19/02/2013
When you hear the word orphanage, what
do you imagine? I imagine a place full of young children who have lost both
parents and are now in some kind of social care. This notion soon changed when
we went to visit the orphanage the OSSA is responsible for.
When you think of an orphan, what do
you consider? Certainly for me it is someone who has lost both their parents
and potentially has no other family. However, I have come to learn the terms
‘single orphan’ meaning only one parent is lost, and ‘double orphan’ meaning
both parents are lost.
We arrived at a compound, and were
greeted by 7 young adults who had been sharing their lives together for over 7
years, in a compound constructed by German volunteers some years back. There
was a boy’s room and a girl’s room, filled with bunk beds, a communal room with
a TV and dining table, a bank of showers, toilets and sinks and a kitchen. They
also has a little outdoor space, and a new addition to the orphanage, a tiny
puppy.
We spent some time talking to all the
occupants and having lunch followed by coffee, these are the stories we heard;
Mercy* is 21 years old and is currently studying
computer science at university. It struck me that this girl has beauty and
brains, something that I am sure will take her far in the future. She hopes to
work in the software programming industry. Her mother died several years ago,
she was left to be looked after by some family friends in the village she is
from, but they soon began to struggle to look after her. At the age of 12 she
came to be under guardianship of OSSA.
OSSA provide her materials for
studying, food and accommodation. She also receives 400Birr from OSSA and
250Birr from Norwegian Church Aid per month for her studies – this is not
enough for her to survive on and save for her future. When she graduates
University she will have to leave the orphanage, she will be at an age where
she should support herself, but will start with nothing.
Graham* is 20 years old, he is currently studying public
health at university and homes to work as a health officer when he graduates.
He lives at the orphanage with his sister, May*
who is 18 years old. She is a grade 12 student and will go to university next
year. She wants to study engineering, particularly hydro-power. They are
originally from Shashemene, when both their parents died they lived with an
uncle for some time. Sadly as their uncle aged and became less able to generate
income, they had to leave to be supported by OSSA. They only have a slight
memory of their father because they were so young when they were orphaned. They
tell us that OSSA have made their lives more comfortable and ensured their
education and wellbeing. Graham hopes to go to work in rural areas of Ethiopia
when he graduates so that he can help the communities that most need it. He
also receives 650Birr per month as noted in Mercy’s story.
Bobby* is 13 years old, he is a ‘single orphan’ and has
one brother from the same father. When his father died, his mother remarried
-we learnt that in Ethiopia there is a stigma attached to children from the
first marriage living with the step parents. In this case Bobby and his brother
came to the orphanage as their mother needed her new husbands support and could
not provide for her two boys. She went on to have another son and a daughter
with her new husband, who all live together. Bobby and his brother did not get
on well, his brother was returned to the family, most likely stretching their
resources and leaving no room for Bobby to also be there. He goes to visit, but
will remain living in the Orphanage until her comes of age to leave. He hopes
to be a doctor when he is older, and is an avid fan of Manchester United.
Sally* is 18 years old, she is a grade 12 student and
will soon go to university. She came to OSSA when she was 5 years old. She
originally comes from the gold mining areas.
Her parents separated when the father wanted to stay to work and her
mother wanted to go to Awassa for a better life. Sadly, once in Awassa her
mother died, she does not know her father or where he is. She may return to the
area she is from in the future but has not relatives or connections there.
When asked what she wanted to study/
do as a career she replied that she did not want to confine herself to one
thing and that there are many things she enjoys. For example; drama and the
arts – she write scripts for plays at the church, and also like to dance. She
then also notes that studying medicine would interest her. It was refreshing to
meet someone who had so many ideas and considered several choices.
September* is 18 years old, she has no siblings and lost
both her parents to HIV. Her only relatives are her aunts, but they cannot
support her so at the age of 11 she came to the orphanage. She is a grade 9
student, this implies that her education is not as wholesome as it should be
for her age. She particularly enjoys physics and history at school, and has
ambition to be a film director but may settle for studying social science at
university instead!
Sara* is 19 years old, she is extremely shy and did not
want to join us for our discussions, though she came out of her shell a little
later on. She did not want to offer much information about her life, we do not
know why but can assume any number of reasons. She is a grade 8 student, for
her age she is somewhat lacking in academic ability, OSSA are encouraging her
to study and will monitor her progress.
All of these young adults seemed to be
content with their lives, they have someone to cook for them, safe shelter,
water and their educations to concentrate on. There are a few rules they must
stick to, boyfriends and girlfriends are ‘prohibited’ so they do not become
distracted (though this does not stop them having secret admirers), they have
curfews and do not receive any ‘pocket money’ (with the exception of the
university students who receive some funding to enable them to get to and from
the university which is around 30minute away). They are however allowed to go
and visit any living family they have that are nearby, so at least they have
not lost all contact with their relatives.
We noted several things that we would
like to procure for them, books of all kinds, educational and novels as they
all enjoy reading, and maybe some playing cards, dvds and cds. Although a
little ambitious, maybe a laptop or computer that they can have to share and
use for their school work. Only time will tell if we are successful or not!
Kx
*Names have been changed to protect
identity.
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