Finally, to members of the Alliance Church in South Africa (Pongola) and Holiness Union Church (Sweetwaters circuit) for their support. The main focus of the study was on the coping strategies in cases where the crisis contributed to food insecurity.
Research problem
Some of the factors considered in this study included family type or structure, sources of income, eating patterns, infrastructure, and household spirituality. These factors were included in a survey to find out the responses of both those responsible for the households and also the household itself.
Sub-problems
Changes in coping strategies were identified in patterns or trends of behavior followed by households affected by HIV and AIDS. The objective was to determine the use and effectiveness of available government departments, non-governmental organizations and churches that claim to provide health information for households affected by HIV and AIDS.
Hypothesis of the study
What have been the changes in access to food (types and amounts of food, eating and gardening patterns) and their relationship to available resources. Changes in these factors were investigated in relation to the period before and after the HIV/AIDS crisis.
Assumptions of the study Assumptions in this study were that
Limitations of the study
It also provides background information to analyze the community resources that are available; find out to what extent resources are accessible to households in a semi-rural area. It also provides recommendations for interventions based on the needs expressed by family members directly affected by HIV and AIDS.
Description of the study
All members of the households who were available during the time of interviews were part of discussion. Chapter four contains the description of the sample and the next chapter describes the results.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Introduction
At this stage, the virus is in the body and the body is trying to make antibodies against HIV. According to Whiteside (2000), a person with HIV and AIDS can live for more than ten years.
Sustainable Livelihoods
- ICey stresses
HIV/AIDS is one of the shocks that can directly destroy household assets. It is important to discuss some of the factors that enable some households to withstand the impact of HIV/AIDS.
External support
The studies conducted by Kempson (2003) revealed some of the coping strategies used to ensure food security. This shows the negative side of failing to secure food and the damage it can cause in the life of a household and also in the whole community. According to Okoli (200 I), women and young adults carry a large burden in terms of running the household or housework.
The impact of HIV/AIDS burdens households and they are the main victims of the pandemic. Hudspeth (2003) highlights some of the caregiving capacities that exist in households when caring for children and adults affected by HIV/AIDS. It explains the changes that HIVAIIDS can cause in the life of an individual and a family.
If one of these factors occurs, it brings about changes in the life of the household.
METHODOLOGY
Summary
DESCRIPTION OF THE SAMPLE
Being poor
One of the respondents said kusho ukweswela noma ukweswela, she said it means to suffer and have nothing. The groups agreed that they are poor because they have nothing and whatever they get, they have to work hard. 34; taking care of yourself and the people who depend on you makes life very difficult and makes people poor because you have your own needs and the needs of those who depend on you, including your spouse."
Iqembu ebelizichaza njengabampofu bekumele licobelele ngokuthi kungani lithi limpofu. Omunye ophendule kuleli qembu uthe “njengoba sithi siyahlupheka sisho ukuthi asinazo izinto eziyisisekelo abanye abantu abanazo, izinto ezifana nomabonakude, ifriji, indlu eyamukelekayo nokunye. Njengoba sithi siyahlupheka. , sisho ukuthi asinazo izinto eziyisisekelo abanye abantu abanazo.
We have no food, our clothes are not in good condition and my children are not getting what they want."
Being very poor
The table below shows the housing situations where the members of the participating families stayed, as discussed in the focus group. As mentioned in the above paragraph, of the 26 participants, only 6 considered themselves very ill, but they were able to attend the support group meetings because they felt better that day. When asked why, they said that they were often attacked by different types of fever.
They said that although they were often sick, they still had to do everything for themselves. As shown in Figure 4.4, only four of the 26 participants considered themselves not ill. One of them said: 'we are not sick, it just happened that we knew our status and we decided to join the support group'.
As shown in Figure 4.5, only one participant had lived with the virus for nine years and two for eight years.
Four tombs of one household, of family members buried over a period of two years
Selection criteria for in-depth interviews
Twelve households were selected from among 26 participants who participated in focus group discussions on wealth classification and HIV/AIDS. From the wealth classification activity, those people who self-identified as poor and have adequate resources qualified for in-depth interviews. The very poor group was not monitored because it was too small (4 households) to give an accurate picture if the very sick are taken into account.
In addition, three of the twelve poor households could not be interviewed because 'some were very ill and others were in a period of mourning. Three people eligible for in-depth household interviews did not participate further because they were either very ill and unable to conduct lengthy interviews, or were still grieving from the loss of a member the week before. The research then continued with nine in-depth interviews with the remaining people from the poor within the HIV/AIDS support group.
Out of the nine households interviewed, only two households had men responsible for providing for their households.
CHAPTERS: RESULTS
Changes in finances (economic capital)
- Savings and Credit
- Meals per day
- Main foods for breakfast
They all said they had more debt than before; the situation forced them to borrow money. They said they depended on handouts (gifts) for clothing and used the money they received for food. In addition, they said that they spend more time caring for those who do not feel well in their households.
When asked what they eat more, bread or leftovers, they said they eat leftovers more than bread and tea. They said that sometimes they ate very little food because they were saving (wanting to keep purchased food for the whole month), so portions were smaller. Most of the respondents said that they always had food before, but since the illness or death, food was sometimes not enough.
They said the water is only dirty if there was no water in the taps.
Toilet for one ofthe households
According to the participants, they were supposed to have water in their yards, but they did not pay. When asked if there were any changes in the type of toilet they used because of illV/AIDS, they said everything is still the same. Seven households reported not cleaning the toilets; others said anyone can clean it.
All households had a road going to their area, three had roads in good condition also leading to their homes which they said enabled a car to reach their houses even if it was raining. Four respondents said that the roads leading to their houses were in too bad a condition for cars to reach their houses when it rained. Poor road conditions resulted in households not being able to get help within a short time, making their households not easily accessible (reachable) using vehicles.
Conditions of roads that lead to households
- Summary of findings Changes in finances
When asked what had changed, those with blocks said they no longer have the money to paint their houses as they did before the disease. When asked about NGOs, all responded that they knew about Youth for Christ, Tabitha. The Anglican Church was known for the food parcels they gave to the community, hot meals available from the church and the help they provided to orphans.
Three families said they depended on community health workers to wash because their children were too young and unable to do everything. Seven participants reported that they were not committed to their churches before the illness, and the rest said that they were committed. Of the nine families, three believed that their current condition was God's way of drawing them closer to Him as they said they were now saved, which they were not before the illness.
Since the illness, they said they had spent more on anything they thought could help.
DISCUSSION
- What social aspects are employed and why?
This study found that low-income households affected by HIVAIDS have limited opportunities for informal networks with close relatives to draw upon when trying to cope with food insecurity. This study found that the main practice of providing food was selling possessions, obtaining social grants and working for neighbors to cope with illness and food shortages. In this study, AIDS was seen as a major factor that deepened poverty in already low-income households.
There were two main elements of food security that this study raised, access and affordability of food. Low-income households, especially those with large households, use several strategies to cope with food shortages. This study indicates a lack of choice as household coping strategies were highly focused on alleviating food insecurity.
Although domestic food production activities were central to food provision (gardening), in this study none of the participants cultivated their own gardens. This research shows that household food security activities were not diverse regardless of their educational level and income (see Table 5.1). The findings of this study show that households affected by HIV/AIDS continue to seek comfort, treatment and physical assistance wherever it is available, regardless of its origin and nature.
