isw https://doi.org/10.1177/0020872817732377 International Social Work 2019, Vol. 62(2) 502–517 © The Author(s) 2017 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/0020872817732377 journals.sagepub.com/home/isw HIV/AIDS orphans in South Africa: NGO interventions supporting transitions to alternative care Tiffany Ann Breckenridge Minnesota State University, Mankato, USA Christine Black-Hughes Minnesota State University, Mankato, USA John Rautenbach University of Fort Hare, South Africa Michelle McKinley Minnesota State University, Mankato, USA Abstract By 2015, an estimated 2.3–4.8 million children will be orphaned due to AIDS-related illness. Limited information is available on the emotional and behavioral problems that AIDS-orphaned children experience. This qualitative study explores 49 orphaned children who were observed in a non-governmental organization group setting in a small, rural village located in Eastern Cape, South Africa. Of the children in this study, 20 were orphaned due to AIDS. However, 19 children were orphaned due to parental death with an undeclared cause, but the deaths are believed to have resulted from AIDS. Keywords Emotional and behavioral, HIV/AIDS, non-governmental organizations, orphans, parental loss, South Africa Introduction In 2011, the residents of a small, rural village in the Eastern Cape, South Africa (SA), informed the staff of the local non-governmental organization (NGO) about several orphaned children who Corresponding author: Tiffany Ann Breckenridge, Minnesota State University, Mankato, 358 Trafton Science Center, Mankato, MN 56001, USA. Email: tiffany.breckenridge@mnsu.edu 732377ISW 0 0 10.1177/0020872817732377International Social WorkBreckenridge et al. research-article 2017 Article