Orphans

Orphans

Most orphans in South Africa have left home as a result of tense, dangerous environments, an inability of their parents to care for them, or death due to a disease; the most prevelant in South Africa is the HIV/AIDS virus.

Self-Sufficiency

In South Africa children in need have few options. The most prevalent is a child's decision to leave the home and live on the street. Whether by choice or abandonment by or death of parental figures, from a very early age children who are regarded as orphans live on the streets of South Africa.

These children learn street smarts early on and revert to whatever is necessary to attain food and shelter. The orphans learn independence early in their lives since they have no one else to rely on but themselves.

Dependence
The second most prevelent option for orphans is admittance to orphanages. The most common form of orphanages in South Africa is a privately run property that divides children into families of six or seven children and a parental figure (usually a mother) who has volunteered to raise the children. Within the organization, there are usually four or five families living in a community. The children have an opportunity to interact with other children who had same experiences as themselves as well as establish a strong bond between themselves and their parental figure.

Children in South Africa Street Children Health Education Violence Organizations

References

Cockburn, A. 1991. Street Children: Characteristics and Dynamics of the Problem. New York: University Press.

Peil, M. 1984. African Urban Society. New York: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Philip,D. 1991. South Africa's Segregated Cities. Indiana: University Press.

This page was created by Kylie Anderson, Stacy Diavolitsis and Matt Frankel for a Children & Society course at Tulane University. This course is taught by Professor April Brayfield. The purpose of our webpage is to describe the lives of children in South Africa. Information about children's lives in other countries is available at the Childhood Around the World homepage.

Last Updated: December 16, 2000