Orphanage Alumni: How they have done and How they Evaluate their Experience

Child Detachment as a Correlate of Social Well-Being of Orphaned Children in Ibadan and Abeokuta, Nigeria

“…This shows that 98.9% of the orphaned under study are engaged in formal schooling. It also implies that the problems of dropping out of school or inability to attend school owing to loss of parents as revealed by some studies did not apply to orphaned children in good institutions/orphanages in fact, this work corroborate the work of McKenzie (1997) which indicated that institutional care might have beneficial effects. While Christainsen, (2003) also reported that orphaned foster with relatives often become second rank children, often are not attending school, and may have difficulties receiving health care.…”

“…Some have been forced to become members. Also McKenzie (1997) has demonstrated that institutional care might have beneficial effects, while orphans foster with relatives often become second-rank children, often are not attending school, and may have difficulties receiving health care.…”

Caring for orphans and vulnerable children in a context of poverty and cultural Transition: A case study of a group foster homes program in Burkina Faso

“…For example, Zimmerman (2005) observed that orphanage care is a better way to meet the maximum number of needs for a large group of Malawian orphans in the most efficient manner. McKenzie (1997) found that some orphanage alumni experienced positive outcomes on socioeconomic status compared to the general population, suggesting that institutionalization is not always negative. Wolff and Fesseha (1999) have shown that an institutional setting that encourages close personal ties with caregivers reduced the more serious psychological disorders of Eritrean war orphans.…”

“…Therefore, we believe that generalizing institutional care as always negative is to be avoided at all cost as it is exaggerated. Findings from Eritrea (Wolff and Fasseha 1998), Malawi (Zimmerman 2005), and the United States (McKenzie 1997) have demonstrated that institutional care might have beneficial effects, while orphans fostered with relatives often become second-rank children, often are not attending school, and may have difficulties receiving health care (Christiansen 2003). In addition, the African context is characterized by high rates of adult mortality (due to AIDS and other causes), poverty, famine, cultural transitions, and other challenges.…”

A Response to No One Ever Asked Us: A Review of Children’s Experiences in Out-of-Home Care

“…First, while the paper's use of the term children is intended to be inclusive, it is beyond the scope of this paper to review findings from important studies exploring youth's generally difficult transition to independent living (Barth, 1990;Buehler, Orme, Post, & Patterson, 2000;Courtney, Piliavin, Grogan-Kaylor, & Nesmith, 2001;Fanshel, Finch, & Grundy, 1990;Kerman, Wildfire, & Barth, 2002;Mech, 1988;Meier, 1965;Pecora et al, 2003;Reilly, 2003;Stein & Carey, 1986). Second, research examining children's experiences in orphanages (McKenzie, 1997(McKenzie, , 2003 is not included as the settings and population may be too dissimilar to those included herein. Third, significant methodological limitations generally characterize this literature.…”