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Children's homes face mounting problems
The Herald (Zimbabwe)
April 13, 2006

CHILDREN'S homes, just like other institutions of the disadvantaged in the country, are facing mounting problems that have seen them failing to properly carry out their operations.

These problems range from inadequate funding, influx of homeless children owing to the effects of the HIV and Aids pandemic. A recent survey revealed that children's homes were encountering the same problems that were threatening their survival outside the institutions in the country.

SOS Children's Village, one of Zimbabwe's leading orphanages, said the country's spiralling inflation was weighing heavily on its operations, resulting in the institution failing to fully provide for children in their homes. SOS spokesperson and fund-raising manager Ms Carol Smith said in the past her organisation could get enough donations, both from within and outside the country. She said the domestic base had dwindled as most of their benefactors were struggling to keep afloat.

"Our problem has been dwindling donor support probably due to the country's worsening economic climate. "Although the institution is grateful for the support that we have been getting from local companies, the amount of support has significantly gone down," she said. She said the cost of foodstuffs such as maize meal, sugar and soap has become a budgeting nightmare for the homes. "These days you can never budget for two months because by the time you go to buy these commodities they would have gone up by three to four times," she said.

Apart from the cost of feeding the children, children's homes have had to contend with the increasing numbers of children seeking shelter. With the number of people succumbing to the HIV and Aids pandemic increasing, the number of children requiring help from social welfare organisations has gone up, exerting additional pressure on family social safety nets.

Because members of the extended family cannot take care of these children, children's homes are being forced to take them, further straining their operational budgets. According to the National Aids Council, an estimated

1,4 million children below the age of 15 have lost one or both parents to Aids and the trend is likely to rise. Currently, Zimbabwe only has six registered children's homes that can hold up to 4 000 children.

A 2005 base survey by the Child Protection Society (CPS) revealed a major challenge facing orphanages was sourcing of medication as some of their children were HIV positive. Another area of difficulty was the provision of education. Most children's homes say the are battling to put the children through to tertiary education to prepare them for life after leaving the homes. Though the Government and the National Aids Council are helping orp?aned children with stationery, school uniforms and their general upkeep, the funds have been overwhelmed by demand and the soaring cost of living.

Children's homes used to rely on support from Government but they say the money was inadequate or it was failing to pay the grants in time, a situation that was compounding their plight. "The area of education has been affected by the late disbursements of some Governmen t grants", said an official of one the children's homes. Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Permanent Secretary Mr Lancaster Museka, however, dismissed these allegations, saying his ministry was honouring the grants and those who do not receive would not have made a claim.

He said although his ministry was aware of the magnitude of problems bedevilling children's homes, it could only assist them in accordance with its budgetary limits. "Children's homes are entitled to committal grants, school fees and uniforms from the department. This is in addition to administrative grants to assist with administrative overheads. "Committal and administrative grants to children's homes are reviewed annually subject to budgetary allocations availed by the Finance Ministry," he said.

He said in order to cushion the homes, the Government had come up with various programmes to assist them through this tough period. "The recently launched National Plan for Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children seeks to reach out to all orphans and other vulnerable children with basic services such as access to food, education, birth registration and health care," he said.

The HIV and Aids pandemic has also brought with it another challenge of access to medication for children living with HIV or who have full blown Aids. Ms Smith said they were receiving an increasing number of children requiring anti-retrovirals. She said: "The greatest challenge at present is the provision of anti-retroviral drugs for children that would have been certified as requiring them as the drugs are expensive."

A report by the CPS also concurred with Ms Smith, saying an increasing number of children finding their way to children's homes are HIV positive and the homes could not afford the drugs and in some cases lacked the expertise to administer them even when they can access them. It said provision of medication also required some counselling and psychological support for abused and affected chi ldren, services which requires money. Given the myriad of problems affecting children's homes in the country, there is need to promote and strengthen family and community base care to prevent the institutionalisation of vulnerable children.

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