and at risk for HIV infection themselves. Community-based groups play an important role at the local level in the distribution of these life-saving medications. They educate the public and mobilize grassroots movements for treatment access. They prepare home-based care and community health workers for ARV administration and identify the people most in need of immediate treatment support.