More on responsible orphan care

"Better Care Network" is another good site that works on behalf of promoting and protecting children's rights.  Look them up!

1. Founding and Purpose of the Better Care Network

Children need and have a right to be cared for by their parents and to grow up in a family environment. This has been recognized through years of experience and research as well as formally recognized under national and international laws, including the United Nations

Convention of the Rights of the Child. Yet millions of children live in residential institutions; no one knows just how many. Around the world, over one million children have been orphaned or separated due to armed conflict, and 15 million children under the age of 15 years
of age have lost one or both parents to AIDS. In many countries, institutions remain a major care response to poverty or family breakdown. In many more, few or no mechanism exist to ensure the most appropriate placements, encourage and support guardianship and adoption arrangements, and to provide support and monitoring for foster families.

Recognizing the urgent need for concerted action, a group of organizations concerned about children without adequate care came together to form the Better Care Network (BCN) in 2003. The purpose of the BCN is to facilitate active information exchange and collaboration
on these issues and advocate for technically sound policy and programmatic action on global, regional, and national levels in order to:Reduce instances of separation and abandonment of children;
Reunite children outside family care with their families, wherever possible and appropriate;
Increase, strengthen and support family and community-based care options for children who cannot be cared for by their parents;

Establish international and national standards for all forms of care for children without adequate family care and mechanisms for ensuring compliance; and that residential institutions are used in a very limited manner and only when appropriate.

The BCN is guided by the UNCRC and the 2003 Stockholm Conference on Residential Care.

Mikey went home with his family at age 14 months! Mom and twin brother died when Mikey was born. Dad and aunty will care for Mikey. This family came together to work at reuniting with Mikey!

On responsible orphan care

Over the past few years I've been researching what best practice information might be available regarding the ZMF-C work that we're involved in. I'm not surprised to see much has been written and published. I am surprised though to see too little of it implemented.
In the last 18 months ZMF-C has updated its philosophy on care of orphans with input from Zambians, and from resources that I'll attempt to provide quotes and links for your 'reading pleasure" over the next few blogs.

The care ZMF-C is attempting to provide is temporary, emergency care and working strongly with churches and families to reunite the babies safely and quickly to families for many reasons. Stay tuned!

What do infants, families, churches and communities need? They need to know that God is speaking to all of us involved in the care of orphans in Psalms 68:6. God places the lonely in families, not orphan homes.

Our experience is that family exists, but may need some support, encouragement and or capacity building to enable them to care for the "orphans". Timmy and Molly were not orphans but were in care for 3 1/2 years ~ they just needed their extended family. Theywere reunited earlier this year (see blogs from February 2012)

From Firelight Foundation - Promise of a Future

THE CHALLENGE

Africa is Being Ravaged by HIV/AIDS and Children are Paying the Greatest Price

Another 10 million children in Sub-Saharan Africa will lose their parents by 2015 due to HIV/AIDS. They will join the 14 million African children who have already lost their mothers or fathers to the disease, bringing the total to 24 million orphans in the region. This is an orphan crisis without historical precedent. It calls for a broad-based response that is compassionate and strategic, and addresses the root cause of the pandemic, which is poverty.

Family and Community Safety Nets Are Weakened by HIV/AIDS

A common thread that runs through Africa’s diverse cultures is that of extended family members stepping in to provide orphans with a nurturing home and a family, which children need to grow into healthy adults. Given the scale and scope of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, it is remarkable that most of the children who have been orphaned continue to be cared for by extended family members. But this safety net is becoming less reliable as more and more caregivers die. Family and community resources are stretched to the breaking point and are in need of help.

Many African countries and international organizations recognize the shortcomings of institutions and discourage their use. They recognize that some children are placed in orphanages by family members to access food, clothing, and an education. They know that the existence of an orphanage can weaken a community’s motivation to address orphan issues.

Building More Orphanages is not in the Best Interests of Children

The sheer number of orphaned and vulnerable children is overwhelming. Many well-meaning donors are funding orphanages as a solution to the problem. However, institutions are very expensive and can only reach limited numbers of children. Most importantly, orphanages often fail to meet children’s developmental needs and do not prepare them for adult life in a community. While institutions can serve as a temporary, last-resort response, they are not a long-term solution.

Abraham

Abraham is one year old! He is a ladies man! The girls always love to hug and hold him. He is almost ready to walk and can get around fairly quickly with crawling.


He enjoys clapping to the morning devo songs and has his own language that most of us don't understand!


He's now had his second DBS test and both have come back negative. However, I keep him on septrin b/c he has some other signs that he may still be HIV positive.  He tends to break out at times with herpes of one kind or another. So...we'll test again at 18 months.


Both parents are postive and mom's health has declined much in the past few months.

Dad visits regularly and we visit the family very regularly. They are a lovely family - I love spending time with Josephine the mom - she's just too sweet. They have challenges ++ with unemployment, sickness and extended family problems.

Please put this family on your prayer list!




Lumaamba

Baby Lumaamba - Now 5 1/2 months old and continues to gain weight nicely! He has TB and recently had 2 cysts by his left ear (a part of TB) excised. He is just so sweet. He loves to smile and then he forgets that he's giving you a big smile and then it suddenly disappears!

He is a very easy baby to care for - he is a self-soother - he sucks on 2 fingers - one is not good enough!

Cornolius

This photos is especially for Krista! Cornolius is now 3 1/2 months old!

This little guy is so sweet. He has such a sweet and gentle personality. He takes in everything that is going on with his big "owl eyes" as Richard has called them. He family came a while ago and were SO grateful for how he's doing. They were overwhelmed with his fatness! As we are!

Continue to pray for this little guy and his family as they figure out how their family will come together to look after him permanently. 

Every tuesday and thursday afternoon we spend 90 precious minutes with the grade 7's at Siabalumbi Christian Community school , about 6 km. away.

We love these kids! There are approximately 20 who regularly attend and we work on listening, speaking and writing English skills. Its amazing how quickly kids learn, especially when they are having fun.

No attendance is marked, no detentions are given out, no papers are marked, and the kids have no breaks in the 90 minutes. And they never complain!

We do listening action games, sing songs, read Bible stories, do spelling bees, and practice and practice speaking using whole sentences!

Richard has lots of fun - and enjoys +++ tricking the kids! 

Saying good bye to Timmy and Molly

A couple of Sundays ago we took Timmy and Molly, the 3 1/2 year old twins to their family's village near Zimba. Timmy and Molly had become attached to EVERYONE, so saying good bye was quite emotional. We know where they live because we've now driven there twice. We'll check on them regularly and we have a friend who lives nearby that will also check on them. The school and church are just metres away. The uncle has much in terms of maize fields, groundnuts and beans. As well, he is a community health volunteer. Getting to medical help is relatively easy because a well groomed road is by the church and school.

Psalm 68:6 - God places the lonely in families! Thank you God for your plans for these children!