My niece's father, with whom she had just begun to build a relationship, passed away from a drug overdose. My niece was only 5 years of age when this occurred. She has had some long-term effects from this event. Although her father was not included in the family unit, he did spend time with her in the last couple years of his life. When he passed away, my niece heard too much about what actually happened, and of course there was some family secrets that was brought to my sister's attention. A five-year-old child should never have to endure this stress, much less hear the tragic events that lead up to a violent death.
My sister has taken my niece for counseling periodically since this occurred. She has worked to keep some distant siblings in contact with my niece. My niece struggles at school around special events like father's day, when projects and programs are planned. My brother has stepped in for her many times to act as the male role model in her life. Over the last 3 years, my sister has had a couple of live-in boyfriends that my niece has struggled to get along with on a regular basis. As recent as 2 weeks ago, my niece was spending time at her cousins house and she expressed that she didn't want to return home. With some love, care and concern, she has been back to counseling appointments and has returned home. My niece has missed an extreme amount of school over the last 2 years. She claims of headaches, stomachaches, etc and her mother will keep her home. So, in addition to the emotional stress that her father's death caused, she has also had some struggles with keeping a schedule and learning, though, she is very smart and maintains good grades.
An estimated 5.6 million people were living with HIV and AIDS in South Africa in 2009, more than in any other country (HIV and AIDS). The death rates are increasing every year. Typically, HIV and AIDS are transmitted via the mother. Most times, a child is born into a family where the virus may have already had a severe impact on health, income, productivity and the ability to care for each other. When one or both parents are succumbed by HIV, the child(ren) are left as orphans and must be taken care of by older siblings, or relatives. This can cause a siblings to be separated and cause extra stress of losing more of their secure base. Also, in order to gain a new caretaker, the child may have to move to another area or neighborhood (HIV and AIDS). Death is one of the five life events that can cause stress in anyone; moving is another one. Change in itself can cause undue stress on a young child, much less 2-4 changes in lifestyle, caretaker, living arrangements, etc.
