Interview with Joel from Glory of Africa Orphanage
Glory of Africa is an orphanage in Mivumoni where Art in Tanzania teaches, conducts seminars, and organises activities for the children. Joel and his wife, Felista, have been running the organisation since 2012 and strive to give each child a promising future by providing them with food, shelter, and education. What surprised me is that no kids get adopted, ever. In this interview, I asked Joel why this was the case and what happens when the kids grow older.
“How many kids have been adopted from this orphanage?”
Zero.
“Why do you think children don’t get adopted by foreigners that are often in Tanzania?”
The governmental procedures are stringent. It takes such a long time that inevitably, most of the potential parents looking to adopt give up. Also, the orphanages don’t like kids to be adopted. This is because they are scared to give the kids to strangers. It’s always a guess; you never really know the intentions behind the adoption.
Since most of the kids still have family here, they (kids and family) prefer to stay here. The family sends their kids to the orphanage because they know they will get an education here and stay out of trouble. In the future, they expect the kids to come back to the family and provide them with a better future.
The kids who do get adopted are expected to come back to Tanzania after their education to take care of the family. This is an unwritten rule, and the decision fundamentally lies entirely with the kid. However, the family does expect that. For example, some adoption contracts ask the kid to keep in contact with their biological family. This is also because the child should not forget the country and culture in which they were born. This doesn’t happen often, though.
“Do Tanzanian families ever adopt Tanzanian children or does this also not happen?”
No. Tanzanian families have enough difficulties in taking care of their own families. So they barely ever adopt a child. The financial situation of most Tanzanian citizens is not strong enough to support adopting a child outside their family.
“Are you afraid that people come here to adopt with bad intentions?”
Yes, that always crosses my mind. Sometimes, kids get adopted to do chores in the house to work on the farm.… This is not a promising future for them. That’s why I prefer to keep them here until they are grown up and can make decisions on their own. When they turn 18, they can be adopted if they still want to be adopted. Before that age, anything attracts them, and they make decisions without thinking. When they regret the decision, they might run away from the adoption family, live on the streets, get in contact with evil people and learn to misbehave.
“How many kids are staying here now?”
Thirty-five kids come here daily to get food and education. 7 of the 35 kids are also sleeping here. This is because a lot of the kids here still have families. However, they can’t provide for them. Common examples of the children’s situations are having a single, disabled or mentally ill parent or no parents at all with only grandparents or possibly an uncle left. Most of them do keep in touch with their family. This might not be a registered orphanage, but the government passes by occasionally, and they have the contacts of every kid staying here at the orphanage. The orphanage provides food, shelter and education for kids who need it.
“Do kids want to be adopted? Do they ever mention it?”
No, they like to be at the orphanage. They are surrounded by kids who are the same age and speak the same language, and all of them are in a similar situation. This comforts them, and they wouldn’t like it any other way. They feel safe.
“What happens when the kids turn 18?”
When the child turns 18, they can do whatever they want. He can attend college, return to his family, start working, or remain at the orphanage. It’s all up to the kid. The kid can also choose to get adopted, but this happens rarely. If the kid gets adopted, he can stay at the family for one month as a trial. If everything goes as planned and both parties are satisfied, the adoption can be officially finalised.
If the child wants to stay at the orphanage, that is possible if they keep following the rules. If the child doesn’t listen, goes out, drinks alcohol, or is badly behaved and influences the other children, then they will no longer be welcome at the orphanage.
“Do they get proper support from the government to build an independent life?”
No, the government doesn’t support them. This is because this orphanage is not registered (yet). The orphanage itself barely gets any support from the government as well. Sometimes, when a government official has a heart, they will provide us with supplies such as food or mosquito nets. However, this depends solely on the person’s heart. I also work as a tailor, which enables this orphanage to stay operational. Sometimes, I get donations from people who volunteer here. That helps as well. I don’t like asking for money, if people donate it’s because they proposed it themselves.
Some orphanages exploit the system to earn money. They ask the remaining relatives to give them money, and they send the kids to the city to work jobs, such as selling peanuts. The kids get kicked out or thrown onto the streets when they don’t sell enough peanuts.
“Can kids (financially) go to university after staying in the orphanage?”
Yes, they can, but it depends on their financial situation. If the family saves money to let the kid go to university, he is lucky and can go. If the family is poor and he wants to attend university, he’ll have to work and study simultaneously to afford his education.
Written by Alice Coetsier
If you want to support this orphanage, please click the link below. More information about this project can be found on this gofundme webpage.
