TY - JOUR
T1 - Challenges faced by caregivers of vulnerable children in Cross River State and Abuja Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria
AU - Gana, Catherine
AU - Oladele, Edward
AU - Saleh, Mariya
AU - Makanjuola, Osagbemi
AU - Gimba, Diana
AU - Magaji, Doreen
AU - Odusote, Temitayo
AU - Khamofu, Hadiza
AU - Torpey, Kwasi
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Taylor & Francis.
PY - 2016/1/2
Y1 - 2016/1/2
N2 - This study describes the characteristics of caregivers, examines the relationships between caregivers and their children and analyzes the experiences and challenges of caring for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) faced by caregivers in the community. Using a combination of questionnaire, informant interviews and focus group discussions, data were collected from 150 female and male caregivers in Cross Rivers State and the Federal Capital Territory selected through convenient sampling. Careful analysis of the data revealed that majority of the caregivers were women, mostly widows caring for about 3–6 children. They were largely married with primary or no formal education. Most of them were engaged in petty trading and farming. Their incomes were generally low, less than 10,000 naira (approximately 52 dollars) per annum. Challenges of caring for children were listed to include; lack of access to education, nutrition, inadequate clothing and shelter and lack of psychosocial support in that order. Family supports to these caregivers have either dwindled considerably or non-existent. In the words of these caregivers, our relatives have their own problems in this era of economic crisis to bother about the problems of other people. A few of the organized supports came from non-governmental organizations and faith-based organizations in the form of handouts to meet needs of food and school supplies. These do not address the root cause of caregivers’ problems of lack of skills and income generation for sustainable care. The study recommends empowering caregivers as a sustainable approach to the problem of vulnerable children in the community.
AB - This study describes the characteristics of caregivers, examines the relationships between caregivers and their children and analyzes the experiences and challenges of caring for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) faced by caregivers in the community. Using a combination of questionnaire, informant interviews and focus group discussions, data were collected from 150 female and male caregivers in Cross Rivers State and the Federal Capital Territory selected through convenient sampling. Careful analysis of the data revealed that majority of the caregivers were women, mostly widows caring for about 3–6 children. They were largely married with primary or no formal education. Most of them were engaged in petty trading and farming. Their incomes were generally low, less than 10,000 naira (approximately 52 dollars) per annum. Challenges of caring for children were listed to include; lack of access to education, nutrition, inadequate clothing and shelter and lack of psychosocial support in that order. Family supports to these caregivers have either dwindled considerably or non-existent. In the words of these caregivers, our relatives have their own problems in this era of economic crisis to bother about the problems of other people. A few of the organized supports came from non-governmental organizations and faith-based organizations in the form of handouts to meet needs of food and school supplies. These do not address the root cause of caregivers’ problems of lack of skills and income generation for sustainable care. The study recommends empowering caregivers as a sustainable approach to the problem of vulnerable children in the community.
KW - Caregivers
KW - HIV/AIDS
KW - Orphans
KW - children
KW - vulnerable
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84960357024&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/17450128.2016.1151094
DO - 10.1080/17450128.2016.1151094
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84960357024
SN - 1745-0128
VL - 11
SP - 24
EP - 32
JO - Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies
JF - Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies
IS - 1
ER -