Barriers to the community support of orphans and vulnerable youth in Rwanda

Abstract

A consistent theme in the literature on interventions for orphans and vulnerable children is the need for community-based care. However, a number of socio-cultural factors may impede community response. In this study, mixed methods are used to elucidate community-level barriers to care for orphans and vulnerable youth in Rwanda. Data from a large survey of youth heads of household on perceptions of marginalization from the community and the factors predicting that marginalization are considered in light of additional data from a survey of adults who volunteered to mentor these youth and focus groups with both community adults and youth heads of household. Results highlight how orphans' impoverished condition, cause of parents' death, and community perceptions of orphan behavior play a role in the marginalization of orphaned youth in Rwanda. Evidence is also offered to show that targeting humanitarian assistance to vulnerable youth may inadvertently lessen the level of community support they receive and contribute to their marginalization. The implications of these data for community-based program approaches are discussed.

Introduction

Community-based care is emphasized as the most sustainable and effective approach to support the 43.4 million orphans in sub-Saharan Africa (UNAIDS, UNICEF, & USAID, 2004). Though community-based care is an ambiguous concept (Ansell & Young, 2004), it implies the importance of community engagement, commitment, and initiative in the care of orphans. There are a number of social, historical and cultural factors unique to each country that influence the care that community members provide to orphans (Madhavan, 2004, Oleke et al., 2005). In countries like Rwanda, where the prevalence of “double orphans” (those who have lost both parents) is high (Monasch & Boerma, 2004), studying the interplay of socio-cultural factors as they relate to the level of support Rwandan communities provide to orphans and vulnerable youth is particularly important.

It has already been established that the 1994 genocide severely eroded traditional social structures for the care of orphans (Veale and Dona, 2003, Veale et al., 2001). The social disruption of the genocide is unmistakable. In 102 days, 800,000 people were massacred, often at the hand of neighbors, friends, and even family members (Prunier, 1995). Mortality, imprisonment, exodus, and repatriation of Rwandans (many of whom had been in exile before the genocide and returned after it) completely remolded communities. As responsibility for orphans in Rwanda customarily falls to the patrilineal side of the family (Dona, Kalinganire, & Muramutsa, 2001), the death and imprisonment of so many men obstructed paternal support networks (Veale & Dona, 2003). The aftermath of ensuing mistrust and social divisions strained community solidarity, posing serious challenges to the care of orphaned youth (Veale et al., 2001). However, limitations to community care of orphans also existed prior to the genocide. One 1991 study reported that over one-third of a sample of HIV infected mothers had no one to care for their children when they died (Keogh, Allen, Almedal, & Temahagili, 1994).

Stigma operating in myriad ways may account for diminished community care. One study highlights the potential role of stigma associated with HIV/AIDS, reporting that three out of four Rwandan children orphaned by AIDS were isolated from the community and one out of five was ill-treated by other children (UNICEF Rwanda & MINALOC, 2000). However, qualitative research from Zimbabwe suggests that orphans may be stigmatized more often due to their poverty and orphan status, rather than issues surrounding AIDS discrimination (Foster, Makufa, Drew, Mashumba, & Kambeu, 1997). Thus, while poverty and the sheer number of youth in need are principal barriers to family and community care of orphans (Ansell and Young, 2004, Foster et al., 1997, Nyambedha et al., 2003), the socio-cultural context may moderate how these factors affect community willingness to offer care. The economic conditions and family history of individual children as well as generalized attitudes concerning orphans may affect the level of community support they receive.

Another key issue in community response is whether adults see it as their duty to care for orphaned youth. There is some evidence that Rwandan adults believe local authorities or non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are primarily responsible for the care of orphans (UNICEF Rwanda & MINALOC, 2000). Though high fostering rates occurred in the years following the genocide, some Rwandans fostered children with expectations of receiving compensation from donors, NGOs, or the government (Dona et al., 2001). In addition, there are accounts of parents abandoning their children at orphanages, believing the shelter could provide better care (Human Rights Watch, 2003). Similarly, one study in Uganda found that NGO targeting of child-headed households reduced fostering and consequently generated more child-headed households (Luzze, 2002). As Williamson (2005) cautions, international efforts to assist orphans may undermine community-initiated care.

Enhancing community-based care of the large number of orphans and vulnerable youth in Rwanda necessitates an increased understanding of the degree of support already available to them as well as the complex factors that may mitigate such support. Our research team has established that the majority of 692 youth who are heads of household in one region of Rwanda feel severely marginalized from their communities: nearly half believe that ‘no one cares about them’ and 86% feel ‘rejected by the community’ (Thurman et al., 2006). Social isolation appears to have heightened their vulnerability to abuse and exploitation and led to feelings of despair, and even suicidal ideation for some (Brown, Thurman, & Snider, 2005). This paper aims to explain the degree of marginalization and limited community support reported by youth. Analysis of qualitative and survey data from multiple groups of community members is combined in order to better understand barriers to community support of orphaned children and youth in Rwanda. The data cited in this paper were gathered both to inform the development of a mentoring program for youth-headed households in Rwanda and to collect baseline data to gauge the impact of the mentoring intervention on the psychosocial well-being of youth and adult mentors over time.