Food security and coping mechanism among unaccompanied refugee Boys and Girls in Mayukwayukwa Refugee Settlement in Western Province of Zambia: A phenomenological perspective
| dc.contributor.author | Umutesi, Francine | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2015-02-17T11:50:10Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2015-02-17T11:50:10Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2015-02-17 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Zambia has a long history of hosting refugees from different parts of Africa running away from strife and civil wars since its independence in 1964. These refugees once settled they have many challenges including lack of access to food. The aim of this study was to establish the food security and coping mechanisms among unaccompanied refugee boys and girls in Mayukwayukwa Refugee Settlement. The study was a qualitative enquiry grounded in hermeneutic phenomenology. Purposive sampling was used to collect a total of 51 individuals to participate in the study. 37 were unaccompanied refugee children, 10 were foster parents and 4 were key informants. Data were collected using face -to- face interviews and focus group discussions and were analyzed using Content Analysis. The findings indicate that the life of unaccompanied children is not an easy one. They lived a sad, desperate, hopeless and traumatic life in the settlement after losing their parents through separation, death, abandonment or kidnap. Three subthemes described the food security; the first one relates to inadequacy of food, children ate one meal or none per day. The second one is associated with unbalanced diet while the third one shows no food. The food assistance provided was described to be monotony just beans and maize and the amount given per month was not enough. Children confirmed to receive half kg beans, 13 kg maize, 100g salt and 150 ml cooking oil per month. The challenges these children faced to access food were associated with the lack of parents, poverty and loneliness and foster parents’ maltreatment. The children used three major coping mechanisms to deal with these challenges. The first one was problem -focused where children faced the situation by finding some piece work to do. Mostly girls worked as maids, plaited hair, begged and did some gardening in the Zambians’ fields while boys herded animals, burned charcoal, cultivated and carried luggage. The second one was emotion-focused where children used avoidance, wishful thought and isolation. The third one is social support where children relied on the significant others like friends, church mates and other well meaning individuals. In conclusion, the reason for using these coping mechanisms was to try and deal with the prevalent starvation in the settlement. In their quest for food, children found themselves in different dangers such as rape among girls and bullying and arrest among boys. While all of these challenges highlighted in the study continue to be unaddressed, these children will continue to find themselves in starvation and trauma-related problems. Hence, the study outcomes suggest that an orphanage be belt in Mayukwayukwa refugee settlement to feed and keep unaccompanied children in order to mitigate the food challenges which seriously affect them. Also, attention must be paid to follow up the fostered children especially girls to insure their well being through psychosocial interventions. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://dspace.unza.zm/handle/123456789/3694 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
| dc.subject | Food relief, Zambia | en_US |
| dc.subject | Disaster Relief, Zambia | en_US |
| dc.title | Food security and coping mechanism among unaccompanied refugee Boys and Girls in Mayukwayukwa Refugee Settlement in Western Province of Zambia: A phenomenological perspective | en_US |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_US |