The contribution of social entrepreneurship in meeting the needs of orphans in the Mberengwa district, Zimbabwe

Abstract

Children, particularly orphans, have been hardest hit by the acute socio-economic and political problems in Zimbabwe since the turn of the millennium (UNICEF, 2011). The unfavourable socio-political and economic climate characterised by hyperinflation, the lack of economic growth, the high and rising levels of unemployment, food shortages and increasing levels of poverty have impacted adversely on the ability of orphans to access their needs (National AIDS Council of Zimbabwe, 2012). They have also diminished the government's ability to provide safety nets to vulnerable groups, including children orphaned mainly by HIV and AIDS. Consequently, communities have become the core focus of intervention initiatives through devising local-level coping mechanisms to deal with the subsequent orphan care crisis (Republic of Zimbabwe, 2005).