{"id":35351,"date":"2017-06-28T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-06-28T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/dreams-come-true-as-dedicated-social-workers-find\/"},"modified":"2017-07-03T17:11:22","modified_gmt":"2017-07-03T17:11:22","slug":"dreams-come-true-as-dedicated-social-workers-find","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/dreams-come-true-as-dedicated-social-workers-find\/","title":{"rendered":"Dreams come true as dedicated social workers find loving families for orphans in Rwanda"},"content":{"rendered":"

{Back in Nyarugenge district, Peter was an orphan. He was abandoned as a newborn, helpless and dependent, before a small group of nuns discovered him in a garbage bin. The nuns raised him until he was eight years old, when he moved to an orphanage.}<\/p>\n

As he grew older, Peter continued to demonstrate what his caretakers could only describe as \u201cchallenging\u201d behaviour. Lacking in familial love and positive role models, Peter was violent towards other children, picked fights and bullied children his own age, and had very poor performance in school, consistently ranking as the last in his class.<\/p>\n

Initially, his caretakers at the orphanage and the social workforce from the National Commission for Children made several attempts to find him a family, but he would mostly refuse to go. Only once did his caretakers believe they had finally found a family for him, and they excitedly arranged a visit. But only a few hours later, Peter arrived back at the orphanage. He had taken a taxi on his own, telling his caretakers that he preferred the orphanage. \u201cNo family can fit me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

A few years ago, social worker Angelique Mukamana dedicated herself to Peter\u2019s case alongside her colleague Lydia Bigirimana, a child psychologist. Angelique and Lydia work in Nyarugenge District, one of the three districts comprising Kigali City, on child protection cases as part of the Tubarerere mu Muryango programme.<\/p>\n

Tubarerere mu Muryango means \u201clet\u2019s raise children in families\u201d in Kinyarwanda, the local language spoken by nearly all Rwandans. Not only does it capture a ubiquitous cultural value \u2013 that the pride of most families is their children \u2013 but it is also an important Government programme aimed at finding safe homes and loving families for all children in institutional care. Since its inception in 2013, UNICEF has supported this programme, with funding from organisations like Zonta International and the Displaced Children and Orphans Fund of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).<\/p>\n

In Nyarugenge District, all children formerly living in institutions have been reintegrated into families. The success of the Tubarerere mu Muryango programme depends on the determination of social workers like Angelique. In addition to facilitating adoptions, Angelique facilitates trainings on positive parenting, teaching families and communities about the importance of a loving and emotionally supportive environment for children. The trainings also seek to promote child participation in decision-making and prevent violence against children, and Angelique has found that adults have begun to seek parenting advice from her and other professionals. Before children are considered to be successfully reintegrated, Angelique follows up with each family on a regular basis for six months to a year, ensuring that the child is safe and happy in their new home.<\/p>\n

\u201cFamilies are learning that with emotional support and a caring environment free of violence, children are capable of developing and accomplishing anything,\u201d Angelique said, \u201cand that they don\u2019t need to live in institutions just because they have some problems.\u201d<\/p>\n

Angelique was determined to find a family for Peter. She worked closely with Lydia to find a family with time and patience to devote to him, one with other children who Peter could eventually call brothers and sisters. One of the key components of Angelique\u2019s work was to talk with Peter and listen to his stories, his concerns, and his aspirations. She tried to use this information as the foundational criteria for his family.<\/p>\n

Eventually, after careful assessment, Peter\u2019s new family was found. He still gets rough on the playground, but only because he\u2019s playing football or wrestling with his siblings. He has multiple brothers and sisters, and proudly calls his foster parents \u201cMom\u201d and \u201cDad.\u201d Peter has even improved at school; recently, he succeeded in his national exams, graduated from primary school, and will enter his first year of secondary school this month.<\/p>\n

Angelique smiled when she spoke of Peter. It is children like him who prove that her work within the Tubarerere mu Muryango programme has had a profound effect. She spoke selflessly about the success of efforts like hers, and implored unselfconsciously for increased support so the programme can be strengthened.<\/p>\n

Although Angelique\u2019s work is far from finished, it is not difficult to see why she feels fulfilled. \u201cWe see such big changes in their lives, even after only three to six months,\u201d she said. \u201cIt makes me so proud to see children improving in their new families.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Angelique<\/figure>\n

{ *Note: The name of the child in this story has been changed to protect his identity.}<\/p>\n

Source : Unicef<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

{Back in Nyarugenge district, Peter was an orphan. He was abandoned as a newborn, helpless and dependent, before a small group of nuns discovered him in a garbage bin. The nuns raised him until he was eight years old, when he moved to an orphanage.} As he grew older, Peter continued to demonstrate what his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[72,75],"byline":[170],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-35351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-education","tag-featured-news-home","tag-homenews","byline-igihe"],"bylines":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"contributors":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"featured_image":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35351","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35351"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35351\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35351"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=35351"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=35351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}