e. Possible care giver back home in Zimbabwe
Children were asked who might take care of them if they were to return to Zimbabwe, and
who they considered their nearest surviving relative in this regard.
Although 36 out of the 82 children had indicated that they had at least one parent alive, only
23 of the children considered a parent to be their most likely care giver back home. The
burden of care giving was shown to be with grandparents.
41% of children regarded their grandparent/s as their closest relative and most likely
care giver.
28% regarded a surviving parent as their closest relative, while another 7% regarded a
step parent as a possible caregiver.
6% had an older sibling in Zimbabwe, while 3% had only younger siblings
11% reported that they have nobody that they consider a care giver.
Chart xii: showing possible primary caretaker in Zimbabwe
f. Last contact with Zimbabwe
Children were asked when they had most recently been in touch with somebody back home in
Zimbabwe, for example by phoning, sms‐ing or emailing them. Only 67 children were able to
answer this question, with the others not giving clear answers. Out of the 67:
30% of children had not been touch for longer than a year
27% had been in touch within the last 4 to 12 months
43% had been in touch within the last one to three months:
o 20 of the children had only arrived in South Africa within the last 3 months, so
they had automatically been in touch within this time span.
54
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