Kamonyi orphans get safe haven as orphanages are phased out

Jackline Mukamana is a subsistence farmer in Rugalika sector, Kamonyi District. She is a widow and mother of seven children. Despite this, she recently adopted two more orphans, aged 12 and 13. Doing odd construction jobs alongside growing vegetables, Mukamana takes care of her nine children. “I hated seeing them on the street. It is out of kindness that I decided to take on more than I can feed,” Mukamana said.Providing medical insurance, food, clothes, school fees and stationery for her nine children is not an enviable responsibility. Already, one of her children has to stay at home because she cannot afford to send him to school. Strong Roots FoundationThe children are sent to a make-shift nursery school, under the ‘Strong Roots Foundation’, a community initiative started one year ago by Pastor Eric Mugabonake and Blaise Pascal Nkurikiyineza. Both Mugabonake and Nkuriyineza grew up as orphans, surviving the streets because they received kindness from people who were not their relatives. “We know what it means to go to bed hungry. We do not want these children to go through the same,” Nkuriyikineza says. The foundation currently supports 69 orphans and vulnerable children in the community. A helping handAt the community church on top of a hill in Rugalika sector, Pastor Mugabonake preaches to the small community comprising mainly widows and children. When the children are called upon to sing and dance, their stamping feet create a sand cloud in the small building, causing a light layer of dust to cling to their eyelashes. Despite their empty stomachs and the heat inside the crowded room, the children dance with vigour, stamping their feet and clapping their hands with gusto.“This is not an orphanage,” clarifies Pastor Mugabonake, after the dancing had ended. Aware of the National Council of Children’s new policy to phase out orphanages and promote adoption, Strong Roots Foundation is attempting to play its part. “We get children off the streets and encourage community members to help them,” Mugabonake says.The Pastor uses the word “help out” rather than “adoption” as both the organisation and the “adoption” process has yet to be approved by the government. “With time, we would like to show the government what we have achieved and then receive assistance to help the children further,” says Pastor Mugabonake.“The local authorities have come to visit our initiative. They are happy with our work and promised to give us land in the future,” he adds.Living on the edgeA cup-full of diluted porridge is served to the children for lunch. They sit patiently, waiting to be served. A young boy seated by the window side rejects the porridge. “He has a liver disease,” Mukamana explains, while pointing at his swollen stomach. She says the boy is unable to access treatment because he lacks health care insurance.“This is one of the things we aspire to give the children. Medical insurance, books, uniforms, clothes, stationery and, most importantly, food. Even when some of the children are adopted, they run away from their “mothers” because they are hungry. They do not have enough food to keep them off the street,” Nkuriyikineza says.Despite public schools in the area being categorised as free, both the Pastor and Nkuriyineza agree that the other expenses mean “free” is not a reality for these children.“How can they learn when they are hungry and lack pens,” Nkuriyikineza says, adding that the public schools are only cheaper than the private ones.In an attempt to fill the educational gap into which these young children are falling, Strong Roots Foundation has managed to rent one room for the children aged three to five years old. They use the intermittent funds received from the charity Reach the Nations Ministries. “The biggest problem is that we have one volunteer from the community who is teaching all these children. But it is the best we can do for now,” Nkuriyikineza says.Difficulties and benefitsMukamana knows that what Strong Roots Foundation is providing is not a lot, but it is better than nothing. Indeed, the Kamonyi case study is an example of the difficulties and benefits emerging from phasing out orphanages and encouraging adoption. Under crippling economic situations, the resilience of the community brings to attention the large number of orphans in the country as a result of AIDS, Malaria, poverty and the lingering impact of the Genocide on the family unit. The Strong Roots Foundation’s slogan ‘Growing the Future Together’ surely rings in Kamonyi District. The Kamonyi residents are aware that the children are the future of the community and need to be given an opportunity to realise their potential. A church built from mud, and a makeshift nursery school are hopefully only the beginning for Kamonyi and other districts alike. Twitter: @KimHarrisberg