5.3 A gender analysis of the HIV and AIDS programmes/policy of the ELCT Northern
5.3.6 Provision of social support to orphans
Another HIV and AIDS programme of the diocese is the provision of social support to orphans. The diocese Master Plan concerning HIV and AIDS states that by 2006, there were 73 045 orphans between 0-18 years in the Kilimanjaro region of which 19 034 were from the ELCT Northern Diocese.529 The estimates nationally as well as within the diocese reveal the increase in the number of orphans as well as child deaths. The
529 Burkhardt, “Mpango mkuu wa KKKT DK kupambana na UKIMWI na kusaidia Yatima,” p. 2. See also KKKT-DK, “Sera ya Dayosisi ya Kupambana na Virusi vya UKIMWI na UKIMWI,” p. 3. Since the latest figure for orphans in diocese is not available, this figure may be higher or less than the 2006 data.
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provision of basic needs to orphans was mentioned as an important strategy by the respondents from parishes which are involved in supporting orphans either through parish initiatives or through assistance from various agencies, donors or institutions. One example of such a service of HUYAMWI ministry is run by the Lutheran Bible School Mwika.
HUYAMWI is a Swahili acronym for Huduma ya Yatima Chuo cha Biblia Mwika (Orphan Ministry at Lutheran Bible School Mwika). The idea to engage in orphan ministry was initiated by Rev. Dr. Martin Burkhardt, who was a lecturer at the Lutheran Bible School in Mwika (LBS Mwika).530 He took this step in response to the growing number of orphans within the communities. The special focus of this ministry was on the primary school leavers. Bible study, how to be self- reliant and experiences of orphans were the main themes of the initial work with the orphans. However, sports, singing and various other activities were later also encouraged to facilitate further open discussions with the orphans to ascertain their situation and needs. HUYAMWI offered its ministry to parishes and those that accepted the ministry were required to establish an orphan committee responsible for planning, budgeting and analysing the needs of orphans generally. The parish committee also had the task to identify specific orphans and their individual needs. Lole, Msae, Rau and Kisamo were the first HUYAMWI pilot parishes to be engaged in orphan ministry.
The HUYAMWI ministry includes the provision of school related expenses for orphans at public and private secondary schools and vocational training schools, funds to run income generating projects, medical aid support,531 and financial support for house construction or renovation for those who required this.532 The HUYAMWI report of 2006 states that four orphans would complete their secondary education in private schools at the end of 2007, while two were in form one and two in government schools, and that ten males had completed a course in mechanics at Mwika Vocational Training Centre, and
530 Personal discussion with Rev. Burkhardt 04/02/2007. See also Martin Burkhardt, “Kamati ya Yatima 06/11/2002,” p. 1.
531 Chuo cha Biblia Mwika, “Taarifa za HUYAMWI: Toleo la kwanza, Machi 2006,” p. 3, 4, 5.
532 HUYAMWI cover 50% of the total cost of the house construction or renovation and the parish offers to pay other half, as they work in collaboration.
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passed the VETA533 blacksmith III examination set by the government, and were thus seeking employment.534 The report does not identify the gender of those at secondary school. It also indicates that three girls were pursuing computer courses at the Intel training centre in Moshi town and one was studying home craft through VETA.
Besides secondary and vocational training education, the HUYAMWI ministry also trains volunteers, whose tasks include conducting home visits on a regular basis to counsel orphans and identify their needs, and gathering children once a month for socializing.535 Moreover, seminars on how to run small-income generating projects and loans to initiate these projects are offered to orphan‟s caregivers (family members) to enable them to have a reliable source of income.536 The involvement of the LBS Mwika staff in orphan ministry is commendable.
Scholarships for private secondary and vocational education are offered to those who have passed the school entry examination. However, only a few orphans will be beneficiaries of this as indicated above, a situation that demands parishes to initiate other activities to assist the majority who do not qualify for higher education, but who could then join vocational training schools or gain other skills to enable them to be self-reliant.
Although the main idea to support orphans with school related expenses is appropriate, some of the training offered to girls perpetuates gendered roles. Home craft training for girls will continue to place them at disadvantaged position in society in terms of their employment. I therefore argue that concerted efforts ought to be made to boost the education standard of girl orphans, which will later provide them with opportunities to get better jobs as a way to minimize their vulnerability to abuse of all forms. Besides the HUYAMWI pilot parishes, individual parishes such as Moshi Pasua537 and Fuka538 are
533 VETA is the Vocational Education and Training Authority.
534 Burkhardt, “Handbook of the Orphan Ministry at LBS Mwika (HUYAMWI) paper 9: Review of our Scholarship program 01/06/2006,” p. 1, 2. See also Burkhardt, “Mpango Mkuu wa KKKT DK Kupambana na UKIMWI na kusaidia Yatima,” p. 6.
535 Burkhardt, “Handbook of the Orphan Ministry at the LBS Mwika (HUYAMWI) paper 1: Overview of different measures 23/01/2004,” p. 1. See also Chuo cha Biblia Mwika, “Taarifa za HUYAMWI,” p. 4, 5.
536 Burkhardt, “Taarifa za HUYAMWI,” p. 4.
537 Solomon Masawe, “Taarifa ya Usharika wa Moshi Pasua 2006.”
538 Cryson Munisi, “Taarifa fupi kuhusu kituo cha Yatima na Maendeleo ya Jamii – Usharika wa Fuka 2006.”
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also playing a significant role in supporting orphans in terms of their basic needs, with school related expenses regarded as a priority.
Furthermore, an arrangement of HUYAMWI pilot parishes as well as Moshi Pasua and Fuka to set an occasional day aside on which orphaned children are offered a meal, was noted as part of the HIV and AIDS programme activities carried out by the church.
Explaining how this activity functions and is sponsored, one of the zonal educators who is also a church elder said:
We gather orphans occasionally for a meal which is sponsored by parish members. Plans are made to bring the children together to spend the whole day at the parish premises, where activities such as sports, singing and viewing television take place. We usually invite a guest of honour (a political leader) to share the meal with children (ZE-2 on 16/02/2007).
In most cases, it is women who contribute in terms of cash and their time to enable such activities to take place. For instance, it is women who volunteer to prepare the meal for these children, a service they offer whenever there is any parish function. Men can also do the cooking since some are trained as caterers, but since these activities take place on a voluntary basis, they barely take part. This shows the gender stereotypes in the division of labour, in that domestic work is regarded as being mainly for women leading their labour to be discounted as being a valuable resource for which they should be remunerated. However, if the same service is offered by men, they expect to be paid. A critical question we can pose here is: How can we understand the sharing of food together and spending time as a community theologically? As part of its HIV and AIDS programme, the diocese has established an institution (an orphanage) as a response to the challenges posed by the pandemic within the communities. Here too, it is the women who are primarily responsible in nurturing the infants at the orphanage. Given the care-giving roles that women are already engaged in, as we have seen above, for example in palliative care, this task of caring for orphans just adds yet another burden to their already heavy load.
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The diocese‟s HIV and AIDS draft policy has recognized the importance of addressing the social needs of PLWHA which is the topic of the next discussion.