Call for bigger children’s homes
CHILDREN’S homes have been urged to consider expanding their capacityso they can help the rising number of children needed care.
H-Metro recently saw an imbalance in Hurungwe children home which is caring for 75 children against the maximum of 45 it is supposed to be helping.
An official from Hurungwe children’s home who preferred anonymity said it was heart wrecking to see some children still in need of care being discharged.
“At some point a child had to walk to Chinhoyi after he was discharged and thought he had nowhere to go as he still required home services even as he turned 18.
“In as far as we really appreciate care being given by children homes, there are areas which need great attention like the issue of scaling down numbers to suit holding capacity.
“Some of these children will still be in need of the home care as they will be survivors of abuse.
“Discharging them on the basis of holding capacity will defeat the whole purpose. Discharge of children must be different as a number of issues must come into play ranging from what actually brought them and services required and the exit strategy,” said the official.
Karoi Town Council Chairman Abel Matsika also called for the need to come up with an exit strategy for children living in homes.
“There is need to also focus on the exit strategy for children in homes so that when they are released they will have a chance to live a befitting life,” he said.
Mashonaland West Provincial Social Welfare manager Agnes Mutowo said there were a lot of considerations when it came to discharging children from homes.
“When it comes to discharging children from homes we don’t just discharge;. We take into consideration a number of factors as we also consider a number of factors like the outside environment
“Will it be safe? We also even do follow ups to see whether the child will be safe.
“We consider taking children to homes as a last solution as we also consider relatives of children as part of a solution to take care of them,” she said.