Crying for Our Elders: African Orphanhood in the Age of HIV and AIDS, by Kristen E. Cheney

The HIV/AIDS epidemic has attracted the attention of diverse scholars from different disciplines. Copious material has been produced that examines the various aspects of the epidemic on the African continent. The sheer volume of publications is not surprising considering the breadth of the population affected by the epidemic and the impact of the epidemic on families, communities, and nations. Millions of dollars have been poured into African countries by Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) targeting individuals and groups affected by the epidemic. AIDS orphans are one of the groups targeted by NGOs as part of their developmental and humanitarian agenda. In Crying for Our Elders: African Orphanhood in the Age of HIV and AIDS, Kristen E. Cheney situates the position of orphans and vulnerable children and policies directed at them (orphans) within the developmental discourse. Cheney argues that orphans and vulnerable children are constructed categories that are created and deployed by developmental and humanitarian organisations that sometimes elide the social context which has a greater impact on the lived experiences of these children (p. 3). According to Cheney, international organisations focus on one aspect—orphanhood—failing to fully appreciate other circumstances that affect children’s lives such as their social and political circumstances.