1. How old are you?
2. Are you attending school?
3. If yes, what grade are you doing?
4. How many are you in the household?
5. Does being in charge of the household affect your schooling?
6. Can you share with me how this affects your schooling?
7. Would you please tell me about your family?
8. How is your relationship with your extended family?
9. Why is there no adult member of extended family taking over as head of household?
10. What are your experiences as the head of the household?
11. What challenges do you face as being the head of the household?
12. What do you do to cope with these challenges?
13. Can you tell me the feelings that you had when your parents died?
14. When did you assume the responsibility as head of household?
15. Why did you assume responsibility for the household?
16. Would please tell me about your experience at school or at home?
17. How is your relationship with your neighbors?
18. Can you tell me how it feels to take the role of a caretaker at this age?
19. To whom do you turn to when you need support?
20. What support would you prefer to get and from whom?
21. What are your future expectations? How do you see your future?
Addendum C TRANSCRIPT PARTICIPANT 3
1. How old are you?
Ans: Am 17
2. Are you attending school?
Ans: Yes
3. If yes, what grade are you doing?
Ans: Am in Grade 12
4. How many are you in the household?
Ans: We are two and I am the eldest one
5. Does being in charge of the household affect your schooling?
Ans: Yes
6. Can you share with me how this affects your schooling?
Ans: Since I have to run the house and do the dishes and sometimes I will be tired and I end up going to bed without finishing my homework. In the morning I have to wake up early prepare myself and my younger sister.
7. Would you please tell me about your family?
Ans: We are two, me and my younger sister who is in Grade 7.
8. How is your relationship with your extended family?
Ans: Aah we don’t have much. Me and my sister we have different fathers.
And from my mother’s side they are from Eastern Cape and we don’t communicate that much.
9. Why is there no adult member of extended family taking over as head of household?
Ans: Before our mother passed away we did not have a good relationship with our extended families they have their own families to run.
10. What are your experiences as the head of the household?
Ans: Being the head of the household, I am the breadwinner and provide for my younger sister. I am also the caregiver and I have to be a mother to my younger sister.
11. What challenges do you face as being the head of the household?
Ans: Being the head of the household, I have to make decisions, considering my age someone has to make decision for me and I am being deprived of my spare time and my friends and sometimes we live without anything because we don’t have money to buy food. We don’t have money to buy clothes, uniforms and stationery.
12. What do you do to cope with these challenges?
Ans: Sometimes we get help from our neighbours and sometimes we talk to our social worker.
13. Can you tell me the feelings that you had when your parents died?
Ans: It was so painful and I wished if it was me who died instead.
14. When did you assume the responsibility as head of household?
Ans: When my mother was very sick, sometimes I would dodge school to come and cook for her, do the washing for her.
15. Why did you assume responsibility for the household?
Ans: I have to because there was on one to run the household for us.
16. Would you please tell me about your experience at school or at home?
Ans: At school it is difficult to concentrate because you will be thinking what will happen to my mother and she would need all the assistance from me.
17. How is your relationship with your neighbors?
Ans: It is good because they are the ones who always assist us.
18. Can you tell me how it feels to take the role of a caretaker at this age?
Ans: It is so challenging because I am a child I also needs someone to take care of me instead I am looking after my younger sister so I need parental guidance.
19. To whom do you turn to when you need support?
Ans: To my neighbors, the social worker and our pastor at church.
20. What support would you prefer to get and from whom?
Ans: Parental guidance from the social worker and foster parent to help me.
21. What are your future expectations? How do you see your future?
Ans: I see my future as bright one day I want to see myself as someone successful and this life I had and have to work extra harder so that I will be able to look after my younger sister.
ADDENDUM D
LETTER FROM CHILD WELFARE SOUTH AFRICA, SASOLBURG