Brother and caretaker
Fifteen-year-old Samkeliso is the head of his family. He balances school with raising his two siblings, brother Thulani, 12, and sister Lungile, 11. He has been their sole caretaker since their father died in 2005. Their mother passed away in 2003. All three children are enrolled in school in Nkambeni as beneficiaries of the Government’s orphan and vulnerable children school grant. Unfortunately, all three children are behind in their education. The job of caretaker has taken its toll on Samkeliso, who remains in Primary School and is repeating Grade 5 this year. At 15 years old, Samkeliso should be completing Form 2, the second year of secondary education. He is now three years behind. Thulani and Lungile are excellent students, ranking 6th and 9th respectively in their Grade 4 class of 42 students. Despite their exceptional academic performance, the brother and sister are also behind in their schooling. Thulani should be enrolled in Grade 6, one year away from completing his primary education, and Lungile should be in Grade 5, one year ahead of where she is now. Financial constraints when their parents were alive kept the children from starting school on time. Today their education is paid for, yet the family of three still struggles with responsibilities at home and the stress of living on their own with no adult supervision. Samkeliso and his brother and sister survive with the assistance of school feeding programmes. The children are able to eat one meal a day at school. While the programmes provide a vital lifeline to the children, the school feeding is not open on weekends or during school holidays. Neighbours are kind enough to provide the children with a food basket when they can, but this is not guaranteed. Samkeliso said the only food he can count on are the meals they receive at their Neighbourhood Care Point (NCP), a UNICEF supported local centre for orphans and vulnerable children to receive a hot meal, basic care and psychosocial support. NCPs allow children like Samkeliso, Thulani and Lungile to remain on their homestead and receive basic services in the community in which they were raised.
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