Abstract
Much has been written about children’s rights cultural contestation around the world and in Zimbabwe in particular but little is known about its impact in the support of OVC (Orphans and Vulnerable Children) within the rural communities of Zimbabwe. This phenomenological qualitative study seeks to examine the impact of child rights cultural contestation in supporting OVC in Zimbabwe. The study focuses on the lived experiences, perceptions, feelings and views of OVC and care-givers in the Gutu District of Zimbabwe. Data were collected through in-depth narrative interviews conducted with 40 participants which include both caregivers and OVCs purposively sampled in the Gutu District of Zimbabwe. The results revealed that even though the children’s rights have been widely publicised and implemented through various channels, the local rural communities are still espousing their cultural oriented ways of child upbringing which interferes with children’s rights as disseminated by United Nations Declaration for Children’s Rights (UNDCR). The study proposed the establishment of an integrated stakeholders' approach to the rural people about the essence of the children’s rights. In such instances, the children’s right is rendered more effective and is better entrenched when it is channelled through the traditional ways of child upbringing.