Belonging, Identity and Everyday Life for Vulnerable Children in Harare

Belonging is about having an attachment or an inclusive relationship with a particular group of people, be they families, friends, peers, or communities, giving one an identity. These continuous relationships build trust, emotional strength, an ability to deal with challenges and difficulties as well as giving children an important foundation for learning and development. This paper defines a family as a group of people related by blood, marriage or adoption and argues that the family is a fundamental social unit which must be protected for the creation of an enabling environment to grant children their developmental rights, and other rights in general. When the family is broken, children become vulnerable, losing confidence, trust, safeguarding and protection, which inevitably affect their potentialities and abilities at school and later on as adults in life. However, even some children within families may face the same challenges, thus the main argument is that the problems will be worse for orphans and street children with no one to take care of them unless some very effective measures are taken by the duty bearers. Through the use of interviews with children from the streets and child care givers from two orphanages in Harare, it was establishes that there are many vulnerable children without that sense of belonging every child longs for. Due to shortage of identity documents and parental care and guidance, some vulnerable children cannot reach their full potential in education, sporting activities, or prospects for better jobs and good livelihoods in future. Recommendations are made by the paper that the state as the greatest duty bearer of child rights should always put strict legislation to ensure the family remains intact, the extended family takes their role in case of deaths, and orphanages get full support from communities and other stakeholders to create a favourable environment for the vulnerable children in terms of identity and belonging.