Alternative Orphan Care [what it is & why it matters]

It has been on my heart for a while now to share a bit more about what I am studying and why I think it matters. And since I will be taking you along on my fieldwork journey in Ethiopia, I figured I would give some context to what I will be doing. Before I begin, I want to note that this topic is complex and I am still learning so much. I certainly do not know have all the answers and am learning knew things everyday. I will briefly share what I know with resources I've found if you want more information.

I am currently getting my masters in International Community Development. Our classes focus heavily on developmental work with a large emphasis on the voice of the local people, and how we can partner with them to produce sustainable and effective change in their communities. This involves looking at culture, poverty traps, globalization, fund development, among other things.

My focus for my thesis is Alternative Orphan Care models.

So you may be asking, the alternative to what?
I mostly mean the alternative to institutional care (orphanages) and international adoption.
Under the umbrella of alternative care is family based care and family preservation. These are efforts made towards strengthening families to prevent separation and promote reintegration. Many "orphans" are not in fact orphaned by the loss of parents, but by separation from their families due to lack of resources. It's estimated that 80% of the 150 million+ orphaned have a living family member.


In 2010, UNICEF published "The Guidelines to Alternative Care of Children" which details the efforts that should be made towards caring for orphaned and vulnerable children.
They state:

"The family being the fundamental group of society and the natural environment for the growth, well-being and protection of children, efforts should primarily be directed to enabling the child to remain in or return to the care of his/her parent, or when appropriate, other close family members. The State should ensure that families have access to forms of support in the caregiving role." 

We all know that children belong in families. To help families thrive supports the child, the family and the community at large. There is a widely accepted "continuum of care" with the family unit being the most ideal then moving through kinship care (extended family or close community members), foster care, adoption and then group homes/orphanages being least ideal. If supporting families or reuniting families is not possible, then you move through the continuum until you find safe and supported placement of children.

So why not orphanages and adoption?

Institutional Care
   Orphanages have been widely used in orphan care efforts, and though there are times they have stood in the gap, there are many issues that have arisen. The following statements are not true of all orphanages, but extreme care and discernment should be used moving forward with institutional care projects. Faith to Action breaks this down more here.

Here are some things that have been found:

- They are expensive
- They are not creating sustainable change in the community or stopping the cycle of orphans
- Children often lack holistic development and care
- Children age out without skills and development to thrive in society
- The implementation creates a culture of dependency on these institutions, and they are seen as "ideal" so families abandon their children in hope that the orphanage can provide for their child
- There is stigma and isolation in being separated from community
- Orphanages are "fund-able" so many governments and people take advantage of people's giving (as in, orphanages are built to get money and most of the funds are not going to the children)
- A gateway to trafficking children


International Adoption
   Adoption is beautiful, redemptive and needed at times. I will not discredit this. But before an adoption is an option, you must ensure the child has moved through the continuum of receiving community based care. If all options have been exhausted, they are a great candidate for adoption. The biggest need currently is for people willing to adopt children with special needs, older children and sibling pairs.

The bigger picture of international adoption is that:

- With 150 million+ orphans, adoption alone will not put a dent in this crisis
- Adoption has extreme life-long implications on a child in their development and identity (though these can be overcome)
- It is expensive (how can those resources go further?)
- Unethical practices mean that some adoptions are used as a form of trafficking (make sure you investigate your adoptions and guarantee they are being performed ethically)
- Like orphanages, it creates this image of the ideal and parents abandon children in hopes to give them a better future in the US.

More details over on this blog post: Why international adoption is not the answer.

So what is the alternative?

 Kinship Care. Foster Care. Inter-country adoption. Small family-style group homes: Empowering communities to be able to care for their orphaned children. Keeping the child as close to their original context (while still being safe) in order to not disrupt their identity or social life and to facilitate potential reintegration with his/her family. Not only that, but if we believe that children are the next generation, then having children who are invested in their communities mean that they can continue to invest in them when they are older. Investing in orphans leads to sustainable change and ends the cycle of orphans.


 In my work I want to help advocate for alternative methods and find ways they can be better implemented. During my time in Ethiopia I will be looking at Selamta's unique model (which I will share more about later) to learn about the important elements in their model. Then through my thesis I intend to propose how we can better implement and contextualize alternative care other places.


I know that this is a lot of information (even though I only scratched the surface), but thank you for taking a moment to read my thoughts.  I keep hearing people who work in this field say that the world will always have orphans, but that they firmly believe that they could see the end of the orphan crisis in their lifetime. I say, let it be so! I want to be part of this movement that is fighting to ending this crisis.

Please let me know if you have any questions or need any clarity. 

Return to the Valley

It has been over 3 years since I started this blog.
I originally named it "Take Me to the Valley" because I was moving to a literal valley (The Great Rift Valley), but I also wanted to be someone who dared to step into figurative valleys.
At the time I did not know what I would find in the valley.
And yes, I found brokenness, darkness and deep sorrow. But in the valley I found grace deeper than the cracks, beauty that defied brokenness and a raw honesty with God. My time in the Rift Valley were 10 very difficult weeks, but in an inexplicable way, 10 of the most sacred weeks. Those weeks stand as a time where God slowly broke and reshaped my heart. I saw the world differently. I saw myself differently. And I saw God differently.

After Kenya I returned to the U.S. to finish up my senior year of college. I wrestled through transition but was confident that God was about to launch me across the world...

 ...2 very long, quiet, and isolated years later I continue to repeat to myself, "You know my heart". Again and again, "You know my heart". "You know my heart". You know my broken heart. My eager heart. My heart bursting with desire. My heart saddened by disappointment. My heart that feels far from home. My heart that yearns for belonging. You know it all. And you care. Yes, Your plans are higher than mine.
 

When I said "Go!", God said "Wait." And it is hard to look no and rejection in the face. Instead of all I had envisioned for my life, God took me to a place where I had to come face to face with myself. Removed from my community, my roles, places I got my identity and places that made me feel at home - I was left empty before God. It was in this time that I began the "root growing" season in my life. You know, the ground breaking dirty work. Where there are little blooms, but immense growth. I won't romanticize this process, and I won't say that I'm not still in it. Because really, I had been in root growing seasons before. But again, God comes back to till the soil. And that waiting time is not wasted time, because God is working on things unseen.

As I continued to seek out opportunities, I finally (read "desperately") turned to one idea that I was hesitant to pursue: grad school. I did not think that God would be in it, but He was. In a whirlwind of chaos yet divine peace, I found, applied and got accepted into a masters program in the span of a week - with the program to begin 3 weeks later. I always said I would never go to grad school. And I would never ever do grad school online.

But since August I have been in an International Community Development program through Northwest University.  When I found the program and read the descriptions, it put into words so many things I had wanted or felt, but didn't know how to express. I was excited and engaged. And the program has not disappointed. I have learned SO much through this program - in so many ways. About our world, myself and our God. But this program has also led me to a place where I am about to embark on a new adventure. One where, with humility and gratitude, I will return to the valley that reshaped my life.

Friends, God has led me to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia...which rests at the top of the Great Rift Valley. This time I will be going to do research for my thesis. This immense privilege of going on this trip, let alone grad school, is not lost on me (neither are my student loans). And I recognize that this season of waiting was a time of preparation.

I stand here saying, "God is so good", but I what makes me say "God is so good", is not whether or not this program or trip happened. His goodness is not dependent on my circumstances.
Friends - His goodness is not dependent on your circumstances.

I have seen the mountain, and I have skimmed the valleys, and I know that in both:
Our God IS good. And He knows our hearts.

Asante Sana

Dear Family and Friends,    

    I have been back in the States for nearly three weeks and it has been such a busy, crazy yet good time of transition- thank you for praying! I meant to get this out sooner but the time has not allowed me to find words that I feel best articulated my experience and were worthy of being shared.

     The ten weeks I spent in Kenya this summer where profoundly life changing. Living in Africa has always been a dream of mine and something that had been on my mind, but I didn’t dare hope that it was actually realistic in this stage of my life. But because of your generous help and God’s incredible hand, it was not just realistic but something that came into fruition. And let me tell you, it was everything I dreamed of and more. I don’t use those words because they are petty and are what everyone wants to hear, but during my ten weeks I discovered more evidently what the Lord had designed me to do. The passions and gifts He has woven into my very being were made evident and I felt fulfillment like I have never felt before. It felt so natural to be in that environment and I saw how so many seasons of my life had prepared and led me here. This does not mean that everyday was easy and fun, but everyday was worth it.

     Through this, the Lord very clearly confirmed my call to missions on the African continent and gave me peace to follow and trust Him in the next steps to come- even in this next season when I am not in Africa any longer.

     The people I met took me in right away. They challenged me and inspired me in my own faith. They live in the midst of brokenness, poverty and injustice yet cling to hope, faith and joy. They rely completely on community and their    hospitality is genuine and selfless.

     While we were there, I was on a leadership team that helped lead 5 short term teams to the different ministries we partner with. Kenya is primarily Christian already so  we were more supporting the existing ministries that are established there. I like to think of it like in the Bible story found in Exodus 17 where the Israelites were fighting the  Amalekites. As long as Moses had his arms raised, the Israelites would be winning, but once he lowered them they would start losing the battle. Verse 12-13 says, “When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.” (emphasis mine). I feel like our teams this summer were called to be Aaron and Hur. To be the people that hold up the arms of these ministries who are in the midst of battle day after day. 

 

     This meant a lot of encouragement and support, but an anchoring passage for me that I used as my focus was Romans 12:15, which says, “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.” To sit with the people, build relationships and come alongside them. To “do life” by their side. To rejoice in the good and cry with them in the midst of the struggles and hardships they were facing. To be the heart of God, in the flesh and love them unconditionally.  

     Of course, we visited orphaned children at Little Lambs Daycare, and played with school kids at Southern Cross Academy (a school), and let the students at a school for deaf children know that they had value. They have so little yet find joy and excitement in each day and as we spent time with them all we just wanted to let them know that they are seen and they are loved. In our broken Swahili phrases we learned we would try to tell them “Mungu anakupenda” (God loves you) or “Ninakupenda” (I love you!). 

     They are extremely precious and now have deep corners of my heart, but I found during my ten weeks that as much as I love the kids and my love for children is what led me to Africa,  the Lord was just using that as a stepping to stone to reveal to me a different call in my life. Because of a series of events I gained a heart for vulnerable young women. There are many things the Lord used to awaken this call in my life, but there were two things in particular that I want to share with you that revealed my heart for these women. 

     First off, my favorite ministry we partnered with was at Rift Valley Fellowship at their women’s Bible Study called Women of Courage. Many of the women who attended were outcasts, prostitutes...very broken, vulnerable women. Our time together always started in singing songs together and though they sang in their own language, you could see the genuineness and feel the presence of God as they poured out their hearts in worship and breathed in His grace and joy. The first visit we made they started singing “Amazing Grace” in Swahili and I just stood breathless in awe and wonder at our God. Afterwards they shared their heart so openly with us. We would in return offer words of encouragement, and share our own struggles and that we too needed a God of grace in our own sin filled, broken lives. I loved those women as they embraced us like sisters and granddaughters. 

     The second thing that sparked a passion was an encounter I had outside of our normal ministry days. On a day off a few people I was with heard about a woman up the hill who could use some visitors and love. Come to find out, she was attending the Bible College we were staying at the year before when she was raped and left pregnant...with twins. When we visited her she told us how her family rejected her and this kind woman took her in but she is from a different tribe than the one of her surroundings so she felt out-casted. The four month twin girls were the cutest things and as I held them I had a contrast of heartbreak and joy in their little lives. She is now trying to return to school to finish her education but lacks the funds. 21 years old, with two babies, trying to finish her college degree. My heart was gripped. I tried to visit her as much as I could but the road was far and I could never venture it alone. I pray for her and that the Lord will provide funds for her to return to school, as I am unable to assist in that way right now.

 

    This woman had my heart so deeply that I became passionate about fighting for women like her, because the sad truth is that her story is not uncommon. Our mountain side town overlooked the valley that has the main highway that runs all the way through Kenya in it. At night you see the truck lights going by. The sad part is that that highway is labeled as “HIV highway” because of the rampant prostitution, human trafficking and victimized women.

     There are many more stories I could share at a different time, but I see though, that there is a huge connection with all the different areas that make me passionate and how I don’t have to deny the children if I choose to work with the women instead.  Vulnerable women, vulnerable children, their kids becoming orphans, them having aged out of orphanages, etc. I don’t know what the next steps look like, but I’m trusting the Lord to continue to lead me on this journey.

    Again, I just want to thank you so very much for your support to in this whole process. My summer has shaped the trajectory of my whole life and that is something that I'm grateful for. I saw the hand of God orchestrating Kingdom work, but He used you as an instrument in making that all happen, and I do not take that lightly. The friendships I made with the Kenyans are deep and special, ones I plan on maintaining. It's true that I left part of my heart in Kenya, and I think about those people everyday. I'd jump on a plane tomorrow if I could. I'm absolutely captivated.

Would you continue praying for them and the things they face everyday?

For the ministries who work so hard every single day to help all they can?

For the Women of Courage who are fighting giants that we can't even imagine?

For a scared lonely mom with two babies that depend on her for life?

For all the tiny hands that passed through ours who are orphaned, culnerable, trapped in a cycle of poverty and do not even have the hope to follow their dreams?

And that the Lord would continue to guide and shape my heart as I look forward to what He has called me to?

Asante Sana // Thank you!!

Leslie Walker