Experiences of Elderly Caregivers of HIV/AIDS Orphans in Magamba Ward in Rusape, Manicaland, Zimbabwe

The study sought to explore the psychological and social experiences of the elderly caregivers of orphans of HIV/ AIDS in a rural setting in eastern Zimbabwe and to gain insight into the nature of the coping strategies which they employ to deal with these challenges each day. A qualitative study was carried out in Magamba Ward in Rusape, Manicaland, in Eastern Zimbabwe targeting homes that have one or more HIV/AIDS orphans who were being taken care of by their grandmothers who are over the age of sixty. Twelve grandmothers were interviewed in their homes in the presence of the Village Health Worker when saturation of data was reached. Semi-structured individual interviews were used for data collection and a thematic analysis was used to identify the challenges faced by the elderly caregivers. The study revealed that of the twelve caregivers, only two had tertiary level education and none of them were employed and that the orphans were between the ages of nine and nineteen years and were still in primary and secondary schools. Seven themes which emerged from interviews were poverty and lack of money, struggles with health issues, problems dealing with rebellious teenagers, feelings of hopelessness and despondency, lack of support from Social Services and family members, dealing with stigmatization and discrimination and the overwhelming nature of the job. It was found that elderly caregivers had resorted to tilling the land in order to increase food security and overcome poverty. Sometimes they would sell the surplus to get some money to cover medical expenses and some school requirements for the children. They also relied on the grandchildren to provide physical labour to work in the fields or to work for other community members to raise money and relied heavily on their belief in God to get hope for the future.