One of the main objectives of Upendo Children’s Home, in a nutshell, is to reunify ‘orphaned or abandoned’ children with relatives who are able to care and provide for them. Throughout my time working with different Tanzanian orphanages, I have learned that many of the children living in these institutions may have lost a parent or even both, but a number will have some family members who, given the choice, will look after them. Following the obvious logistical problems of tracking down relatives in a country where record keeping is poor to non-existent, the difficulty, I think, lies in deciding where the child will have a better quality of life. I believe that where possible, children should be brought up as part of a safe and stable family unit. They should have access to health care, food, shelter and education; this is their right. But in Tanzanian reality, this is rarely the case. Whilst families may love their children very much, they are all too often unable to provide for them. So, the grey area between where orphaned or abandoned children should be brought up is a constant bone of contention for me. If reuniting children with family members is an option, who am I to judge their capacity to love and cherish the child? How can I know if this will be a stable environment or whether they will be sent out to work, or worse, abused, neglected, abandoned again? With a Social Welfare system overloaded with social inequities and moral dilemmas, who should decide where these children belong? Who should have responsibility for ensuring their human rights are upheld and they are not left to fend for themselves? Can I, sitting writing from my laptop in a small coffee shop in West London make this decision? The answer to that is no. I cannot. But what I can do is continue to advocate for these children, giving these children a platform and a voice, and that we at Upendo continue to work with this community to provide a home to children who are most at need. Whilst for a number of reasons I always knew it would be difficult to initiate this objective, after three and half years of Upendo Children’s Home, I am now experiencing the issue first hand. One of the first children to join Upendo, Joice (‘Joicey’) has been not only reunited with family, but with her parents!! Joice came to Upendo when we were informed that her father was imprisoned and her mother had abandoned her; she was just five years old. Three years later, they are now reunited and living near to Upendo. After a difficult initial transition for all, we are now pleased to say that Joice is back to her mischievous, bubbly self! And Upendo is still playing an active outreach role in her life. Her parents do not have much; they cannot afford for Joice to attend school as they struggle to find money for food and clothes on their backs. Thanks to sponsorship from Wedmore Primary School in Somerset, UK, Joice still attends school with the rest of the Upendo children and still joins them regularly for play and after school classes at the children’s home. Joice is so very missed by all at Upendo; it has been an absolute joy spending time with her, seeing her confident personality grow and sharing so many happy memories together. All who have met her will know what a bright and intuitive person she has grown into. Her boundless energy levels could rival all the boys in goal when playing football and could single-handedly prepare a meal for the whole family! She is a brave, beautiful and very smart little girl and I hope that you can all join us in wishing her the best in living with her family.
Although she is not living with Upendo Children’s Home, we are still in close contact with her and her family.
You will always be a part of the Upendo Family little Joicey.
Sister Carly xx