Orphanages – a dirty word? It’s a question of perspective

A friend recently said to me that it takes about two years to adjust to South Sudanese culture.  I think this is very true.

When I first arrived at Cornerstone, I suffered severe culture shock.  I saw the poverty at the children’s home while being aware that they were funded from an American charity.  I saw the poor nutrition, poor hygiene, poor literacy levels, poorly educated adults.  I saw barriers between different types of Christian, barriers between tribes and barriers between the children’s home and the town.  I saw a very strange type of Christianity with large elements of paganism.  I found what I saw as corruption, but was actually not.  I found it hard to find anything positive.  I think if you read my early blog posts this comes across.  I can only say that I am very sorry for my harshness.

Now, after a year and a half, what do I see?  I see people (ex-refugees themselves) at Cornerstone who are doing their best against huge odds and managing amazingly successfully.  I see children who are happy in spite of their extremely difficult circumstances.  The blinkers came off last year when I realised that out of all the orphanages in the country, Cornerstone was top of the league.

There is a huge divide between the western world and South Sudan.  South Sudan has suffered almost continuous civil war since the 1960s.  An infrastructure never existed.  Education barely existed except for the privileged few.  The entire population has been displaced repeatedly.  Healthcare is minimal.  Mortality rates are shockingly high.  It is hard for westerners to appreciate the impact of all these factors when it is beyond their own experience.

The western world responds with quick fixes.  NGOs want to be involved in short term ‘projects’ in selected areas of the country.  They want to be involved in ‘humanitarian’ work.  The range of humanitarian work is again very narrow.  For example, I am finding in my search for donors that orphanages are often not classed as humanitarian work in spite of the vast problem of destitute street children.  I start to suspect that NGOs want constantly changing projects so that they can have constantly changing webpages.  If there is constant change, maybe they feel they will be able to generate more interest from the public.  If so, it certainly isn’t helpful to South Sudan.

Like me when I first arrived, I think outsiders don’t get the full picture. In western countries the words ‘orphanage’ and ‘children’s home’ are loaded with negativity.  At least in Britain, they have a reputation for coldness, neglect, child abuse and institutionalisation leading to future homelessness.  No wonder they are hated.

During my recent efforts to find funding for Cornerstone, more than one NGO employee has told me that NGOs don’t like funding children’s homes because they and their donors believe in home-care.  Yes, of course it would be wonderful if all South Sudanese children had a caring family. 

However, here in South Sudan there are problems which are not faced in western countries.  There are huge numbers of children lacking parental care for various reasons.

Life expectancy is 42 years old and maternal mortality rates are the highest in Africa.  As a result children have a high chance of being orphaned even without the dangers of civil war causing death or displacement.  Orphaned or displaced children are frequently abandoned on the streets, if they have no direct relatives to take them into their homes.  Tribal values mean that even extended family will not treat their orphaned relatives well – their own children come first, leaving the cuckoos in the nest starved and unloved.  This is the norm and nobody feels any sense of guilt about it. 

Here is a prime example of my early culture shock.  On one occasion I was attending a prayer meeting where a woman asked for prayer because she was infertile.  I immediately spoke to one of the pastors because only the week before Cornerstone had started to support a new-born baby whose mother had died.  The foster mother, even though she claimed to be a good friend of the baby's dead mother, was very reluctant to keep the baby and only agreed to keep him until he was a toddler.  Surely this desperate, infertile woman would be delighted with this answer to her prayers?  Not a bit of it.  My suggestion was greeted with shock.  Nobody would consider adopting a baby.  It is totally counter-cultural.  

All large South Sudanese towns have a problem with huge numbers of street children.  Although this isn’t the case in Nimule, which is a relatively new town, there are realistic fears that it will develop a street child problem because the town is growing. 

Another problem caused by Nimule’s expansion is the influx of witchdoctors from elsewhere in South Sudan or Uganda.  These witchdoctors practise child sacrifice on a routine basis.  Imagine the dangers faced by street children in these circumstances.

Next week a government official will be visiting Cornerstone to discuss how Cornerstone can help.  Given the state of Cornerstone’s finances at the moment, this may not be a very productive meeting.

Cornerstone is not at all like the western conception of a children’s home.  The children are happy and very sociable.  Admittedly conditions are very basic compared to a non-African children’s home.  There is no running water.  The diet is very limited.  Apart from the youngest children, the children are responsible for their own washing, mending and ironing.  They help in the kitchen.  They clean their own dormitories and sweep and maintain the compound.  On the positive side, these are essential life skills, so these children will be far more capable of looking after themselves in adulthood than their western counterparts.

When not in school or doing their chores, the children play.  They are hugely inventive compared to western children because of the complete absence of toys.  They make their own cars out of pieces of metal, clay mobile phones, balls made of old plastic bags.  Whatever they want, they seem to be able to make.  One very resourceful boy was given two pairs of rabbits by a relative.  He is totally absorbed in caring for them.  He is determined that we will all be eating rabbit soon!

Unlike any other South Sudanese children’s home, Cornerstone has managed to ensure that all children go to school.  Some go for further studies to Uganda.  It is extremely rare in Britain for a ‘looked after’ child to reach university, given the expectation that they will leave care at 18 years old.  What a feather in Cornerstone’s cap!

Also unlike a British children’s home, we have an on-site clinic, capable of treating most ailments, including typhoid and malaria.  In cases of major illness, they get hospital treatment, even going to Uganda if necessary.  Again, no other South Sudanese children’s home has the facilities to do this.

As mentioned previously Cornerstone is the best children’s home in South Sudan.  It is a safe place for very vulnerable children. Over the past year we have welcomed three children whose parents were shot in the fighting further north, two small children whose mothers died giving birth due to HIV and whose fathers are unknown and three street children.  There is nowhere else for children like this.  All these new children have settled in well, welcomed beautifully by the old hands.  They are incredibly fortunate to be here.

Please talk to NGOs about the importance of funding places such as Cornerstone.  It is easy to say, ‘We think all children should be in a home setting’, but it is an ideal too far in South Sudan at the moment. 

It is easy for NGOs to say, ‘We only fund short-term humanitarian projects’.  In what way is helping orphans and street children not humanitarian work?  Certainly it is long-term, but given the huge numbers it is VITALLY important for the future of this country.

If you are able to help Cornerstone financially, please see the link to Fulaa.