Mori: What's One More?

In Mori, there are many families that have taken in children of relatives. This situation isn’t that uncommon in Tanzania. It’s is also something that regularly happens in Dar es Salaam. Relatives wanting something better for their children send them to the city to live with an uncle or cousin that has a decent paying job hoping that their child can get into a decent school and or get a job to make money for the family. There is also the absorption of orphans and abandoned children. In Mori we met a great little grandmotherly lady who has taken in several of her grandchildren because the parents, either because of death or finances, could no longer support them or wanted them. She in one on thousands across Tanzania and Africa as a whole that has done this. It is this philosophy that expands families and illustrates the importance of family connection and networks. This is such a family oriented society. Almost anyone can tell you a long list of people they are related to. It is this system that keeps many children out of orphanages and off of the streets. The hardest part to see is the problem with HIV/AIDS and the number of children left behind. These extended family networks are strained at the amount of children that are being left. Then there are those who have no one to turn to. They end up being street children.

The extended family concept proves useful for university students too. My roommate is from Dodoma. She didn’t have a room at the university immediately. She stayed with her uncle in town who was able to accommodate her for several months until the University Housing Authority gave her a room assignment. Her extended family network made it possible for her to go to school even though the university could not accommodate her at the time. I don’t know if that is something that most people in the US have the ability to do. Even if there is a relative that lives close, whether or not they would take you in would be the question.

This concept of extended family is something that is challenging the traditional orphanage/children’s home model in Tanzania. For years NGOs, specifically churches, have set-up shelters and homes for orphaned children. These centers provide a standard of living, in most cases, beyond the village norm and standard. When these children become legal adults at 18 they are put out of the home and back into a life they haven’t known for years. This system is failing these children by failing to prepare them for real life. The extended family network needs to be utilized and supported instead of the shelter system. There are one or two organizations currently using this system, though it should be the focus of more programs. At this point those using this system of support or the extended family in the form of counselors and school fees for the “displaced” children have seen major successes.

Looking at these types of programs that challenge the traditional “help the orphan” mentality is an issue that needs to be addressed by foreign donors. It’s not about doing what feels good for us; it is about addressing the real needs of children and preparing them for adult life.