**9. Conclusion and implication of the study on social administration and child rights**

This study has established that due to the incapacity of the caregivers to offer sustainable and holistic care and support to OVC, there is a gross infringement of the basic rights of the OVCs in Zimbabwe. These basic rights include, but are not limited to, food and nutrition, shelter, clothing, psychosocial support, and education. The study also revealed that despite the escalating socio-economic challenges and structural transformation, the family remains the strongest and most prominent unit of care and support of OVC. The foregoing view was exhibited by the fact that all the 'orphans' and 'vulnerable' children who participated were living with their blood relatives caregivers. This attests to the strength and resilience of the

extended family and its continued prominence within the overall OVC response in Zimbabwe as explained by Ringson and Chereni [19] in their recent studies. By implication, this may be interpreted to mean that in the foreseeable future, households' families will remain the major asset to be drawn upon in addressing the challenges associated with OVC care and support.

The study further revealed that psychosocial care for both OVC and caregivers was largely an overlooked and limited service in the study area. Due to lack of skills and the preoccupation with survival needs, there was little emphasis on either attempting to diagnose or addressing the psychosocial problems of the OVC and their caregivers. Hence, the long-term impact of psychosocial problems is that children may grow up with low self-esteem, depression and in extreme cases, psychosomatic disorders. Thus, the quality of motivation for caregivers to care for OVC will deteriorate and may in extreme cases translate into various forms of child abuse. In response, caregivers and OVC initiated several strategies to address their needs, particularly raising incomes to meet the extra needs. However, the study indicated that these strategies remained haphazard and reactive to the immediate needs rather than long-term needs and survival of OVC. For instance, selling vegetables and fruits, prostitution and working for others do not generate sustainability of livelihoods in the long term.

In conclusion, this study recommends that if social workers, social administrators, and government continue to empower the children while overlooking and thereby undermining the caregivers, both the caregivers and their children are unlikely to be able to address their challenges.
