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    The gulf between rhetoric & reality : an examination of the gap between development theory and development practice in the care of Cambodian orphans : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University, Palmerston North Campus
    (Massey University, 2005) Greenfield, Craig
    Like many other Developing World countries. Cambodia is in the midst of an orphan crisis. At least 77,000 children have lost their parents to AIDS and many thousands more have been orphaned by civil war. landmines and other tragedies. These orphans face an uncertain future. Traditionally in Cambodia, most of these children have been cared for within the community in which they lived with their parents. Current development theory strongly promotes such community-based care for orphans and argues that Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) should use their resources to support and strengthen communities in that task instead of placing children in institutions such as orphanages. However, for every community-based orphan care program set up by NGOs in Cambodia, six orphanages are established. The development rhetoric on care for orphans is not matched by the development practice reality in Cambodia. There is a gap between theory and practice in the care of Cambodian orphans, a disconnection between what development theorists promote and what development practitioners implement. This research project examines the gap between development theory and practice in the care of Cambodian orphans. Results of the study will enhance understanding of the possible reasons for this disparity and suggest ways to close the gap and bring greater congruence between development theory and practice in this field. The study initially looked at the literature on care for orphans and established general principles as advanced by the development texts. Secondly, the study provided an overview of current practice in Cambodia in the care of orphans. Finally, an examination was made of the gap between theory and practice in Cambodia: in order to understand this gap, primary research has been conducted with development practitioners to establish possible reasons for it.
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    Anomalous children : orphans and interlineage marriages in Malawi : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Social Anthropology at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2015) Donovan, Elaine
    Although lineage studies have largely been forgotten by contemporary anthropology, tracing descent through either the maternal or paternal line remains a meaningful feature of everyday relatedness for people in Malawi. Following Harré’s discursive approach, this thesis reconceptualises matriliny and patriliny as clusters of relatedness practices avoiding a tendency to reify lineages as social structures, ascribing them erroneously with agency. This ethnographic study explores what it is to be an orphan in Malawi today and why orphans of interlineage marriages, that is, marriages between patrilineal women and matrilineal men, seem to be rendered the most vulnerable to mistreatment. The term orphanhood suggests a fixed state, defined by the death(s) of parent(s), from which children cannot escape until they reach adulthood. However, I found that in Malawi, being an orphan is more of a process, as people can be positioned as no longer an orphan when their living conditions improve. Being an orphan in Malawi is to be in need both materially and emotionally, having lost family support through death, illness or abandonment. It is a position often characterised by feelings of loneliness and isolation due being excluded from family sharing practices. Orphans of interlineage marriages seem to be the most vulnerable, due to falling between two contrasting discursive constructions of children's belongingness. In matrilineal groups, children belong to their mother’s family. Conversely, in patrilineal communities, children are affiliated to their father’s family providing the bridewealth requirements have been fulfilled. Thus, children of interlineage marriages are anomalously positioned as belonging nowhere. Matters become more complex if the matrilineal family pay the patrilineal custom of bridewealth as they (mis)interpret it as providing indisputable rights to the children. This (mis)interpretation originates from the colonial period when bridewealth became an official and enforceable means of determining to whom children belonged, particularly in cases of interlineage marriages. Thus, matrilineal families claim the children based on a (mis)perceived transaction-based entitlement, only to then mistreat them. They claim the children belong to them not as kin, characterised by bi-directional belonging (belonging to each other) but in terms of unidirectional (transactional) belonging, as in property.