By Deus Kamanyire | Head of Program Advocacy and Capacity Building
“Boaz[1] was born prematurely, we couldn't afford to care for him,” explains his Aunt. For three months, he was kept in an incubator, while his mother remained in critical condition. When she died, the father was left with two children (including Boaz) and a large debt. “We were advised to feed him powdered milk which cost 8,500 RWF ($12.50 US) per tin. But we were unemployed. We couldn't afford this” explains the father.
At the time, the family sought help from the local authorities who gave them admission papers for the nearby orphanage, Orphelinat Noel de Nyundo (ONN)[2]. Seeing no other alternative, in 2011, the family placed the child in the institution. Though the family continued to visit Boaz and monitored his well-being. “We would visit him on weekends,” says his Aunt. “If I couldn’t go, then my mother would visit, or his father or other family member would.”
Boaz’ grandmother was quick to say “when Boaz was 18 months, I felt like coming to the orphanage to take him back home… but when I came to the orphanage the nurses advised me to wait until he was at least 2 years”. His family understood the negative impact of institutional care and wanted him to move out of the institution as soon as possible.
Following a series of assessments, preparatory meetings, and home visits, the team of Social Workers and Psychologists confirmed the readiness of the family to receive Boaz and helped to prepare him for reintegration. Boaz is now fully reintegrated with the Father and Aunt and enjoying the love and warmth of the family. The placement is rated as highly successful by the Social Workers and Psychologists.
The Ishema Mu Muryango (IMM) Program, implemented by Global Communities, is working to safely and sustainably reintegrate children like Boaz into families and communities. He is one of 160 children who have since been safely reunited with his birth family since the program began in April 2013.
[1] Not his real name.
[2] Orphelinat is the French term for orphanage.
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