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Hurdles stall Rwanda plan to phase out orphanages

Saturday May 27 2017
orphans

US-based Rwandan artiste Scooper Knight with children from Mpore PEFA orphanage. The government wants to close orphanages but some children lack guardians to take them in. PHOTO | FILE

Rwanda’s ambitious plan to close all ChildCare Institutions has stalled as 1,200 children and young adults still remain in institutional care five years after the initiative was launched.

The Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion, which is implementing the programme said many families are reluctant to adopt children with disabilities and those over five years of age.

“It is a challenge, but we are optimistic that we will overcome it as the campaign to find a family for every child goes on,” Esperance Nyirasafari, the Minister of Gender and Family Promotion told Rwanda Today.

In 2012, the country aimed to close 33 institutions and place all 3,323 children and young adults living in the orphanages into alternative care within a period of two years.

The initiative was backed by the National Strategy for ChildCare Reform, which was approved by the Cabinet in March 2012. It focused on finding a permanent home for every child living in an institution, and to prevent other children from being placed in institutional care.

So far, over 2,000 children were transferred to host families and 14 institutions closed while 1,233 children are still under the care of 19 institutions. Majority of these children are above five years of age and 33 of them have disabilities.

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Analysts say that families shun children with disabilities because of the special care they need while others avoid children above five years of age.

The government also attributed the big number of children still living in institutional care to the “tough screening and vetting procedure of families willing to adopt children.”

READ: Over 1,000 orphans need foster homes

The minister said that before a child is adopted by a family, authorities make sure the family can provide the child with basic needs such as food, clothing and education. Faced with these persistent challenges of trying to find host families for all children, the government has not ruled out keeping some institutions operational for an unspecified time.

“As we continue looking for host families we will continue working with some of the institutions, because it is the responsibility of the government to take care of these children,” said Minister Nyirasafari.

Childcare institutions are often referred to as orphanages but a study released in 2012 by Hope and Homes for Children said that 70 per cent of children living there are not orphaned. Many have been abandoned by their parents, while some ran away.

The government said new strategies are being developed to ensure timely transition into independent living for all children in care upon reaching the age of 18.

Civil society activists said many families who have taken in children prefer to be guardians instead of legally adopting them.

“Rights to family property are at the centre of this trend not to legally adopt the children because of the right to inherit,” said Ninette Umurerwa, the executive secretary of Haguruka, an association that defends the rights of women and children. “Even when parents are willing to adopt, they face resistance from other family members,” she added.