Today was a big day for many of our children. Home visits have been arranged for every one of our 47 residents. Most went today, others will leave tomorrow or the next day, but by the 4th of September, Wat Opot will sit empty, for the first time in nearly 20 years. Most will go to extended family, while those who have no known family will go to foster homes for a period of at least 2 weeks. Some will stay longer until school starts again and a few may not return at all, depending on how well the visit goes. If the situation that brought them to Wat Opot has improved and the relatives are ready to take them back, we will do all that we can to transition them back into the family including, if necessary, providing financial support for food and education.

It hasn’t always been this way… in the beginning, few records were kept because most of the people who came to us were going to die, and so it really didn’t matter where they were from. Many of the women who came with their children had been disowned by their families because of their HIV status, and no relative wanted to care for their children, especially the ones who were HIV Positive. Some were brought to us in comas and died before we even knew their names and the children that came with them were too young to give us any information on where they were from, and so the children stayed with us until they were able to take care of themselves. Many of them now live very successful lives.

Today, of course, better records are kept and Mr. Dara has taken it upon himself to find the relatives of all of our children. Only two remain true orphans without any family background… of course, the fact that he has found relatives for most of our children does not necessarily mean that the relatives can, or want, to take responsibility for the children, and for that reason he insists on doing the home visits. There is always a chance that attitudes will change and relationships will develop to the point that the families will take them back, or if nothing else, be a support after the children leave our community.

If I were to be totally honest, I would have to admit that it is difficult for me to watch them being so excited about going back to people who have, to this point, shown very little interest in their development, but I have been a foster parent now, for over 47 years, and have learned to let go when I have to… because I know that there will always be another child to take the place of the ones who leave.

Thanks for dropping in…
The Watopotians