**7.1 Food and nutrition-related challenges**

Food and nutrition emerged as one of the critical challenges that the caregivers face in attempting to adequately care for and support the 'orphans' and 'vulnerable' children in the Gutu District of Zimbabwe. The findings show that despite the efforts made by caregivers in the care and support of 'orphans' and 'vulnerable' children, the food and nutrition-related challenges constantly affect both their 'orphans' and 'vulnerable' children and their household livelihoods. Regarding the challenges of food and nutrition, one of the participants from the Department of Health remarked:

*Most children especially between the ages of one to ten years often suffer from malnourishment due to a lack of a balanced diet. Some of them are even dying at that age due to diseases associated with malnourishment. This is of course a sign that caregivers at the household level are unable to adequately provide their children and not only 'orphans' and 'vulnerable' children with enough survival food.*

What the health official implies here is that in the case of food and nutrition, the caregivers in their capacity within the rural communities are not able to meet this critical basic right of 'orphans' and 'vulnerable' children and their children, respectively. This assertion from the health official was corroborated by most of the caregivers who predominantly indicated that they are not satisfied with the care and support they provide to their 'orphans' and 'vulnerable' children and their biological children. Both from a right-based approach and the African traditional view, food and nutrition are basic rights that should be provided by the caregivers to the children and its scarcity traumatises both the caregiver and the children. In addition to that, another community-based health worker explained:

*We have appealed to the non-governmental organisations through our social welfare department to help us with food packs so that our children can be prepared nutritious food at school or within their villages to supplement what their caregivers give them at the household level. Whilst such request is taken heed of, they do not last for even two months consistently. Thus, our children constantly suffer from malnutrition-related diseases. We also have a lot of primary and secondary school dropouts because of a lack of food.*

The quotes from the two health workers show that even the assistance that the caregivers receive from other 'orphans' and 'vulnerable' children's stakeholders such as the non-governmental organisation operating in the said community is not *The Caregivers' Perspective in Coping with the Challenges Faced by Orphans and Vulnerable… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.101232*

sustainable. This is commensurate with the reality that the Gutu District is one of the rural areas in Zimbabwe that consistently experiences poverty more than other rural communities in Zimbabwe. This view was clarified by one of the traditional leader participants who observed:

*As a village head, year-in and year-out as traditional leaders we face challenges of the poor families within our communities coming begging for assistance. We try within our capacity because of roles and the resources at our disposal to give them or referring them to social welfare for further assistance. However, from my experience, it is a reality that the caregivers are overwhelmingly overburdened with the food and nutrition-related challenges of their 'orphans' and 'vulnerable' children.*

In the foregoing sentiment, the traditional leader as steward and custodian of the local rural communities is affirming that food and nutrition is one of the critical challenges that caregivers face in their support of the 'orphan's and 'vulnerable' children within their jurisdiction. In addition, the caregivers revealed that due to chronic poverty they could not afford to buy food to supplement the local food they grow in their fields to the World Health Organisation's food standards. It was interesting to note, however, that although caregivers were experiencing difficulties in meeting the feeding and dietary needs of their children including the 'orphans' and 'vulnerable' children under their guardianship, they did not blame themselves but the community leaders who failed to stand with them. One of the grandparents explained:

*How can we feed the orphans on our own? We are not working neither are pensioners nor able to do any business. We thought the government would help or assist with food so that we can be able to feed these children. I have sold all my cattle to bring these children up.*

One of the grandparents had this to say when asked how they are coping with the burden:

*Yes, they must work very hard during the weekends to compensate for the days when they are at school. They go to work in the gardens or fields from morning till evening because our fields are not close to our homes.*

Overworking of children was confirmed by local leaders as a prevalent practice. It was noted that children are overworked against their will in a bid to raise the extra resources needed for the well-being of the household. One of the community leaders when interviewed explained that:

*The caregivers have no money, and they make orphans overwork especially during the weekends. They are made to be working in the fields from morning to evening. Some of these children come to report to me about such issues.*

When this question was further explored with the 'orphans' and 'vulnerable' children they corroborated what their caregivers and the community leaders had noted, that to a certain extent they are being used as cheap labour with their caregivers despite their young age. Whilst the caregivers explained that this has provided a form of training to their children to work, the findings indicated that they were infringing the child labour laws. Such exploitation would be done under the pretext of producing food and other material substance for the upkeep of the 'orphans' and 'vulnerable' children within their jurisdiction. Furthermore, it was

also reported that some widows and single mothers were involved in prostitution as a coping strategy. For instance, one of the single mothers indicated that prostitution is one of her coping strategies. She explained that this was her business during the night while her children are asleep and during the day she would buy and sell vegetables in a market. In summary, the coping strategies revealed by respondents included getting the 'orphans' and 'vulnerable' children to work in the gardens, fields and for others to supplement food, buying and selling of vegetables, fruits and cross-border trading and prostitution even though some were not prepared to reveal this as a strategy because of its illegality.
