Why are there orphans in africa

Photo: Flickr. Blog - Latest News. Statistics for orphans combine three groups, including those that have lost both parents, those that have lost a father and those that have lost a mother. Millions in South Africa Alone There are an estimated 3. As of , , have lost both parents, 2.

Close to a Quarter of African Youths are Orphaned In sub-Saharan regions of Africa, around 20 percent of the population under 18 is considered orphaned. Many of these children suffer from the disease as well. To actors, this categorisation may just be a term to trigger an intervention but to a child, it can expose them to unwanted sympathy that can erode their confidence and self-esteem.

Being relieved of the orphan label, also lessens the trepidation that children feel, that they could be separated from their village , community and family members — everyone and everything that provides them with a sense of identity — and confined to an orphanage. In many countries in Africa, orphanages remain a legacy of colonial rule that continue to undermine traditional family and community responses to caring for vulnerable children.

In Rwanda for example, the Belgian colonial rulers placed children without parental care in state-run institutions. These children would then be used as manual laborers in the fields. In the post-colonial era, the use of orphanages as an imported solution to child protection challenges in Africa has continued.

In this way, donors have been key actors in the weakening of the family and community structures which, in turn, drives the further proliferation of orphanages. In Rwanda again, the number of orphanages rose sharply following the genocide which left one in ten children losing one or both parents. Yet, in the name of caring for children, across Africa, ever more buildings are constructed and filled with beds and subsequently filled with children to convey the illusion of protection.

But these children are recruited from families and communities — often from desperate parents who have little or no say in the decision.

They face an impossible choice; either giving up the child to the orphanage which promises to meet their needs or keeping their child and being denied that support. Sadly, as a result of making this heartbreaking decision, families often end up being portrayed as unloving and criminalized as poor care givers.

When children are shut away in orphanages, they not only lose touch with their communities and families but they often transfer their trust and sense of love to their new primary care givers, the institution. With the exception of three, 28 of the poorest countries in the world are in Africa.

You and Children International play a role in solving this problem. Our program serves the sub-Saharan African nation of Zambia, one of the poorest in the world.

Learn more about our work in Zambia. The infrastructure that most of the world takes for granted is missing or severely limited in Africa. Water and sanitation issues cost these countries more than the total economic aid they receive. Hunger is a major issue , and Africa is producing less food per person, with the average plot of land being too small to feed a family. A recent report has suggested that fewer people in Africa are living in extreme poverty than a decade ago.

Even so, with population growth, more and more people are living in poor conditions. Our programs work to help children create lasting change in their lives and their families.

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