 Why
we cannot ignore child abandonment
By: Boniface Mouti
Last week I talked about ways of tackling
child abuse in our country. This week I would like us to reflect on another form
of child abuse that is so rampant in our communities and this is none other than
child abandonment.
Child abandonment is an issue that cannot be
ignored. It is now a common feature in our societies and is given much coverage
by our news media. It is an issue that provokes some deep thought and asks
pressing questions for all of us who have the child at heart.
An abandoned child is one who has been
deprived of the right to protection and assistance by a responsible parent,
guardian or other fit adult person. The family in Africa has for a long time
been the most important transmitter of culture for prosperity, personal growth
and development. Children were the important pivot on which affairs revolved.
The rearing of children was a shared responsibility of the extended family and
the clan. The extended family has, in the recent past, been slowly eroded,
giving way to the nuclear family which does not enjoy the support of members
with common ancestors. The erosion of the extended family has had adverse
effects on children who are the most vulnerable members of the family.
Child abandonment, therefore, has to be seen
in the context of the ability of the family to stand in its own as a unit, with
adequate economic, physical, social and psychological necessities. The family
with inadequate support in the mentioned areas is likely to abuse its children
in one way or another.
Most research carried out in some African
countries where Tanzania is included, shows that the decreased role of the
extended family has led to increased abandonment of old people in rural areas
and infants in the urban centers.
The abandoned child usually comes from a
family where the parents are unable to adequately provide food, shelter,
clothing, medical attention and education for its members. The parents of most
abandoned children are to a large extent, underemployed or unemployed. A survey
carried out revealed that (mother) parents of abandoned child did not have
reliable jobs. Most of them were engaged in illegal trade which resulted in
problems with law enforcement units. A good number of mothers were unemployed
and earned their living through prosititution or brewing and selling illegal
liquor (gongo).
General observations revealed that most
abandoned children seemed to suffer from some form of malnutrition and physical
and emotional neglect. Those in urban centers come from slum areas with
inadequate sanitation and housing. The above indications strongly suggest
economic handicaps as a primary factor for abandonment of children.
Yes! So what is it that Mouti is saying this
week? Child abandonment is not an African problem but a global problem which
must be looked into with serious concern to rehabilitate the economy of most
poor families. The problem of child abandonment has interrelated casual factors
which call for a united effort to look at the total development of human
society.
Email:
rehofo@yahoo.com
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