Garth Allen

Voices of Zimbabwean Orphans

The voices of orphans and other vulnerable children and young people and of their carers and the professional development workers are documented and used to both criticise the inadequacies of current social development work and to create a new, alternative theory and practice of project management in Zimbabwe and southern Africa.

The Zimbabwe Study of ovcs

Our main purpose in this study was to explore an effective and sustainable project management approach for the social development of orphans specifically in Zimbabwe, and Southern Africa in general, drawing on systems theory and original empirical work in Zimbabwe. ‘Development’ in this study, denotes efforts or processes that are directed to improve the physical, emotional, spiritual and psychosocial well-being of ovc, and nurturing them to realize their full human capabilities. We also adopt the Brundtland Commission (United Nations, 1987) definition of sustainable development as that which ‘meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’. This includes empowering communities to meet comprehensive developmental needs of ovc that are sensitive to their age and context, and sustaining them all the time over time. It also entails bringing up ovc into productive citizens who are aware of their rights and responsibilities despite their vulnerabilities in early life. Specifically, the research study sought to: