Tanga Pius T
Department of Social Work/Social Development, University of Fort Hare, PB X1314, Alice 5700, South Africa.
Afr J AIDS Res. 2013 Sep;12(3):173-183. doi: 10.2989/16085906.2013.863217.
This paper examines the impact of the weakening of the extended family on the education of double orphans in Lesotho through in-depth interviews with participants from 3 of the 10 districts in Lesotho. The findings reveal that in Lesotho the extended family has not yet disintegrated as the literature suggests. However, it shows signs of rupturing, as many orphans reported that they are being taken into extended family households, the incentive for these households being, presumably, the financial and other material assistance that they receive from the government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) which supplements household income and material wellbeing. The findings show that financial and other assistance given by the government and NGOs have resulted in conflict between the orphans and caregivers. This has also prompted many extended families to shift responsibilities to the government and NGOs. Most of the extended households provided the orphans with poor living conditions, such as unhygienic houses, poor nutrition, and little or no provision of school materials, which has had a negative impact on the education of the orphans. The combined effects of economic crisis and HIV and AIDS have resulted in extended families not being able to care for the needs of the orphans adequately, whilst continuing to accept them into their households. It is recommended that although extended families are still accepting orphans, the government should strengthen and recognise the important role played by families and the communities in caring for these vulnerable children. The government should also introduce social grants for orphans and other vulnerable children and review the current meagre public assistance (R100) it provides for orphans and vulnerable children in Lesotho. Other stakeholders should concentrate on strengthening the capacity of families and communities through programmes and projects which could be more sustainable than the current handouts given by many NGOs.
本文通过对莱索托10个区中3个区的参与者进行深入访谈，研究了大家庭弱化对莱索托双亲孤儿教育的影响。研究结果显示，在莱索托，大家庭并未如文献所表明的那样瓦解。然而，它呈现出破裂的迹象，因为许多孤儿报告称他们被带入大家庭，这些家庭这样做的动机大概是他们从政府和非政府组织（NGO）获得的经济及其他物质援助，这些援助补充了家庭收入和物质福利。研究结果表明，政府和非政府组织提供的经济及其他援助导致了孤儿与照顾者之间的冲突。这也促使许多大家庭将责任转交给政府和非政府组织。大多数大家庭为孤儿提供的生活条件很差，比如房屋不卫生、营养不良，很少或根本不提供学习用品，这对孤儿的教育产生了负面影响。经济危机以及艾滋病毒和艾滋病的综合影响，导致大家庭在继续接纳孤儿的同时，无法充分满足他们的需求。建议尽管大家庭仍在接纳孤儿，但政府应加强并认可家庭和社区在照顾这些弱势儿童方面所发挥的重要作用。政府还应为孤儿和其他弱势儿童引入社会补助金，并审查其目前为莱索托的孤儿和弱势儿童提供的微薄公共援助（100兰特）。其他利益相关者应通过一些项目来专注于增强家庭和社区的能力，这些项目可能比许多非政府组织目前提供的救济更具可持续性。
