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This paper describes the use of narrative ideas in work with vulnerable children in Southern Africa. How can the lives of children who have experienced significant losses be responded to in ways that are not re-traumatising and that bring to light children's own skills and knowledge? What sorts of exercises can be used in camps for vulnerable children? How can children be provided with significant experiences that do not separate them from their families, values and cultural norms? This paper describes a creative adaptation of the 'Tree of Life' exercise informed by narrative therapy principles and practices.
Keywords: children, southern Africa, HIV/AIDS, camps, grief, loss, trauma
INTRODUCTION
I have been working with orphans and vulnerable children for at least six years now. Anyone working in this field in Southern Africa will have many heart-breaking stories to tell about the hopelessness and desperate situations of illness, parental death, and the subsequent suffering of millions of children who are faced with the reality of living their lives without their parents. HIV/AIDS has robbed numerous families of their joy and zeal to live fulfilled lives. I have worked as a child and community counsellor as well as a trainer for a number of organisations within Southern and East Africa whose purpose is to support the most vulnerable children, families and communities falling through the traditional safety nets. In this work, I have found myself not only having to grapple with helping vulnerable children and communities but also being overwhelmed by expressions of burn-out, defeat, struggles, and feelings of incompetence often expressed by practitioners working in this field. This sense of incompetence has been further complicated by our struggles to identify suitable tools, means, and methods that enable us to effectively counsel and provide support to children and their families in ways that are fulfilling to them and ourselves as the helpers. I have always been confronted with questions about how practitioners in the field should respond to the crying and wailing that they often experience when having conversations with children and communities about their losses. I have found myself struggling to come up with satisfactory answers and ideas to such questions. My colleagues and I have often spoken about our experiences of defeat and incompetence particularly when...