THE PRACTICES, ROLES AND CHALLENGES OF SELECTED ORPHANAGE INSTITUTIONS IN CARING FOR ABANDONED CHILDREN IN HAWASSA CITY ADMINISTRATION; SIDAMA REGIONAL STATE, ETHIOPIA

Abstract

This study is conducted on the Practices, Roles and Challenges of Selected Orphanage Institutions in Caring for Abandoned Children in Hawassa City Administration, Sidama Regional State of Ethiopia. The study’s objectives aimed to assess the practices, roles, and challenges of these selected orphanage institutions. To attain the above-mentioned objectives the research has employed a descriptive study design with a qualitative research approach. Furthermore, in this research data was collected through in-depth interviews, observation, and document reviewing techniques. The findings of the study regarding the practices, roles and challenges of orphanages in caring for abandoned children revealed that these orphanage institutions are providing integrated institutional child care and support services that include shelter, food, medical services, educational services, clothing, recreational services, alternative childcare services, environmental protection services, and counseling services. The research findings also indicates that poverty, mental instability of parents, facing the challenge of having children with special needs and disabilities, marginalization from the community due to early age pregnancy and deviating from norms of the society, facing sexual abuse are the major causes of child abandonment. Moreover, the research finding further indicated that the selected orphanage institutions in the study area are facing various challenges like: very low awareness in the community about child abandonment and alternative services as adoption and foster care, inconsistent and frequently changing government laws and regulations regarding roles and challenges of orphanages in caring for abandoned children, lengthy bureaucracy from government stakeholders and imbalance between a large number of abandoned children in the study area while the intervention capacity of orphanage institutions is limited, inflation and rapid increment of material cost, lack of land access to build offices, were found to be among the major challenges of the child care organizations. Based on the conclusions made, certain recommendations such as raising more awareness about the rising problem of child abandonment and also local adoption and foster care in the society, working in more harmony with concerned government and non-government bodies to bring about solutions, were given.