Sustainable Care
Whilst the HIV infection rate is estimated to have plateaued at 28% of the population, the crisis of children who continue to be orphaned by AIDS continues to grow. The traditional form of care for orphans has been orphan homes and group foster homes. There are several reasons why this type of care is not always the best solution. Primarily, African communities feel that it is their job to raise these children and that removing them from their communities is not always in the best interest of the child. Rather, the communities are looking for ways that children can stay within their circle of support and familiar environs thus decreasing the impact of loss that HIV/AIDS brings into the lives of children.
It is from this standpoint that models such as iKhaya le themba are being developed. iKhaya le themba offers support to families caring for orphans within the community enabling them to provide for children who are not their own. This support takes two forms. Firstly we have a community worker who visits with the families and other services involved with the child, acting as a link between all parties and ensuring that the interests of the child are best served. Secondly we provide these children with a safe place to play, learn and grow in an after school context. This decreases the burden of care on families caring for orphans and also gives the children access to intensive care services when these are needed.
Our model of care is holistic. We try to offer a program to the children that is integrated and multi facetted. It is true that there are many orphan services in Africa however it is unusual for them to take this integrated approach. Some provide food, others reading programs, some bible studies, others therapeutic groups. We recognise the value of all of these services in enabling a child to grow well, up as a fully contributing member of society. We hope that we will be able to share our program with services that are already providing some aspect of care and encourage them to consider the wellbeing of the whole child.
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