Eritrea : Collective Responsibility for War Orphans
The note reviews the impact on collective responsibility for orphans in Eritrea, as a result of the thirty-year war, when the number of children who lost both parents increased in geometric proportions. At the same time, the social structure of the...
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| Format: | Brief |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2012
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2002/11/2077728/eritrea-collective-responsibility-war-orphans http://hdl.handle.net/10986/10788 |
| Summary: | The note reviews the impact on
collective responsibility for orphans in Eritrea, as a
result of the thirty-year war, when the number of children
who lost both parents increased in geometric proportions. At
the same time, the social structure of the traditional
society was grossly disrupted, and, as a result, the
"grass-roots" pattern of caring for orphans, no
longer functioned, and the Eritrean administration had to
make special provisions of group care as long as the war
lasted. The negative experiences Eritrea had had with
foreign adoptions, or foster care, was conducive to
concerted efforts to close all orphanages, and instead,
formulated a nation-wide plan for the rescue, and
rehabilitation of unaccompanied children, largely built on
indigenous practices of child care. The plan's main
component was the reunification of orphans with their
extended family, and an income-generating scheme was
implemented, whereby families accepting orphans, received
financial assistance - in kind. The program has been in
place for some seven years, and is being monitored to
provide economic, and social assistance. However, all
extended families were not possibly traced, and an
alternative plan, provided decent housing, and social
environment for children to live together, with one or two
surrogate mothers, also based on indigenous traditions of
child care among the larger community. |
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