Abandoned, rebranded, and then loved

EASTERN PROVINCE BUGESERA—They call every man ‘father’ and every woman ‘mother,’ regardless of who they are. At the simple sight of a strange visitor, they will run to you, arms opened wide, singing and shouting, “Daddy, daddy.” This is the behaviour of 23 children housed at Irero-Ibambe centre. The children, mostly girls between the ages of two months and six years, have been abandoned by their parents for social, economic or personal reasons. Picked from different places in Bugesera and other parts of the country; some at the age of less than a month, they are taken to the care home, run by Francine Mukarusimbi. “The abandonment of children is an extreme form of child neglect,” Mukarusimbi said. “Some are abandoned by prostitutes, some by destitute parents who are unable to look after the children while others by mentally-handicapped mothers who have conceived with men they don’t know.” No matter from whom or from where, they are all given treatment needed at Irero-Ibambe, and it all begins with a name. Mukarusimbi says the first thing she does when receiving a new child is giving it a new name. Of course, only such good charity can be afforded by good income, and for Irero-Ibambe, financial capacity is the biggest hurdle to properly looking after and caring for the children. With no clear budget from no specific aid organisation helping them, each worker individually sacrifices their own resources towards the welfare of the children. Mukarusimbi suggests that the children would grow faster, but the feeding is not ‘so appropriate’ based on their capacity. They operate a small canteen in the vicinity for income generation but it’s poorly stocked. The home, which has been in operation since 1997 in the district, does not operate like a non-governmental organisation, but rather they say they look after children like ‘good Samaritans.’ Though severely beaten or abused children live in their own rooms, often as many as six children share double beds, while the workers in turn share beds with children who are less than one-year old. Bugesera district has helped enrol the children in the health insurance schemes and they have no problem accessing medical care when the children fall sick. The children are enrolled in schools in Rilima, Bicumbi and Ndera, and Bugesera District has helped enrol them in health insurance schemes so that proper medical care is always available. Water is another significant problem. They have to pay a person for fetching water daily, and the tin roofs offer to way to harvest water when rain falls. Despite the problem of financial capacity, Mukarusimbi says the children cannot be abandoned. “With trust in God we shall overcome our difficulties and the children will grow.” Chantal Tuyishimire and Josline Kandama are two of the children at the centre. Each three years old, they were twins found together. By the time people came to notice one of the twins had been eaten one side by worms, she was always sick. Mukarusimbi says they try to locate the parents of the children but often in vain. “Our mission is to reunite the children with their families when they have grown up but such efforts many times are futile.” Ends