Alternative Care

"We don't have an orphan crisis in Uganda... 

We have a family protection and child protection crisis." 

--Mark Riley, consultant for Alternative Care Initiatives

I'm so encouraged by the recent shift in people's opinions about the best way to care for vulnerable and orphaned children around the world. There are so many orphanages in Uganda as it has become the default solution for children separated from their parents. In recent years many people have started to understand that institutionalizing children is not the best or only answer for children separated from their immediate family unit.

The following video was made for the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (a Ugandan government branch) about the ten Alternative Care Workshops that took place across Uganda. It's exciting to see directors of orphanages (more commonly known as "babies homes") begin to understand and advocate for these alternative care solutions, like resettlement, foster care, and local adoption. It does my heart good to hear those in positions of influence and authority say,

"I want to see the managers of children's institutions
being allies to this alternative care framework 

so that children can grow up in families."

I do believe we're on to something good here, Uganda...