Rwanda : 300 orphans to be re-united with families

Social workers, child protectors and heads of orphanages lay strategies to integrate orphans from orphanages into homes and their respective families.  This campaign is to reduce the number of children in orphan institutions and put them into foster and extended families to fully access their rights.
The process to find families for orphans started in April, 2011 and has already integrated over 300 orphans from 33 orphanages and it was initiated by the government after realizing that some of the orphanages are ineffective.
“Most of these orphans need to know their family lineage and those who leave with their mothers in prisons have rights to be in families after 3 years. We trace children’s family members or find faith families that can make one feels at home rather than being called someone from orphanage” Alexia Mukashema, coordinator of children’s commission.
She added that, this project aims mostly at building in general Rwandan culture of every child being coming from known family because some of the children after growing up get psychological stress of being in orphan institutions which limits their freedom of expression to associate with other people.
The study presented by Hope and Home, estimates that out of 3153 orphans from 33 orphanages, 55 percent are boys and 45 percent girls and most of these children came from DR Cong as their parents were of Ex-FAR soldiers.
However there are still many problems along the way including choosing a good, faith and appropriate family which can take care of children who are living with HIV/AIDS and mental illness.
It is believed by the researchers that 76 percent out of 3153 are living with HIV/AIDS and 30 percent have epilepsy.
The project Hope and Home which is steering the campaign to integrate orphans has already integrated 47 orphans from the piloting orphan institution Mpore Pefa into families within since 2011
However there are still many problems along the way including choosing a good, faith and appropriate family which can take care of children who are living with HIV/AIDS and mental illness. It is believed by the researchers that 76 percent out of 3153 are living with HIV/AIDS and 30 percent have epilepsy.
These orphans after being integrated into families, social worker claimed that they don’t always visit them regularly because that also makes them think of being an orphan rather than feeling at home.
Hope and Home project first evaluates and examines those families that are willing to take care of the orphans through grassroots and see weather this family has ever raised up an orphan through local leaders and residents to safe guard the children.
http://bahoneza.com/2012/05/rwanda-300-orphans-re-united-families/