Huye, 16th December, 2014 – “I am requesting for ending children institutionalization because my sister and I lived for a couple of years in an orphanage, where we saw sadness and suffering in each child’s eyes. We were not happy about living there either. We got lucky when the orphanage management helped our grandmother to take us back home into the family. They had great confidence in my grandma and gave us hope. A year has passed since we came home to our grandmother and started going to the mainstream school, which we like a lot. It has been a really good year for my sister and me, with lots of positive moments. Every day we can feel the love of our grandmother who is taking good care of us. I and my sister we have other relatives near us, whenever we need them. This is an amazing feeling. ” said Eric and his sister Jacqueline who were reunited with their family in Huye District after spending 5 years at Saint Elizabeth Orphanage.

A 17 years Eric said the above at a Christmas party organized by National Commission for Children to thank all the administration of the Saint Elizabeth Orphanage for complying with government policy of giving every child family, families that received those children with the aim of promoting this compliance among orphanages owners.

In her address to over 150 participants 72 being children at the Christmas party, the executive secretary of NCC, Ziana Nyiramatama thanked the management and staff of St Elizabeth for complying with the government to give every child a chance to grow up in a family not orphanage. “We came here to thank St Elizabeth orphanage management for being one of the childcare institutions that understood the value for raising children in families not in orphanages to give children the best start in life. It is in this context, this year the Christmas celebration is held here to extend our appreciation everyone involved including families that received those children,” said Zaina.

She added that St Elizabeth actions are in line with the intention of the Government of Rwanda to fulfill its commitments towards children of Rwanda thus in accordance with the UN Convention on the rights of the Child by demonstrating that every child matters without discrimination of any kind. “The Government of Rwanda further recognizes that a child deprived of his or her family environment is entitled to special protection and assistance,”
Why orphanages/institutions are not good for children’s growth and development?

In Rwanda more than 4 out of 5 children living in institutions are not orphans, and this amount rises to 60% in the country. The nature of orphanages means that they often fail to provide the individual sustained attention and stimulation a child would get from growing up within a family. In many cases the children living in them are at risk of harm. There are also many reports of orphanages being abusive. They are a particular issue for children under three years old as they can stop them making the attachments that they should. These attachments can be broken by staff changing jobs and children moving to other rooms as they get older.

Keza who lived at St Elizabeth for 5 years explained that while at the orphanage she felt she was nobody’s child. “I lived in the St Elizabeth for more than four years, feeling like I was nobody’s child. But now I want to tell you that I feel happy. I am happy because I live in a family, happy that I go to a school where you really can learn different things, and happy that my mother decided to offer me the possibility of the warmth of a family, and what could be more beautiful than a family,” said Keza, aged 13, reunited with his family by St Elizabeth management.

Scientific studies that compared the development of children raised in institutions with children raised in birth families and foster care examined children’s physical growth, cognitive, emotional and behavioral development over a number of years found:
• For every 2.6 months spent in an institution a child falls behind one month of normal growth
• Institutionalized children had significantly lower IQs and levels of brain activity than the other children, especially those who were institutionalized at a young age
• Children in institutions were far more likely to have social and behavioral abnormalities, including aggressive behavior problems, attention problems and hyperactivity and a syndrome that mimics autism.
• This syndrome and the behavior’s disappear when the child is placed in a family.

Why NCC organizes Christmas party for children and families?

In line with the National Child Care Reform which was adopted by the Cabinet on 16/03 /2012, with Tumurerere Mu Muryango Program (TMM) as an entry, every year the National Commission for Children (NCC) together with relevant partners organize a Christmas celebration for children and their families in a district selected according to its importance in the implementation of the national child care reform.

Last year the annual Christmas celebration was held in Noel de Nyudo, Rubavu District where some of 60 children living in Noel were handed over to their families under biological families’ reunification, extended/kinship, and foster care reintegration. Also 20 houses were given 20 identified young adults (orphans over-18 years of age) who left Noël de Nyundo Orphanage and reintegrated into the community to start their independent life. This year 2014, NCC together with its partners will conduct a campaign with a special focus on long term solutions in favor of 72 children whom St Elezabeth de Kibondo Orphanage-Huye reintegrated under biological parents reunification, adoption, kinship/extended and foster care. NCC gave about 60 goats to these families for small income generation hence long term families’ sustainability.

Priorities for children living in institutions/orphanages in Rwanda

Since June 2012 to date, about 2310 children in Rwanda have been removed from orphanages to families under reunification with biological families or extended families, adoption and foster care through systematic reintegration approach. “The government of Rwanda considers it important that all institution-to-home transitions must be accompanied by adequate preparation through individual and group counseling. The development of social and psychologists work teams to manage fostering and adoption programs is also considered important,” said the Executive Secretary, Ms Zaina Nyiramatama.

Reunification with family
When possible, children are reunited with their birth or extended family. However, this requires short term psychosocial or financial support but is generally seen as the ideal.

Support to transition into independent living
Children above 18 years transitioning out of care and into the community are given significant support as their life skills are found to be limited. The government understands that failure to prepare them can cause a significant number of them to return to institutions in later life or end up in crime or prostitution.

Adoption
In Rwanda adoption within the country is more encouraged until a country’s child protection system is well developed to avoid children being at risk in international adoption.

Foster care

As the process children reintegration progresses in Rwanda, the majority of children are absorbed within their own extended families and those with no families at all, foster parents are sought. This is commonly known as alternative family care. The government’s many efforts for the long term care of children without parental care have this at their heart. Successful deinstitutionalisation is accompanied by building the capacity of psycho-social workforce to run fostering and adoption process in the best interest of every child. Other long term support structures for families at risk of separation will include facilities such as early childhood development centers (ECDs that also accommodate children with disabilities and young babies. These will allow parents to go to work so that they can earn a wage and support their families.

Setting up new services is not only considered better for the social, physical and cognitive development of children, but its cost can be as low as one-sixth the cost of institutionalized care once the costs of making the transition have been funded.