Save the Children

There are a lot of people screaming out against child care homes and orphanages in developing countries; and in most cases it seems justified when there are obvious cases of violations, neglect and abuse at hand. Recent events brought me to the savethechildren website literary, below, and after some careful consideration I had my own opinions to express on this issue.

“The UN estimates that up to 8 million children around the world are living in care institutions. However, the actual number is likely to be far higher, owing to chronic gaps in information. It is also likely to rise with the increasing impact of conflict, climate change and the HIV and AIDS pandemic on the poorest and most vulnerable families. In many institutions, the standard of care is poor. Many children are abused and neglected.”

True. And most cases of human rights violations reported in child care services involve child exploitation and poverty tourism, primarily in Africa and Cambodia.  

“Most children in what are known as orphanages or children’s homes are not in fact orphans. At least four out of five children in institutional care have one or both parents alive. Poverty and social exclusion are two of the main reasons why children are unable to live at home. Families often feel that placing their children into care is the only way to ensure they get an education and enough food and other essentials.”

True.  Poverty and deaths related to HIV illnesses are the two most common factors for why people seek assistance in our community. In the past few years, the children that have been brought into our home have been brought by social workers in the local community; social workers who have rescued children from dangerous and abusive environments and with nowhere safe to place them asked for homes, like ours, to take in these vulnerable children. (Social workers without access to political/government support also struggle to provide the best long-term care option under the strains of limited resources.)

Discrimination and cultural taboos also mean that in some countries a disproportionate number of girls, disabled children and children from minority ethnic groups are relinquished or abandoned into care institutions. With support, the parents and extended families of many of these children could care for them.

Single mothers programs that aim to empower women, such as our weaving production center and vocational trainings, are the most effective way to combat poverty and social stigmas in our community. Today, except in extreme cases of abuse or neglect, we only accept children if their mother (surviving parent or caregiver) decides to stay with them in our home. In return we provide them with a safe home, work opportunities and a nurturing environment to preserve their familial bond.     

Greater political and financial commitment is needed to tackle the poverty and social exclusion that drives families to give up their children, and to help build parents’ capacity to care for their children. In addition, greater priority must be given to developing good-quality family-based care options– such as foster care and adoption – for children who need alternative families.

Experience shows that where there is political will, children can be well cared for and protected.

Let’s stop right here. In our community we are dealing primarily with stateless children; children lacking national identity papers which exclude them from basic social services like healthcare and free education. We encourage the government to do more out here on the border, and we will welcome with open arms any support, assistance, or social welfare programs they offer in the future…until then, who else is going to look after these children?

So, you circus narcissistic nut, why don’t you do us all a favor and learn to think critically about information before regurgitating it on our social media websites.