These young people are extremely vulnerable to HIV/AIDS, abuse, poverty and malnutrition. Many have had severely limited, if any, access to education. These young people undergo severe trauma of nursing parents close to death; in many cases the parents may have already died from AIDS, meaning that children have to take on household responsibilities as well as endure tremendous suffering

Mentors look after clusters of young people, and provide advocacy on issues around housing, education and income generation projects through home visits, attending meetings, drop in services and signposting onto complimentary services such as healthcare. They are not parents themselves but empower Child Headers with the skills to parent younger siblings. Larger workshops, parenting support and HIV/AIDS awareness programmes enable the young Child Headers to come together and support each other