Adopted children should grow up in a stable, protective environment

Adopted Baby's feet on mothers hands. [Getty Images]

November was adoption awareness month. The month is dedicated to celebrate families that have adopted children because they give the children emotional, social, legal, and kinship benefits of biological children. Adoptive families provide children an opportunity to be raised in a loving and stable home. Adoption enables caregivers to become parents or to grow their families by adding a child to their family as they give the child a home.

All positive conversations adults have with adopted children make a huge impact in their lives. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities recognises a child’s right to family life and, as far as possible, the right to know and be cared for by his or her parents or, where applicable, by members of the extended family or community.

The 2019 UN General Assembly resolution on the rights of the child recognised and prioritised the role of the family as the fundamental group of society and the natural environment for the growth and wellbeing of all its members, particularly children. Families have the primary responsibility for the nurturing and protection of children. In order for a child to achieve their full potential, he or she should grow up in a family environment, in an atmosphere of happiness, love, and understanding.

Sadly, 7.5 million children all over the world live in charitable children’s institutions, commonly known as children’s homes or orphanages, yet 80 per cent to 90 per cent of these children have a living parent or known relatives. In Kenya, an estimated 45,000 children live in charitable children’s institutions for various reasons such as the loss of a parent or primary caregiver, poverty at home, sickness and disability, violence, abuse, and neglect.

Some communities perceive life in a children’s home as “good” because the children have better meals, housing, and opportunities for schooling. Yet families play a critical role in a child’s social, emotional, and cognitive development that a children’s institution cannot give. The government through the National Council of Children’s Services is spearheading care reforms to promote the best interest of the child to ensure that children are cared for in families and communities.

The Directorate of Children’s Services has developed guidelines for alternative family care in Kenya that determine where to place a child if they are not in the care of their parents. The guidelines outline coordination and service provision, including guiding principles such as do no harm and the best interests of the child to inform their placement and reintegration into families. The Children’s Bill 2021 affirms that the removal of a child from the care of the family should be a measure of last resort and should, whenever possible, be for the shortest possible duration.

In 2020 the High Court of Kenya, Family Division, published a document titled Adoption Process Simplified to increase awareness on adoption. The government, communities, civil society, private sector, and academia must make every effort to support families to enable them to nurture children to thrive. The approach should be a holistic family strengthening backed by a legislative framework.

It is possible to offer all children a stable, protective, and nurturing environment in families. When all attempts to reintegrate a child with his or her biological family have been exhausted, domestic adoption provides a crucial and permanent home for children to grow and thrive.

A family isn’t made from blood, it is made from love.