In class we discussed the
dangers that people who migrate face and people who are internally
displacement. One of these dangers, although not the most common, was
trafficking, which is a huge focus on NGOs (so much of one that it loses focus
on some of the real issues migrants face). Also, before this discussion in
class we have discussed some of the effects of poverty on women and families.
This reminded me of an organization (I am unsure if they are a charity or NGO)
called Lumos. They deal with children who have been placed into orphanages even
if they have loving families. Here is there website explaining who they are and
what their goals are:
From what they state in their
website, children are often thrown into orphanages when they have families who
happen to be struggling. Instead of helping the families, they just take their
children away and place them into institutions. By 2050 their goal is to have
no more children institutionalized but rather just have social services that
aid these families. If we look at the “What We Do” page we can see exactly what
they do:
Here we can see that since 2009 over 31,000
children have been saved from going into harmful institutions and kept with
their families instead thanks to Lumos. I found out about this group from J.K.
Rowling. It does make me wonder if there are hierarchies and what their ‘lower’
workers have to say about it because of “Playing With Fire’s” critique on their
own NGO. As an education major, I do love how they empower children and have
them as the main goal in their mind. In order to fully understand the issue,
let’s look to where they explain it properly:
The first box when you scroll down states that
an estimated of 8 million children live in orphanages and other institutions
around the world and how research shows that this impacts them negatively in
their development. The real problem is that many of these children have loving
families but just happened to be born in the wrong place and wrong time. For an
intersectional viewpoint that this organization takes, they have a focus on
children who have disabilities. Due to the costs of healthcare that can be
associated with certain disabilities, families often give these children up to
orphanages. Not because they do not love them, but because they realize that
they cannot pay for the care that the children need and love them so much that
they give them up to someone who can. Lumos thinks that is wrong, and that
those families need support instead of giving up their child. They also specify
the difference between an orphanage and a high-quality residential care
facility. I love the idea of this organization, but I also would love to see a
book like “Playing With Fire” about it just to see if it really is all that it
is cracked up to be.
Word Count: 514
No comments:
Post a Comment