Socioeconomic well-being of orphans and vulnerable children in orphanages within Cross River State, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: The social and economic needs of a growing child are paramount to his or her entire well-being. As the number of orphans and vulnerable children in the country keep increasing, their socioeconomic challenges are also expanding. This research work investigated the socioeconomic well-being of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in two orphanages within Calabar South Local Government Area, Cross River State, Nigeria.Objectives: Four objectives were highlighted to include unearthing the level of OVC school enrolment: school attendance, vocational training, educational challenges and possible solutions.Method: The study adopted a descriptive research design and used simple random sampling technique to select respondents for the survey. A sample size of 64 was obtained using Taro Yamane’s formula. The respondents comprised 26 males and 38 females, within the age range of 2–18 years. Instruments for primary data collection were structured questionnaire for the children and key informant interview for the caregivers. Data were analysed with Statistical Package for Social Sciences computer software and presented thematically, using simple percentages, frequencies, frequency polygon, bar chart and pie chart.Results: The study revealed that a greater number of OVC were enrolled in school, more than average maintained regular school attendance, few children obtained vocational training and many experienced educational challenges.Conclusion: It was recommended amongst others that the government should provide adequate educational materials to OVC in orphanages, vocational education should be considered as basic education for all children, and individuals and private or public organisations should also provide the OVC with basic support to ameliorate their educational challenges.