Psychosocial challenges-facing-orphans-and-vulnerable-children-attending-public-primary-schools-in-kenya

International Journal of Research in Education and Social Sciences
(IJRESS) ISSN: 2617-4804 1 (2) 128-137, November, 2018
www.oircjournals.org
Mulaa (2018) www.oircjournals.org
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Psychosocial Challenges Facing Orphans
and Vulnerable Children Attending Public
Primary Schools in Kenya
Eleanor Akola Mulaa
MA Student Africa Nazarene University
E-mail: eleanormulaa9@gmail.com
Type of the Paper: Research Paper.
Type of Review: Peer Reviewed.
Indexed in: worldwide web.
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How to Cite this Paper:
Mulaa, E. A. (2018). Psychosocial Challenges Facing Orphans and Vulnerable
Children Attending Public Primary Schools in Kenya. International Journal of
Research in Education and Social Sciences (IJRESS), 1 (2), 128-137.

129 | P a g e
Psychosocial Challenges Facing Orphans
and Vulnerable Children Attending Public
Primary Schools in Kenya
Eleanor Akola Mulaa
MA Student Africa Nazarene University
E-mail: eleanormulaa9@gmail.com
Abstract
Educational achievement is a significant indicator
of children’s wellbeing and future life
opportunities. It can predict growth potential and
economic viability of a country. While this is an
ideal situation for all children, the case may be
different for orphans and vulnerable children
(OVC) due to the psychosocial challenges they go through on a daily basis. It is even worse for children
attending public primary schools in Kenya. This paper aims to advance a debate on the relationship between
psychosocial support and educational support provided for OVC through a critical engagement on the
challenges experienced and the intervention measures to be taken in Kenyan public primary schools context.
The study is based on the critical review of related literature materials. Findings suggest that, although the
Kenyan government has put mechanisms in place to support OVC attain basic education, numerous challenges
are found to be hindering some OVC from attaining quality education. Based on the findings, the paper
recommends that there is need for various interventions to address psychosocial needs of orphans and children
attending primary schools.
1.1 Introduction
The number of children orphaned by Human
Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired
Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and those
made vulnerable by other factors has risen
worldwide, creating peculiar circumstances that
may affect children's ability to benefit from regular
education (Chitiyo et al. 2008). There is no
universally accepted definition of the OVC
category. UNICEF (2015) and its global partners
views an orphan as a child who has lost either one
aren’t or both. Ogina (2007) defines an orphan as a
child who lost both parents and one of his or her
parents.
Worldwide, 16.6 million children <18 years of age
have lost 1 or both their parents to HIV; 90% of
these orphans live in sub-Saharan Africa (UNICEF,
2015). Given that orphan-hood has been associated
with poorer health outcomes, educational
attainment, and economic disadvantage, this
population is of key concern. Moreover, there is a
larger group of children and adolescents who have
increased vulnerability due to severe illness in the
family or overall household poverty, affecting their
overall well-being and development (UNAIDs,
2013).
According to UNICEF (2015), there were over 132
million orphans in sub –Saharan Africa, Asia, Latin
America and the Caribbean in 2005. This large
figure represents not only children who have lost
both parents but also those who have lost a father
but have a surviving mother or have lost mother but
have a surviving father. Of these 132 million
classified as orphans, 13 million have lost both
ARTICLE INFO
Received 20th November, 2018
Received in Revised Form 28th December, 2018
Accepted on 29th December, 2018
Published online 30th December, 2018
Key Words: OVC, Psychosocial, Public Primary
Schools, Kenya

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parents (UNICEF, 2015). Evidence clearly shows
that the vast majority of orphans are living with a
surviving parent, grandparent or other family
member. According to this same source, ninety five
per cent of all orphans are over the age of five.
Smart (2003) proposes that majority of children
who have lost a parent continue to live in the care
of a surviving parent or family member. In some
cases the orphaned child has the responsibility to
do house chores for siblings and dead parents.
Boker (2011) argue that if children who have lost
one to AIDS are often at risk of losing the other
parent as well since HIV may have been
transmitted between the couple through sex. The
impact of orphan hood can be seen under
emotional, physical psychological and sociological
perspective Children on the Brink, (2000).
Asia-Pacific is home to the greatest number of
orphaned children, 75 million (State of the World's
Children, 2011). Sub-Saharan Africa has been
identified as the world's poorest region with the
largest proportion of vulnerable children in the
world (Pillay, 2014). According to UNICEF, Sub-
Saharan Africa has the largest orphan burden with
over 70 million children who have lost one or both
parents (State of the World's Children, 2011).
Although the HIV/AIDS epidemic is the most
prevalent cause of orphan-hood, most children are
orphaned by other causes such as natural disasters,
conflict and other health conditions (Gulaid, 2008).
In Eastern and Southern Africa, the number of
orphans and vulnerable children throughout is
growing, partly due to the death of parents from
HIV and AIDS and by 2008 12 million children
under the age of 18 had been orphaned by the
disease (Kimanga, Ogola, Umuro, 2014). In Kenya
alone, over 200 adults die daily from HIV/AIDS,
leaving behind children to fend for themselves or to
be displaced among already overburdened
neighbours or relatives. (KNBS, 2010). Countless
other children have a parent, but poverty, neglect or
abuse subjects the child to deplorable conditions,
injuring the child’s welfare, esteem and hope for a
future or family that cares (Carroll & Boker, 2003).
According to Kenya AIDS Indicator Survey
(KAIS, 2012), the country has approximately 3.6
million children aged <18 years who have been
orphaned or who are vulnerable. As the HIV and
AIDS epidemic becomes increasingly complex and
as the personal and social consequences rise, the
ways in which societies respond to ensure
children’s right to quality education must become
more integrated, nuanced and dynamic (UNICEF,
2015).
More than one-tenth of all the households in Kenya
had at least 1 child who had been orphaned or was
vulnerable due to the presence of a very sick adult
or household member. Most households that had at
least 1 OVC were in the lowest wealth quintiles
and were larger in size than non-OVC households.
Approximately one-half of the OVC households
were caring for multiple OVC. Half of all the OVC
resided in the Nyanza and Rift Valley regions, an
expected finding given that the Nyanza region has
the highest HIV prevalence Kimanga et al. 2014)
and the Rift Valley region is the most populous
among all the regions (KNBS, 2014). OVC were
typically young adolescents, and orphans were
older than vulnerable children.
According to the United Nations Millennium
Development Goals evaluation report 2013 Sub-
Saharan Africa has the highest rate of children
leaving school early in the world with slightly more
than two out of five children who started primary
school in 2010 who will not make it into the last
grade (UN, 2013). While it is not clear from the
report why many children would leave school
early, poverty and the effects of HIV/AIDS have
been known to play a big role in children leaving
school early especially in Kenya. This is a
worrying trend that calls for attention from all
stakeholders in education to ensure that children at
risk of dropping out of school are supported to
complete their primary schooling (UNICEF, 2009).
With the abolition of school fees in public primary
schools in Kenya, many children are enrolled in
schools. However, the number of OVC has
increased presenting new challenges in handling
the large numbers and in addressing their
educational rights and needs (UNICEF, 2009). Due
to HIV/AIDS the traditional structure of
households is changing in affected communities,
leaving vulnerable children to adapt to non-
traditional families and poverty (Ebersohn & Eloff,
2002). Ebersohn and Eloff note that when parents
die, some orphans are left under the care of aged
grandparents or under older siblings to care for
them who are not able to meet all their
psychosocial needs. This arrangement however,
may negatively influence the schooling status of
affected children.
The country has been adversely experienced the
effects of HIV/AIDS, which have changed human
lives, along with the shape of societies (USAID,

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2001). The overwhelming number of Orphans and
Vulnerable Children live with either one parent or
elderly grandparents who also need care and
support or with poor relatives who struggle to meet
their own needs. Children in such circumstances
are at risk of losing opportunities for schooling,
decent living and meeting their psychosocial needs
(Sewpaul & Mathias, 2013). Addressing the
educational rights and needs of orphans and
vulnerable children in Kenya today presents new
opportunities and challenges. On the one hand,
provision of basic education has shown remarkable
improvements. Since then, enrolment has increased
by 36%. On the other hand, while in many contexts
the prevalence of HIV has decreased, during the
years 2000–2010, the number of HIV orphans
actually increased on average and, in the worst
regions in the country, it increased by almost
250%. This presents new challenges in addressing
the psychosocial and educational rights and needs
of orphans and vulnerable children, which are now
further exacerbated by the global financial crisis
(Carroll & Boker, 2003).
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Orphaned and vulnerable children (OVCs) in
Kenya are finding it increasingly difficult to access
basic education. This is despite the fact that the
right to basic education has been afforded three-tier
recognition as a right and not as an appeal to
charity. Three tier because it is recognised under
domestic regime, regional (African human rights
system) and global (United Nations System). As
shall be discussed in this paper, law, policy and
practice largely fail to consider that the plight of
OVCs imped their access to education. That is why
the effect is felt-that there are children who have a
difficulty enjoying education as a right (Committee
on the Rights of the Child, 1989).
The current shortcomings in research and policy
have led to an information gap which impedes
effective psychosocial programming for OVC.
First, there is an inadequate understanding of the
predictors of the psychosocial well-being of OVC.
There are no pragmatic measures that the law,
policy and practice have adapted to see to it that the
right to access basic education is not just a mere
paper right, not of any practical significance
(Baruani, Mmari & Lerisse, 2003).
Previous research has produced conflicting findings
on the effects of factors such as age, gender, orphan
type, child labor, and school attendance (Cluver et
al. 2009. This lack of knowledge is compounded by
psychosocial health, which is currently not a policy
priority. There are no international frameworks or
policy guidelines for psychosocial programming.
Consequently, there is a dearth of comprehensive
national-level efforts. Even for countries which
have psychosocial programs, most take a one-size-
fits-all approach that lacks both breadth and depth.
In fact, current policies group all OVC together and
fail to integrate psychosocial support into existing
education and health infrastructure (Engle, 2008).
2.0 Theoretical Perspective
This paper is anchored on the theoretical
underpinnings of Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological
systems theory which holds that development
reflects the influence of several environmental
systems. Bronfenbrenner conceptualised the child’s
environment as having different interconnected
layers nested together with agents that influence the
child’s development with varying degrees of
directness (McGuckin & Minton, 2014). Thus,
parents, guardians, caregivers and the family have a
direct influence on the child‘s socialisation within
the microsystem. At this level, the child interacts
with his/her family face to face. The school, peers
and neighbourhood form the mesosystem whose
interaction with the child socialises him/her to
influence his/her development. Mesosystem in this
case is about the connections and interrelationships
between the home and school.
Parental/guardian support for OVC in this case will
have a direct relationship on how the child
performs in school and at home. Bronfenbrenner
(1979) maintained that the family influences all
aspects of a child’s development including
language, nutrition, security, health and beliefs.
Thus, a child who attends school is a product of
his/her family. The relationships children develop
in school become critical to their positive
development due to the amount of time they spend
in school. It is in the school that children develop
relationships with adults outside their family for the
first time. These connections help children develop
cognitively and emotionally (Addison, 1992). OVC
however, may not have such an advantage due to
the challenges they go through both at home and in
school that are likely to impact negatively in their
education. Thus, requiring education interventions
that would enable them overcome these challenges.
3.0 Methodology
This paper uses a desk review research design to
critically review various studies on psychosocial

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challenges of OVC in relation to academic
performance. The paper also analyses how these
challenges affection educational attainment of
OVC, psychosocial support, and intervention
strategies in providing educational support for
OVC. The paper winds up with conclusion and
recommendations.
4.0 Critical review of Psychosocial Challenges
and OVC’s Education
4.1 OVC Education
Research indicates that although child-rearing by
family members is supportive of resilience among
Kenyan OVC, there are increasing reports of child-
headed families (Daniel & Mathias, 2012). Prior to
being orphaned, these children care for their dying
parents while responsibility changes once parents
die to caring for younger siblings (Heath et al.
2014). Recent studies of orphan-hood and
schooling in Kenya demonstrate that parental death
may be an inadequate indicator of educational
disadvantage. Though orphans do have
systematically lower educational outcomes than
non-orphans, the significance of the relationship
tends to be minimal after controlling for socio-
economic status (Campbell et al. 2010).
Furthermore, evidence demonstrates that, in the
African context, family support networks are so
strong that they tend to mitigate the impact of
orphan-hood on the life chances of children (Foster,
2000).
However, Case et al. (2004) examining 19 DHS
surveys from 10 sub-Saharan African countries
argue that the lower enrolment of orphans in Africa
is not accounted for solely by their poverty:
orphans are less likely to be enrolled than are non-
orphans with whom they live. Qualitative studies
tend to support the finding that orphans face
barriers to educational participation that are
different from those of non-orphans, including
stigma and frequent migration between households,
but also point to the need for an expanded
definition of child vulnerability that encompasses
all children whose lives are affected by the AIDS
pandemic (Goldberg & Short, 2012). For example,
many children whose parents are still alive are
faced with responsibilities such as caring for sick
relatives and working to support their families, or
may become targets of abuse and discrimination.
The right to basic education is a key component of
a child’s survival, protection and development.
This is particularly important with regard to
Orphaned and Vulnerable Children (OVCs). It is
for this reason that international human rights law
encapsulated in, among others, the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR),
International Covenant on Social, Economic and
Cultural Rights (ICESCR), the United Nations
Convention on Rights of the Child (CRC) and
Convention on Elimination of All forms of
Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW),
maintain that states have an obligation to promote,
fulfil and protect the right to basic education
(Committee on the Rights of the Child, 1989).
Kenya is not only a signatory to the above human
rights instruments but has gone further to integrate
international law through its novel constitutional
dispensation which came into force in 2010. In
2013, the Kenyan parliament enacted the Basic
Education Act and therefore meeting its obligation
under international law which required state parties
to protect the right to basic education. Despite the
enactment of a specific legislation to address the
plight of OVCs, the country’s protection of the core
content of the right to basic education in terms of
adaptability, accessibility and availability has not
been realised. This study postulates that this is
because the right to basic education has been
interpreted to be progressive which means that it
can be limited anytime resources are in short
supply. As a consequence, many OVCs are not able
to access basic education for various reasons,
including, poverty, adverse effects of HIV/AIDS,
child labour, and biased cultural norms (Carroll &
Boker, 2003).
The education sector in Kenya has seen many laws,
task forces, committees, commissions, working
parties aimed at reforming the education sector.
However little attention has been paid to the
education needs of OVCs. The current framework
is guided by Sessional Paper No. 1 of 2005, with
the Kenya Education Sector Support Programme
(KESSP) being the framework for education
service provision in Kenya. The Education Act109
and the Basic Education Act110 do not expressly
mention OVCs but continue with the age old
formal education that is unsuitable for OVCs. This
is the outcome of an education system that sidelines
the participation of OVCs in the formulation of the
basic education policy. The gaps existing in the
provision of basic education are the structure of the
education system and curriculum which promotes
formal education thus further marginalizing OVCs.
There is also the question of access and equity, a

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key consideration under international law and the
Constitution, failure to attain access and equity is
due to systemic state failure and historical
injustices (Carroll & Boker, 2003)
Fleming (2015) points out that OVC experience
discrimination in accessing education and
healthcare as orphan-hood is associated with
HIV/AIDS. Fleming further argued that maternal
and double orphans are more discriminated against
in accessing education than paternal orphans. Such
orphans experience financial constraints which
further disadvantage them as they cannot afford the
cost of education related materials. Vulnerable
children from child headed households are
burdened with domestic and economic
responsibilities, which in turn affect their
participation in education in relation to attending
and succeeding in school. As the number of OVC
grows, communities become less and less capable
of addressing all their basic needs, including their
ability to go to school (UNICEF, 2009).
Lack of support in education by parents/guardians
has a direct influence on how OVC perform in
education (Mwoma & Pillay, 2015). Interventions
to overcome educational challenges are therefore
critical as education gives a child hope for life and
work and is a strong protector against HIV to
which these children may be susceptible. Hallfors
et al (2011) pointed out that supporting adolescent
girls to stay in school, increases their chances of
remaining in school, hence reducing chances of
contracting HIV through early marriage. This
intervention further reduces chances of girls
dropping out of school. They maintain that staying
in school increases girls’ bonding with school and
teachers which in turn makes girls feel accepted
and cared for by their teachers. This motivates girls
to work harder to brighten their future life (Hallfors
et al, 2011).
Kelly (2002) maintains that formal school
education is a powerful tool for transforming
poverty in an environment where HIV/AIDS are
rampart. He further argues that growth in education
may positively influence growth out of poverty. All
learners deserve quality education regardless of
their status that will equip them with knowledge,
skills and competencies to increase personal
earnings and contribute to economic productivity
(Baxen, Nsubuga & Botha, 2014). Schools not only
benefit the child but can serve as important
resource centres to meet the broader needs of the
community (PEPFAR, 2006).
Schools can provide children with a safe structured
environment, the emotional support and
supervision of adults and the opportunity to learn
how to interact with other children and develop
social networks. Education is likely to lead to
employability and can foster a child developing a
sense of competence (PEPFAR, 2006). However,
Wood & Goba (2011) in their study noted that
teachers perceived themselves as not adequately
prepared to deal with issues affecting OVC. This
was evident when the teachers tried to support
OVC but encountered difficulties in transferring
knowledge acquired during training to action. The
teachers acknowledged that what they learned in
the training helped them improve their attitudes in
working with OVC (Baruani et al. 2003)
Psychosocial Support
The term psychosocial emphasises the close
connection between psychological aspects of our
subjective experiences -involving personal
thoughts, emotions and behaviour-and broader
inter-subjective social experiences-involving
relationships, tradition and culture- (ARC, 2009,
UNICEF, 2009). HIV/AIDS subjects children to
stigma outside the family, which becomes a barrier
in receiving social support (Heath et al. 2014).
Grandparents and extended family members in
many communities who provide the social support
are usually overburdened with caring for children
whose parents have died which is an hindrance to
the provision of the intended social support for
these children (Clacherty, 2004).
Rubaha (2008) pointed out that neglect, abuse, lack
of parental love, lack of food, high labour demand
at home, stigmatised at school because of lack of
school uniforms and learning materials to mention
but a few are some of the challenges facing
orphaned students. Kafwa (2005) argued that
compared to non-orphans, orphaned students are
more likely to be malnourished, more likely to drop
out of school and have limited access to health
social services as well as being prone to
exploitation. These challenges create emotional
stress making the pupils difficult to concentrate and
learn in the classroom due to trauma. Hewlett
(2006) argued that motivation is the drive of
learning and in the case of orphans, since they lack
basic needs such as love from parents, good shelter,
food and clothes then they will be less motivated to
perform well in class.
Maslow (2009) argued that for one to be motivated
in whatever he or she does, basic needs cited above

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would have been satisfied. Satisfaction of these
needs will enable one to perform to the expected
standards. Bettman (2006) pointed out that millions
of children of children were experiencing poverty,
enormous mental stress from witnessing illness and
death of their beloved ones and profound sense of
insecurity. The web newsletter (July-September
2007) also wrote that Zimbabwe estimates an
orphan population of fifty thousand as a direct
result of AIDS. This suggested that the number of
orphans could not be accommodated in the
extended families. The web also supported the idea
when it said the African traditional and social
structures which enabled the extended family to
immediately adopt any child who lost parents, have
been severely disrupted. This leaves orphans badly
exposed hence were most likely to be affected in
their academic performance. The above have
therefore prompted the researchers to investigate
the effects of the challenges facing orphaned
students on academic performance in commerce
subject at O-Level (REPOA, 2008)
Kolthari (2012) argues that one of the major
influences affecting orphans and vulnerable
children is their access to the child grant. Every
child is entitled to a child grant however, many
orphans and vulnerable children don’t have the
correct paperwork in place in order to access it,
while Griffiths (2005) indicates that the childcare
advocates work with the families to gain their
grants and ensure that their rights are understood.
Keeping the orphans and vulnerable children in
education is also a key role of the childcare
advocates. According to Children on the Brink
(2010), orphans and vulnerable children are more
likely to live in temporary households, moving
from place to place and disrupting their schooling.
They often need additional support to cope with the
emotional demands of having lost their parents.
Orphans and vulnerable children are less likely to
attend school or miss it so it is vital for the
childcare advocates to maintain consistency within
their schooling and educational needs. The
childcare advocates have access to hardship funds
to help provide school uniforms and work closely
with the schools to monitor the children’s
education and emotional needs. Sadly, according to
Maguwe (2012), many orphans and vulnerable
children are at risk of abuse from family members
and locals within the community as they are seen as
easy targets. Rape and sexual violence amongst
orphans and vulnerable children is on the rise
within Kenya, fuelled by increasing levels of
poverty. The childcare advocates follow the
children’s cases who have been raped they report
them to the police and follow the cases through to
conviction (Radcliff et al. 2012).
Heath et al. (2014) maintain socio-emotional
support to be key in addressing children's grief in
addition to the stigma and challenges associated to
living with HIV/AIDS. UNICEF identifies three
domains of psychosocial aspects considered most
helpful in evaluating children's lives and
experiences. The domains include: a) skills and
knowledge such as life skills, using culturally
appropriate coping mechanisms; b) emotional well-
being such as feeling safe, trust in others, self-
worth; and c) social well-being, such as
relationship with peers, sense of belonging, and
access to socially appropriate roles (UNICEF,
2009). Psychosocial support in this context
therefore, could refer to the care and support
provided to influence both the child and his/her
social environment, with a view to enhancing
his/her psychological and social well-being
(Children on the Brink, 2000).
Smart (2003) maintains that schools and teachers
play a critical role in the development of OVC,
especially in the wake of the loss of parents and
parenting. The school system offers an opportunity
to provide psychosocial support, which is an
important need for OVC, which is usually
neglected in favor of material, economic,
nutritional and other physical needs. Richter,
Manegold and Pather (2004) observe that,
programs could work with schools to make
curricula more directly relevant to children's lives
by including life skills, household management
training and care for children and ill adults. They
further add that teachers need to be trained to
address the psychological problems of children that
lead to poor performance and children dropping out
of school (Richter et al. 2004).
Jacobs (2011), in his study, noted that learners from
disadvantaged backgrounds were more positive
about life orientation, although it was not clear
whether they applied the learned skills to their
lives. This indicates that there is need for teachers
to closely monitor and support learners to practice
the life skills they learn at all times in school and at
home. For Wood and Goba (2011), teachers'
training in life orientation is critical in equipping
them with knowledge and skill, and improving their
attitudes towards dealing with OVC. The trained

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teachers however, felt marginalized, where, as they
were the only ones targeted for HIV training by the
Department of Education, they found it challenging
to involve their colleagues in the initiative. This is a
clear indication that for all teachers to be involved
in supporting OVC there is a need to have them
trained in life orientation (Kimanga et al. 2014)
In many contexts in Kenya, children’s emotional
needs are not responded to in ways that help the
children and young people cope in times of
difficulties. They are seldom told about their
parent’s death in an effort to protect the child from
distress. In recent years there have been arguments
(Foster, Levine, & Williamson, 2005) that children
should be part of the grieving process when the
family loses a loved one. According to Foster et al.
(2005), when the family grieves the children must
be included. Helping children in their grieving
process will prepare them to respond to the losses
they will encounter in future. They argue that it is
important to give a child permission to grieve, to
talk and to ask questions. Children and young
people need to accept what has happened and to be
able to express their sorrow. Adults should
therefore avail themselves with psychosocial
support to help them in their psychosocial well-
being. Adults need to encourage children to talk
about their feelings of guilt, loss, anger, and
sadness; such talk has been shown in many studies
to enhance the adjustment of children to parental
death (Subbarao & Coury, 2004).
One of the dilemmas in researching the personal
pain young people experience on loss of loved ones
is pointed up by Henderson (2006), who argues that
it is important for researchers to respect children’s
silence in relation to personal pain. She argues that
it is preferable for children and young people to
choose the point at which they deem it appropriate
to speak of things, if at all. However, there may
well be the possibility that grief related to AIDS
deaths is not overtly acknowledge due to stigma
attached to the disease, and to cultural patterns
where young children are ‘shielded’ from death of
parent by adults who do not speak to them about it
(Odhiambo et al. 2014).
4.3 Intervention Strategies in Providing
Educational Support for OVC
The environment in which the child lives plays a
critical role in ensuring that the child’s basic needs
are met. Bronfenbrenner (1979) through his
ecological systems theory argued that the
ecological systems surrounding the child directly or
indirectly influence his/her development. The
system represents the family, school, the
government and the culture and each of these play
a role directly or indirectly in the child’s education.
Neal and Neal (2013) maintained that these
systems are networked where each system is
defined in terms of the social relationships
surrounding the child and the different levels
relating to one another in an overlapping but non-
nested way. They further argued that the family is a
microsystem where the child has direct experiences
and interactions with family members face to face.
Mesosystem according to them could involve the
interaction between the parents and teachers about
the child’s behaviour both at home and in school in
relation to his/her education (Neal & Neal, 2013).
For instance, a child may not be involved in
making the education policies but these policies
will influence the child’s school experiences.
Cultural influences or ideologies may also
influence the child’s educational experiences. For
instance, societies that emphasise the importance of
teachers being accountable on the standards of
education in the community school, will have
implications on how children will perform in their
education (Neal & Neal, 2013). Therefore, in
coming up with intervention strategies, the family,
the school and the government will play a key role
in ensuring that OVC are supported to acquire
quality basic education.
Conclusion and Recommendation
From the forgoing discussion, OVC need to be
supported effectively and collectively from
teachers, parents/guardians, and government to
ensure that OVC are supported in their educational
needs. Each of these stakeholders should play their
roles effectively to support OVC both at home and
in school in line with Bronfenbrenner’s (1979)
findings that the home, the school, the government
and the community at large have a critical role in a
child’s development and learning. The 2.6 million
OVC constitute a significant proportion of Kenya’s
population aged <18 years, thus, requiring a special
attention to prevent further vulnerability and ensure
their well-being and development as they transition
into adulthood. (KNBS. (2010).
Despite these limitations being present, KAIS
(2012) provides important population-based
information on the profile of OVC, the population
sizes of OVC groups, and trends in orphanhood in
Kenya. Understanding where these children are
most concentrated in the country and information

136 | P a g e
pertaining to their ages, the proportion affected by
HIV/AIDS, their household characteristics, and the
extent of households with multiple OVC are
essential for informing interventions that can
effectively target the OVC population. Although
the data are not reflective of the full scope of the
OVC intervention programming in Kenya, the low
coverage of basic OVC support received among
those reporting suggests that reaching these
children with services has been challenging.
Additional interventions that are evidence based,
targeted, and age appropriate will be required to
advance the development and ensure the well-being
of OVC. This will be especially critical as the
population ages and transitions into adulthood.
Closing the gap of the unmet need for support
services must be a key priority for the government
and other stakeholders to ensure the protection,
care, and support of at least 2.6 million children. In
line with the conclusion stated above, the following
recommendations are suggested:
i. The teachers should find a means of
identifying orphaned students in classes so
that they provide necessary support
especially psychological help related to
trauma of parental death.
ii. Teachers should also educate non-
orphaned pupils about the challenges
normally faced by orphaned pupils and
thus, they should not undermine the
orphaned children. This will create
awareness to other students about the
feeling and bad pain resulting from being
an orphan. It will also eliminate any trace
of discrimination among pupils.
iii. Orphaned pupils should be involved in
class activities, sports, and games thus
they may not feel isolated from the
society. Their self-esteem will be raised
through achievement of some tasks. Also
necessary support in teaching and learning
materials should be provided to enhance
the academic performance of orphaned
pupils.
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