The psychological well-being of orphans in Malawi: “Forgetting” as a means of recovering from parental death

Despite the good deal of research on children affected by HIV/AIDS and on orphans in particular, there is little detailed information about the micro-level, local models through which children are expected to recover psychologically from the loss of their parents. We have known for many years, for example, that the majority of children are being cared for within their extended families. However, we know little about how this transition is expected to occur, what adults and children do to help orphans to fit into these new families and what social and psychological mechanisms are relied on. Drawing on anthropological field research undertaken on the outskirts of Lilongwe, Malawi, this article examines the mechanisms through which Malawian children are expected to recover psychologically from the deaths of their parents by forgetting their past and problems, and taking on (and being taken on by) new parents. Through the analysis offorgetting, this article demonstrates the interdependence of psychological, economic and social recovery. © 2011 Taylor & Francis.