Vulnerable People

Providing support to vulnerable people is essential for the growth of any country. In South Africa, where the HIV/AIDS epidemic has taken a tremendous toll on all aspects of society, it is imperative to implement programmes that will provide orphans with a chance to access education, good health and fundamentally, survival. Protecting and promoting the rights of children and people with disabilities requires collaborative effort from government, non-governmental organisations, community based organisations as well as corporations.

An estimated 300 million children worldwide are subjected to violence, exploitation and abuse including the worst forms of child labour in communities, schools and institutions; during armed conflict; and to harmful practices such as female genital mutilation/cutting and child marriage. Children are at increased risk of losing opportunities for accessing education, health care, nutrition, shelter and ultimately, the right to their childhood.

Disability cuts across all sectors of society. It can be a barrier to development and a cause of poverty. Disabled people have been largely marginalised from mainstream development and are typically among the very poor in developing countries. With little support they have fewer opportunities to escape poverty.

The current situation

International

• Worldwide, there are an estimated 133 million children orphaned (children aged 0–17 who have lost one or both parents). Of these, 15 million were orphaned by AIDS, more than 12 million of whom are in sub-Saharan Africa.
• There are approximately 46 million orphans in Sub Saharan Africa.
• 158 million children or one in six children (5–14 years old) in the world, is involved in child labour.
• 10% of the world population is disabled.
• 82% of disabled people live below the poverty line.
• 98% of children with disabilities do not attend school.

South Africa

• There are approximately 3.4 million orphans, defined as children who had lost a biological mother, father or both parents in South Africa. This is equal to 18.6% of all children in South Africa.
• The high incidence of HIV/AIDS leaves children especially vulnerable. Mother-to-child transmission, the possibility of being orphaned by one or both parents or having parents too ill to care for them, are a reality for hundreds of thousands of South African children.
• Approximately 122,000 children live in an estimated 60,000 child-headed households across South Africa.
• 38.2% of young children are living in households where a grandparent or a great-grandparent is the head of the household. This burden of care on the elderly, who are likely to be on a small pension or stipend, has huge implications.
• Extended families and even the wider community will often step in where a direct family member, such as a grandparent, is not available. This is a drain on scarce resources and a further burden on already impoverished communities.
• Children, especially in impoverished communities, are exposed to extremely high levels of violence.
• The prevalence rates of foetal alcohol syndrome in localised communities in the South Africa are higher than those reported anywhere else in the world.
• 79.4% of the disabled population live in households where the average annual per capita income is below R10,000 and where the maximum educational level is below Grade 12.
• A disabled person with no education has a 60% likelihood of being in the lowest income category, versus 44% for non-disabled people.
• Due to a lack of awareness and information, stigmatisation remains a problem for many disabled people, especially the mentally disabled.

SASIX considers investment in projects that:

• Provide services which strengthen the ability of families and communities to care for children.
• Promote the capacity of families and communities to respond to the psychosocial needs of orphans, vulnerable children, and their caregivers.
• Link HIV/AIDS prevention activities, care and support for people living with HIV/AIDS, and efforts to support vulnerable children.
• Focus on the most vulnerable children and address gender discrimination.
• Encourage and facilitate broad collaboration among key stakeholders in all sectors.
• Promote education on disability, in particular anti-discrimination and stigma.
• Provide inclusive work opportunities for people with disabilities.
• Address the needs of all vulnerable children in a community not just AIDS orphans.
• Support caregivers’ needs to help children remain in family care.
• Strengthen the capacity of families to protect and care for vulnerable people by providing economic, psychosocial and other support. This includes mitigating threats to basic survival – food, housing, education, health care, as well as the threats to security – and protection from exploitation and abuse.
• Ensure vulnerable people’s access to essential services including education, health care, birth registration, social grants etc.
• Have a rights-based approach to the care and protection of children and disabled people.
• Provide for the psychosocial and development needs and include counselling and training for caregivers.
• Encourage and facilitate the involvement and participation of vulnerable people in the planning and implementing of efforts to address issues related to them.
• Help uplift the poorest, most vulnerable members of communities through long-term intervention