The government requires all eligible orphans to be sent to relatives over Christmas holiday. Seems a bit strange at first. If the child lives in an orphanage instead of with relatives and yet has relatives who are able to care for the child for a month out of the year... then why does the child live in an orphanage?
But that is very much the reality of the orphan situation in Uganda.
Families were torn apart by the war in the North (where we live). Children living on the streets of Gulu to escape capture by the rebels. Parents killed. Aunts and Uncles displaced. There was a definite need for children's homes.
But now, the region is stable. And children need to grow up in families, not in institutions. Some families are ready to step up and care for yet another orphan, some aren't. Nearly every family in the region already cares for orphans. Some widowed parents remarried and the new spouse is less than interested in taking on step-children. Some children are the products of "the bush" - rebel parents - and carry that stigma.
But now our 60+ orphans are "home" for Christmas. Some of them are not so happy about that. Some families aren't sure about stepping up permanently. Some of the children feel less at home at "home" than they do at the children's home.
We are scratching our heads wondering how best to care for orphans and strengthen their families in a broken world. How do we know which child truly has no family, which child is best served by a children's home? How do we know which child should be placed with relatives, which child should be adopted by another family?
Every child needs a home... this thought is heavier on the minds of so many these days as families gather to celebrate together. A home for Christmas... a home forever.
But that is very much the reality of the orphan situation in Uganda.
Families were torn apart by the war in the North (where we live). Children living on the streets of Gulu to escape capture by the rebels. Parents killed. Aunts and Uncles displaced. There was a definite need for children's homes.
But now, the region is stable. And children need to grow up in families, not in institutions. Some families are ready to step up and care for yet another orphan, some aren't. Nearly every family in the region already cares for orphans. Some widowed parents remarried and the new spouse is less than interested in taking on step-children. Some children are the products of "the bush" - rebel parents - and carry that stigma.
But now our 60+ orphans are "home" for Christmas. Some of them are not so happy about that. Some families aren't sure about stepping up permanently. Some of the children feel less at home at "home" than they do at the children's home.
We are scratching our heads wondering how best to care for orphans and strengthen their families in a broken world. How do we know which child truly has no family, which child is best served by a children's home? How do we know which child should be placed with relatives, which child should be adopted by another family?
Every child needs a home... this thought is heavier on the minds of so many these days as families gather to celebrate together. A home for Christmas... a home forever.
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