Phase 5...

The source chosen for this phase was Orphans of the AIDS epidemic? The extent, nature and circumstances of child-headed households in South Africa.

This article’s authors are Helen Meintjes, Katharine Hall, Double-Hugh Marera and Andrew Boulle. The Journal name is AIDS Care, and this is in Volume 22, No. 1. The article is found in PsychINFO and can be located in EBSCOhost. 

This site is credible because:

The authors of the journal article are clearly identified and provides information of their credentials.

The article has many references which has seemingly provided them with information as they look at this specific area of orphans.

This article is free of advertising and does reveal information from both viewpoints-- that which expresses the vulnerability of child-only households and that which expresses the great need of other households as well.

This article was first submitted in 2008, revised in 2009 and came out in print January of 2010, allowing for a more recent look at information on the topic.

The time period and information is adequate for what I desired to find out as I researched.

This source is helpful for research of this topic because of its focused look at child-only households versus ‘mixed generation’ households, allowing us to see truths and needs of both home situations. This will also be helpful for my audience as we seek to discover where the need is-- child-only households, yes, but also opening our eyes to be aware that there are many needy households with vulnerable family members in difficult situations.

Response:

As I initially read this article, I found myself responding in a way that did not want to agree with their claims or findings in the survey they had taken. As I continued to read, however, I was confronted with the realization that I had put the needs of children and orphans into a box and into my own mental image.

Child-only households are not the only households in need. These households face difficulties and vulnerability that will forever be out of my full grasp of understanding, but needs also lie in households that have hold children and orphans and a single or young parent, or children that live with other generations within their family.

Within their study, there had been an increase in the number of orphans in South Africa from 2002 to 2006 to 3.7 million children(37). Some of these children were without one parent and some were, as they called them, “double orphans”, having lost bother parents (41). They noted that throughout this rise in orphans, the number of child-only households did not increase, that they could notice (42). This is definitely a wonderful thing, considering the great despair that can one can imagine from that situation. From their survey, there was a total of 304 people, from 105,000 total, who were living in “child-only” household conditions. (47)

I must agree with them, that needs lie outside of merely living in a household without any parents, or guardians. Many other households headed with one adult or a young adult, as they have pointed out, will face great difficulties in poverty and at times their need will be overlooked. I, then, must agree with their apparent desire to make the needs of these other households known. These needs are near to God’s heart.

I must continue to say, however, that 304 individuals, is a sad number. It is wonderful that it is not larger and it has not significantly increased, but I must also agree with their claim that this “estimated 112,000 in 2006, the number of children living in this extreme condition is of concern” (47).

My eyes have been opened to my biases and to the mental image I had painted of the poor and needy, and am becoming aware of the other needs that lie in circumstances apart from these “child-only” households. But, the need for the 112,000 in South Africa alone is still great. The true need is not only found in child-headed households, or only double orphans. Many are hurting, battling, and struggling, and I cannot overlook them.

Phase 4...

The source I used for this blog phase was an Academic Journal article entitled "Epidemiology of Health and Vulnerability Among Children Orphaned and Made Vulnerable by HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa". The author’s names are Gail Andrews, Donald Skinner, and Khangelani Zuma. The journal name is AIDS Care, and it was found in the database in PsychINFO on EBSCO.

This article is credible because:
the authors are clearly defined
there is consistent information between this and other resources within this topic
it cites reputable references
it is free of advertising and it does say when the article was in print
the time period covered in this article is fairly recent and will be helpful for knowledge of the needs of orphans
the depth of the information and comprehensibility  of it does match the needs of the research

This source is helpful for the research topic and my audience because it discusses, in detail, the needs of orphans. It opens our eyes to vulnerability and problems that many HIV/AIDS orphans face within many areas from education to others such as possible malnutrition.
Summary:

The article focuses on problems that will be encountered by HIV/AIDS orphans and they have categorized these under three main difficulties. Material difficulties, emotional difficulties, and social difficulties. This specific group of orphans they have focused on experience difficulties within the realms of emotional stresses of watching their parents struggle through AIDS, getting or losing an education, and great vulnerability within the areas of safety, protection, medical care, and other needs. They have shared that these needs of orphans are also found in other vulnerable children, not excluding the difficulties to orphans alone. The stressors that HIV/AIDS orphans face, as their parents struggle through and die from AIDS, have a great impact on their potential possibility of poverty, lack of food intake, social and emotional struggles, and dropping out of or lagging behind in school, and thus effecting so many more areas. It then summarizes its findings and studies with the idea that orphans will likely be more vulnerable than those who are not orphans in this area of Africa.

Phase 3...

The first article I have chosen to use as a resource is
http://www.spsw.ox.ac.uk/fileadmin/documents/pdf/Cluver__Gardner__Operario_Pov_AIDS_Care.pdf.

This site’s credibility relies on a few different factors: 

One reason for credibility is that there are three known authors for this article.

Although this particular website does not discuss their credentials, after research we can find that the authors are trustworthy and qualified. 

This article used referenced many books in their research, and this article is found in a branch of Oxford’s website. 

Much of the information in this article is from results from a conducted survey. 

This article was published in 2008 and I believe its information is still helpful and useful for the direction of this research. 

The information present is relevant and it is helpful to see the results of this specific survey.

This article will be a helpful source as I continue to research the issue of the fatherless because of the truths shown in the results of the survey taken. One of the purposes of researching this was to look closer at the struggles faced by orphans, and this survey reveals some of those struggles.

The second article that was chosen was http://www.avert.org/aids-orphans.htm. 

This article’s credibility factors are:

Although the author is not listed, this article is a part of a site that seems to be a reputable non profit organization.

This article references many reputable sources that speak on orphans and similar topics that this article discusses.

This non profit site is free of advertising, and although a specific date is not stated, it seems that the most recent data that was compiled was information from 2010, which verifies its credibility.

This site’s time period and information covers what is needed for looking deeper into this issue.

I chose this article because, again, I felt as though the information that was brought forth covers much of what AID orphans may face. The wide variety of information from education, to the impact on households, and emotional impact will help me to see more of the depth of what they face and seek to begin to look the difficulties they may deal with. 

the Fatherless

An issue I would like to journey with you in is that of orphans. My purpose for picking this topic is because our God’s heart is so near to the orphans and widows, the poor and needy, and I would like to search more of His heart about the issue. 

I also chose this topic to more fully understand the plight of orphans and the needy, looking specifically (at times) to the difficulties of those in Africa, struggling with being orphaned by AIDS and other diseases. I also know I need to take action. So as I seed to study this, I hope to learn more of my responsibility in this specific area. I need to take the knowledge and do something. 

I want to research this more deeply because I know that I must stop being so very much concerned with the things I face, rather I need to put first that which is so near to God’s heart. It is so easy for me to forget about the needs of others but I am excited to see, and desire that God changes my heart as I look more deeply into the topic of orphans.

As I was able to be a part of a ministry team for two years, our director had us study about and read on the topic orphans. He did this because of the importance God places on the issue, and because we were to be traveling to Zambia, Africa to minister for 2 weeks with another ministry team this past April. He wanted us to be connected with some issues faced in Zambia, and as we studied, we spent a lot of time learning about the plight of orphans, and the importance of caring for the poor and needy. 

I am familiar with some verses revealing God’s heart about orphans and my responsibility now to care for the poor and needy, and have also been familiarized slightly with the difficulties that orphans (specifically AIDS orphans) face.

My ideal audience would be those who are believers, who would like to journey with me on seeking His heart about orphans and the poor and needy, and those who may want to learn how we can help and care for them.

I am excited to know Him more through this study and I  know I will be challenged. Thanks for coming with me!