Ambiente Biológico

In the following section I describe the context – two rural schools located at Vulindlela in Umgungundlovu district in KwaZulu-Natal – in which the secondary school children’s construction of care and support in the age of HIV and AIDS unfolded. While there is wealth of research on children and HIV and AIDS related issues, studies on school children from rural schools are still based on a deficit paradigm which views school children, especially in rural areas, as being needy and as problems that need fixing from the outside (Chilisa, 2012; Moletsane, 2012). They continue to be marginalised from mainstream activities, such as those relating to HIV prevention, coping with AIDS, and care and support (UNICEF, 2013a). In countries such as South Africa the notion is that rural communities are predominantly poor and that they lack resources compared to their urban counterparts (Hall, 2013a, 2013b, 2013c). There were three data generation sites in my study. The first site was the rural geographical area where the study was undertaken. The second was the participants’ school context where constructions

99 of care and support as viewed by the school children were explored through drawing and photography in their physical school context. The third site was the manor house where the collages were done and where group discussions around the constructions of envisaged care and support to be provided at schools took place. This final session also served as a general wrap-up in which I summarised the prominent points that emerged from the research with the school children. It became a participatory type of interaction with each of the school children complementing their arts-based artifacts by questioning and reflecting on what they had done and undone, what they had said and what had remained unsaid.

4.4.1 The rural district

The study took place in Vulindlela district in KZN, the province with the highest HIV prevalence rate (27.6% in 2012) according to Shisana et al. (2014) (see also Chapter One: 1.10.4).

100 International bodies such as UNICEF remain concerned about the care and support for orphans and other children who are ‘vulnerable’ because of HIV and AIDS (UNICEF, 2013b). South Africa is most affected in sub-Saharan Africa with 3.9 million of its children being orphaned with more than 2 million children having lost one or both parents to AIDS (UNAIDS, 2013b). What is important is that more than half of the orphaned and ‘vulnerable’ children are living in KZN (UNAIDS, 2013b). This being the province in which my research was contextualised, I assumed that some of these children would be of school-going age and would spend most of their time in school – a critical space in which to explore school children’s constructions of care and support in the age of HIV and AIDS.

101 4.4.2 The schools

The criteria for including the two secondary schools were that they had to be located in a rural community where HIV was prevalent. The two schools were accessible to me since I had worked with them in several projects (see Chapter One: 1.4) and felt comfortable about approaching the schools to be included in the study.

4.4.2.1 IThemba Secondary School

IThemba School (a pseudonym) has a dusty road leading to it. The schoolchildren who attend the school and the teachers are black Africans whose home language is isiZulu. It has a governing body that consists of the principal, parents, teachers and learner representatives. According to the departmental classification, the school is in quintile 2 school because it is located in a poor community (DBE, 2013). Schools are also divided into Section 20 or 21 according to the South African School Act, and are allocated funds based on their classification (DBE, 2012). Section 20 schools, such as IThemba School, do not receive a funding allocation that they have to manage; the funding is managed through the DBE; it buys goods and pays for services for the school. There is a school feeding scheme, accessed through The National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) and school children receive their lunch at school.

At the time of my data generation, the school had an enrolment of 1158 school children. According to the needs assessment list compiled by the school administrator at the beginning of 2011, 705 of these school children were reported to be ‘needy’. The school has thirty teachers (fourteen males and sixteen females) and two non-teaching staff members. The teaching staff is made up of the principal, one deputy principal and three Heads of Department (HoDs) and twenty-five teaching staff members. There is no school-based support team to address issues of school children who are orphans and/or ‘vulnerable’, and so the task falls on the Life Orientation teacher.

The school is fenced and there is a male guard at the gate with entry into and exit from the school subject to security approval. The fence separates the school from a nearby day-care centre. There is an administrative block that includes the principal’s office, the deputy principal’s office and the staff room. The two administrative clerks share an office. This office faces an open reception area which accommodates visitors. There is a computer used by the clerks, a photocopier and a

102 duplicating machine. There are two blocks of classrooms (one housing a computer laboratory) opposite each other and in the middle a lawn which is also used for teachers to park their cars. The water supply to the school consists of one centrally situated tap which provides drinking water. There are two flush toilets which are used by teachers and pit latrine toilets used by the school children. There are no recreational facilities and I was told that the school uses the local community sports field for the school sports which are mainly soccer and netball. The school premises and surroundings are well kept and clean. The community members value the school as their property, and have a mutually trusting relationship with the school. On Saturdays a local religious group uses one classroom for conducting its services. The school is also regarded as a source of employment to the community. The security guard, the cleaner and the clerks are community members. A limited number of vendors from the community are also allowed to sell snacks such as sweets, chips, and vetkoek (deep-fried dough balls) at the school during lunch time.

4.4.2.2 Sindiswa Secondary School

Sindiswa School (a pseudonym) is located about 10 kilometres from IThemba School in the same Vulindlela district. Here, too, a dusty road leads directly to the school. As at IThemba School, all the school children and teachers are black Africans whose home language is isiZulu. Sindiswa School is also under the governance of the school governing body and is also classified as a quintile 2 school because it serves the same poor community. Here, too, a feeding scheme is in operation.

At the time of my data generation, the SMT was composed of the principal, deputy principal and three HoDs of which two were acting, as constituted by the Post Provisional Norm (PPN) (DBE, 2012). The school has sixteen teachers (seven males and nine females), mostly from the local community. The school is fenced and there is a male guard at the gate, so here, too, entry into and exit from the school is subject to security approval. There is an administration block with three offices housing an administrator, the principal and the deputy principal. There were only two computers available in the school – that of the administrator and one that was donated by the local university through one of its projects. Electricity is supplied only to the administration block. There are three blocks of classrooms with grassed areas in between them.

103 In 2011 there were about 870 school children with an increase in 2012 to just over 1000. According to the annual register of needs compiled by the school administrator at the beginning of the year in 2011, 80% of the school children lived on special grants. They were referred to as ‘needy’ school children. There is no school-based support team to address issues of school children who are orphans and ‘vulnerable’, but the deputy-principal was charged with the task. The school buildings are not in good condition and, as I mentioned above, no electricity is supplied to the classrooms. Sindiswa School has no recreational facilities and they also used the local community sports field for the school sports. There is a school choir which is run by the school children themselves.

4.4.3 Country Manor House

The manor house, where the collage and focus group discussions were held, is a four star country guest house. It is a majestic house set in the foothills of the Southern Drakensberg in KZN, just 4 kilometres from Sindiswa School and 8 kilometres from IThemba school. None of the participants knew about this place and had never before been to it. I had earlier worked there with teachers and my colleagues in several research related workshops. While thinking about my data generation I thought of taking the participants there for one of the sessions because I wanted them to realise that even in their remote rural area, there are places like the manor house. I explained my desire to the management and after a long discussion about my study and why it was important for me to bring them to the guest house, I was very pleased to have been given permission to use the chapel (usually used for up-market weddings) and one of the garden suites. I was also given permission to show the school children around the estate and the guest house.