Orphan Foster Care

The number of children orphaned in Tanzania by the devastating effects of HIV and AIDS increases daily. Many of these children are forced to live on the streets, where they beg for food to survive. Others are taken into children’s homes where they often exist in an artificial environment, which can present problems when the child matures and is forced to re-enter the society they have not been exposed to. Therefore, a growing trend in Tanzania is to support orphans to live in the community with an extended-family member, or other guardian, in a foster parent setting. Children then remain in a family setting and therefore learn the social skills necessary for survival along with the customs of their culture. Orphans in children’s homes or orphanages attend the local government primary schools. However, some do still fail to attend, as they cannot even afford the small amount of money required to buy a uniform and some writing materials. Also, education in Tanzania, though having improved exponentially over the past few years still leaves a lot to be desired. Classes often have up to 100 pupils, and primary school generally only lasts half a day. As a result, it is difficult for children to learn and succeed in school. For children to succeed in life, a good education is imperative.

 

 

Volunteers can help to create educational materials for the orphanage, provide supplementary English lessons, set up/support other activities that is deemed appropriate e.g. sensitizing the community regarding the importance of foster parenting. The program is also in need of assistance to write proposals and funding applications so that the program can be expanded to support more children.