Child Headed Families:- Africa Youth Minitries

Child Headed Families

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Supporting Child Headed Households

Three decades of the HIV epidemic have led to changing patterns of care and inheritance in eastern and southern Africa and the loss of the parental ‘middle generation’ has led to the emergence of new household forms, such as child- and youth-headed households.

A child-headed household is one where there are no adult carers available and children live on their own. Typically an older child will care for siblings, cousins, nephews or nieces. Such a situation is increasingly common in Uganda in areas where AIDS mortality has been evidently very high e.g. Rakai, Masaka, Lake Victoria fishing villages and landing sites, and in the Busoga region.

AFRICA YOUTH MINISTRIES AREAS OF INTERVENTION

The AIDS Epidemic in Uganda has In recent years, left countless children orphaned, vulnerable, and without extended families to care for them, resulting in an increase in child-headed households. With the existence of child-headed households, it is evident that traditional coping mechanisms and extended family systems have been stretched far beyond capacity.

Africa Youth Ministries support to Orphaned and vulnerable Children in our projects for the past 17 years include:

  • Training in malaria prevention and provision of insecticide-treated mosquito nets.
  • Regular health check-ups, meeting emergency medical needs and HIV counselling and testing.
  • Economic empowerment, Skills training and start-up materials for income-generating activities.
  • Household provisions so that beneficiaries can meet their basic needs for safe water, cooking etc. including saucepans, kettles, plates, cups, basins, jerry cans, charcoal stoves, charcoal, lamps, trays and cutlery, beddings, mattresses etc
  • Personal hygiene provisions including sanitary pads, soap powder, vaseline and washing powder.
  • Text books for children attending secondary school and studying for O and A levels as well as support for transport to get to school.
  • Support with rent for children moved into new, safe accommodation.
  • Christmas parties and fun and learning activities in school holidays.
  • Psycho Social Support through Sports For Social Change and Art For Social Change projects
  • Building of low cost houses for Orphaned Children and Grand Mothers
  • Psychosocial support for child-carer families such as peer support groups for child-carers.
  • Education, information, training and support for child-carers to care for older and ill family members, through home-based care programs.
  • Education of principals and teachers about carers financial and scheduling constraints and enforced legislation to make school more accessible.