“The living conditions in the Vicariate Apostolic of Ingwavuma are rural. The population experience problems related to the lack of basic amenities such as water, fuel, electricity, telephones and roads. Water is carried from taps, rivers, pumps and occasionally wells”. (McLaren et al 2002:15) The review report IDP 2005/2006 of the Hlabisa Municipality reveals that “over 60% of the households use water from unprotected springs, dams, stagnant, pools and rivers. Over 47 % of the household do not have any form of sanitation service.” (Hlabisa Municipality IDP Review Report 2005/2006: 24). Firewood and candles are used as the main source of energy. The main road is tarred the other roads are gravel. 

“There are limited employment opportunities in the area and most of the working population is migrant workers. People survive on subsistence farming, selling their produce” (McLaren et al 2002:16) and there are few handcraft initiatives that were started. Many people depend on the government social grants.

HIV/AIDS CRISIS

Emma Guest (2001), a well known researcher in HIV/AIDS in three countries (Uganda, Zambia and South Africa), aptly defines the magnitude of the HIV/AIDS and considers the following prevalence rates which emphasize the enormity of this social reality. Guest’s projections for the numbers of AIDS orphans are terrifying. By 2010 it is estimated that there will be 2 to 4.5 million AIDS orphans in South Africa. She also states that 1,700 South Africans contract HIV every day (Guest 2001: x). The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS, June 2000: 5-7) estimated that, at the end of the twentieth century, nearly 19 million people had died of AIDS around the world, leaving over 13 million orphans. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID 2000) estimated that 44 million children under 15, in 34 developing countries, will have lost one or both parents by 2010, mostly to AIDS. 

Clearly, Africa has been struck the hardest. About 70 per cent of the world’s 34 million HIV –positive people live in the south of the Sahara desert and about 95 per cent of the world’s AIDS orphans are African. In seven countries, an extraordinary one in five adults (defined as those aged 15 to 49) is thought to be infected. They are all in southern Africa. In the worst hit country, Botswana, over a third of adults are infected. In 1998, South Africa had an adult HIV prevalence of about 13 per cent. By 2000, 20 per cent were infected. That’s over four million infected people, the largest number in any country.

Guest explains why Africa has been worst hit. AIDS began in Africa, so the virus didn’t have far to travel. Other important factors that fan the rapid progression of the pandemic include, “poverty, patterns of sexual networking, cultural practices, the subordinate position of women, wars and migrant labour, together with the birth of the myth that a man can rid himself of HIV by sleeping with a virgin” (Guest 2001: 2). 

AIDS has a deep and long term impact on people infected and affected by the disease. The tragedy of AIDS starts long before the sufferers die and it includes prolonged generating problems through out the lives of the children who are orphaned. Without help these children will become the uneducated, alienated and of those living on the street.

Africa has been challenged to urgently overcome the stigma, corruption, and bureaucracy, responsible for minimizing her response to the AIDS pandemic. In Africa we remain grappling with ways to service our children’s basic needs; in most instances we do not even achieve this. 

“The epidemic is throwing millions of households into turmoil. Often the middle generation is wiped out, and children and the elderly are left to fend for themselves” (Guest 2001: ix).

Families increasingly are feeling the strain of shouldering a disproportionate burden of taking in more children when, struck by the pervasive poverty, they already live in. Most of these families live in extremely difficult circumstances.

RESPONSE TO THE CRISIS

The Roman Catholic Church champions the needs of the marginalized. There is evidence of their assisting the social, educational and spiritual development of the poor and oppressed. The Congregation has a theological commitment to work with the poor, the sick, the underprivileged, and therefore address the needs of the orphans and vulnerable children with conviction. Since the advent of HIV/AIDS, the SA Catholic Bishops Conference (SACBC) started supporting the HIV/AIDS activities in the Vicariate of Ingwavuma. The first initiative caring for children they support was Ndumo Schools’ Orphans Project. It is situated in the remote corner of the Ingwavuma Magisterial District, along the boarder with Mozambique. It was established in year 2000 by nine principals who realized that there were an increasing numbers of orphan children in their respective schools. The principals volunteered their services and time to assist orphans and vulnerable children due to AIDS.

In collaboration with the local Priest Fr. Camilius MC Grane and the nine principals formed an Orphan Care Committee to address the innumerous challenges. The goal was to address the problem of malnutrition amongst AID orphans children through distribution of food parcels. Based on records of the project, at the beginning of 2005 four hundred and one orphans and vulnerable children benefited from food parcels from the project.

The Catholic Church positioned itself in the front line in order to respond to the needs of the restructured families who were trying to cope with the orphan and vulnerable children in the rural area.

HISTORY OF THE VICARIATE ORPHANS PROJECT

I am a Religious Sister and belong to the Oakford Dominican Congregation. I was seconded by the Congregation to work at Hlabisa in 2003. Being a qualified social worker with an interest in the rights of children, their health and family concerns, I volunteered to work in the Department of Social Welfare and Population Development, now known as the Department of Social Development, Hlabisa Sub-office. I worked there from 2003 to 2004 as a volunteer social worker. The number of cases that we investigated, during that time, that involved AIDS orphans was clearly on the increase. Most of the orphaned children who received some form of service during that period were in the care of their grandmothers, aunts or a sister. It was evident that the manifestation of this social reality was typical of Africa. “In Africa, AIDS has a women’s face” as Kofi Annan, former Secretary General to the United Nations, quoted by Rajcoomar 2005: 1. 

Despite the growing nature of this social reality in Hlabisa there appeared to be no need for an orphanage, nor were there any children living on the street. I began to realize that the traditional Zulu family shoulders the burden of nursing its sick and accommodating its orphans. This intrigued me as clearly these family members did not visibly appear to have the resources needed to shoulder the responsibility of caring for the growing number of vulnerable children left in their care.

Whilst working at the Department of Social Welfare and Population I did numerous home visits and interviews with orphans and their extended families. This direct contact with the orphaned children and their primary care givers made me conscious of the extremely difficult circumstances under which they lived. I was alarmed by their suffering and their innumerable unmet needs. My experience of working with Department of Social Welfare and Population Development made me aware that the Department’s social workers were trapped into performing administrative functions and processing kinship cases and foster placements rather than developing creative interventions to benefit these families. Clearly there was little evidence of a holistic and systematic approach to strengthening the family and community’ capacities to meet the children’s needs more adequately.

Since 2005 I have rendered active service for the Vicriate Apostolic of Ingwavuma Catholic Church. My work involved advocating for the rights of the children. Challenge authorities to expedite the issuing of identity documents necessary for the application for social grants, access free education for children, and follow up the delays in Social Grant applications with the Department of Social Welfare. I Issue social relief in the form of food parcels and school uniforms to OVC. I do home visits, offer counselling, educational support. My work also involved networking with other stakeholders such the Department of Social Welfare and Population Development, various Schools, the Department of Home Affairs, the local Hospital and several Clinics, businesses, Non Governmental Organizations, Traditional Leaders, members within the community, the selection and training of volunteers child care workers from the community.  

DEVELOPMENT

The Vicariate Orphans Project initiated an orphan care project in the Vicariate Apostolic of Ingwavuma in 2005 including four parishes. Their model engages 35 childcare workers who serve their community. Each childcare worker serves a village within the district. They assist the children with school related issues, oversees the care of the health issues, serve as an informant about the needs of their families, especially of child-headed families. They offer home based care for sick people and the orphan and vulnerable children’s programme. They currently serve over 2000 OVC’s. They do home visits, offer counselling, education and support. They assist the children with food parcels and school uniforms.  

The challenges we believe the community needs to face in order to serve the children are:

• Orphans have deep-seated emotional problems.
• Orphans above 18 years of age continue to need help.
• Community members are not aware of the many ways they could assist orphans e.g. helping children with homework, keeping them company from time to time, letting them talk about their feelings, etc.
• The community has little knowledge of services that are available to these families from the government.
• The Government’s bureaucratic system creates enormous delays in the delivery of help and care to these families.
• Orphan care requires an holistic approach which is not happening in this nor other communities
• Communities need to be educated in orphan care
• Over and above life skills, orphans need to acquire skills that will enable them to earn a living after school for income generation.

The OVC’s are cared for by relatives. Women are the main providers for the upbringing of the children. The high rates of unemployment and poverty are stumbling blocks which prevent the community from meeting the basics need of the children. Many children and their Care givers risk their health and lives due to the lack of food, clothing and proper shelter. There is a serious concern that children might die and many may even have died of starvation.