The aim of this study was to explore how older orphans in youth-headed households (YHHs) experience and respond to maternal death and to examine the strategies they employ to care for their younger siblings. We interviewed 18 older orphans who were purposively selected from YHHs located in informal settlements in the City of Tshwane, South Africa. After the death of their mothers, the orphans lost the family home, lost support from their relatives, lost friendships, lost educational opportunities, and lost childhood. The orphans experienced prolonged pain, sadness, anxieties, fear, loneliness despondency, and deep-rooted and persistent anger towards their mother for dying. They suffered from prolonged bereavement because they had been denied the opportunity to mourn the loss of their parents and yearned persistently but silently for their dead mothers. Dropping out of school to seek employment in order to care for their siblings was one of the main coping strategies that older orphans used. However, dropping out of school early robbed them of their future goals of getting an educational qualification. The orphans had not been prepared for taking on an adult role and were given no support or counselling to help them recover from their parents’ death. Continuous grief counselling should form an integral component of the psychosocial support services that are provided to orphans soon after the death of a parent.
The increasing number of AIDS orphans has led to an increase in child and youth headed households. Adjusting to the parenting role with no support from their extended family is a source of distress for orphans heading households. This study explored the parenting experiences of orphaned youth heading households in resource constraints environments. Methods: The participants were purposely selected from Youth-Headed Households (YHHs) located in informal settlements in the City of Tshwane, South Africa. The data analysis was inductive and followed the thematic approach. Results: Thirteen females and five males aged between 15-24 years were interviewed. The phenomenon of YHHs occured in impoverished informal settlements partly due to orphans being forcefully removed from their parents’ homes after the death of their mothers. The household heads felt morally obliged to care for their siblings, experienced parenting as burdensome, and the role adjustment from being a child to a parent difficult and demanding. The inability to provide adequate food to feed their siblings was a source of emotional stress. In an attempt to fulfil their parenting roles, they dropped out of school to find employment. Conclusion: Although the child support and foster grant are widely recognised for improving children's access to food, education, and basic services in South Africa, the lack thereof contributed to the economic hardships and vulnerability to food insecurity and hunger among orphans in YHHs. There is a need for multi-sectoral interventions to address food insecurity and, in so doing, improve the psychosocial wellbeing of orphans in YHHs.
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