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.
