Orphans with Scars

[Guest guest]

Orphans with Scars

Shantanudutta

Caring for orphans has been a time honored work of the voluntary

sector, especially religious institutions. The Christian church

itself runs scores of children's' homes and orphanages in the

country. Orphans brought up in these institutions have been brought

up to live , fruitful , productive lives. But a new strain of orphans

is emerging that may challenge all the established paradigms and

processes of orphan care.

The ministry of health and family welfare says that 1,67,078 cases of

AIDS have been reported from 1986 to March 31st this year. However

this is considered to be an estimate on the lower side as probably

only about 10 percent of the infected are aware of their status.

Many of the children born to these HIV positive people are themselves

infected and at some point many of them become orphans as one or more

of their parents possibly are chronically sick or die. In what ways

are India's AIDS orphans challenging the traditional norms of orphan

care ? Well for one , firstly consider the sheer numbers.

India today is home to the largest number of AIDS orphans in the world.

The odds against AIDS-orphaned children are staggering. These

children are vulnerable to a number of risks ranging from social

exclusion and economic deprivation to illiteracy, malnutrition and

exploitation. They are also at increased risk of contracting sexually-

transmitted diseases, abuse and drug use, with many young girls

turning to prostitution in order to survive. AIDS orphans are often

shunned by their communities; many are denied property rights and

rights to inheritance. Those who cannot be taken in by their

relatives end up living on the streets.

With numbers such as these , typical responses will not work. An AIDS

orphan apart from being an orphan has all the attendant disadvantages

described above and then is at the receiving end of discrimination in

society for no fault of his own.

Now orphan children can be either simply affected or infected as well , in which

case , they will need additional skills in coping and self care. The knee jerk

response of society to pack these children into orphanages will not work because

of two reasons- a typical child care worker often will not have the skills to

handle children whom will need this level of intense care and support.

Secondly we will not have enough institutions to admit all of these children and

then maintain these as the cost of that will be huge.

This will necessitate some form of prioritization regarding who goes into

institutions and what happens to those who don't get in. now in India , while

the institutionalization set up is well established and the adoption mechanism

is also well established there is nothing in between these two options.

With orphanages and institutions untenable for such large numbers of

children and adoption too no t viable for legal or social reasons(for

instance in India , as of now only Hindus can legally adopt), foster

care , which is widely used in else where but rarely practiced in

India is worth exploring and trying. Unlike adoption , which is

irrevocable and permanent, in foster care , a child goes and stays

with another family which wants him and cares for him, but stays in

touch with his natural family and the stay for foster care is

temporary and for a fixed number of years.

With many of the AIDS orphans staying in single parent households headed

possibly by grand parents or a widowed mother , the emotional bonds in such

families is strong even though economic constraints often make it difficult or

impossible for the child to be given the care, support and education that one

needs.

However, what will delay or hinder the foster parent concept idea

from taking root in India apart from cultural prejudices and stigma

is the absence of a legal framework. With child protection

increasingly becoming an issue and child abuse now a proven fact even

in a supposedly conservative society like India, some guidelines are

a must. However , with all the red tape associated with law making

and policy formulation in India – foster care is an idea whose time

has surely come.

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