TIKONDANE      
A project of the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa (MSOLA)
in Lilongwe, Malawi)

Protecting children from the dangers of living on the streets

‘I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full‘ (Jn 10,10).

In secular terms, a similar dream is expressed in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which is based on the four pillars of the best interest of the child, the rights to participation, non-discrimination, and to survival and development.

The stories of the children who came to TIKONDANE in 2009 demonstrate again very clearly the many challenges to this dream. Their stories are of longlasting, often dramatic and at times traumatic experiences. They may have lost their parents due to death, divorce, the parents‘ desperate economic situation or due to life choices or personal ambition to earn money under conditions which don’t allow them to take care of their children, etc. Many of these children have been pushed around several homes within the extended family. The extended family system is meant to provide a social safety net, but this net has become more and more overstretched.

Child who had been abandoned	Playing ‘home’ with a ‘cellphone’

Children coming to TIKONDANE have been subjected to physical, sexual and emotional abuse. Some have been exploited as cheap domestic or farm workers, removed far away from their homes and families.
Some have been sexually abused at home by stepparents or relatives. Some were trafficked, with the promise of being sent to school in town, only to find themselves forced to work in bars, etc. For various reasons, some children have been subjected to the pain of total rejection by their families. Older ones may have been chased away, younger ones simply abandoned.

Many children who have been living for some time on the streets have come into conflict with the law. There has been much public debate: Are they children in need of protection or are they criminals? The Police and the Juvenile Justice Court have called upon
TIKONDANE to collaborate in finding ways of appealing to the parents‘ sense of responsibility, while also finding ways of offering the children guidance and opportunities for growth and learning.

It is the generous, committed, creative and concerted contributions from many people that have enabled TIKONDANE to face those challenges and to make a distinctive difference in the lives of the affected children and their families. We would like to express
our sincere gratitude to all who have contributed in so many ways, through capacity-building of the staff, advisory and consultancy services, technical support, and last but not least through providing us with the necessary funding and material support.

The highly motivated and committed staff members deserve a special mention. Their growing professional competence, combined with a genuine passion for their work, has made them effective instruments for protecting, healing and liberating life in the children.
Good collaboration with partner stakeholders, too, has enabled many children to access their rights, care and protection, and enhance the quality of their lives.

Diagnostic exercise — the family	Traditional Chewa ‘Gule wamkulu’ dance

In 2009 we received fewer newcomers than in previous years. As part of our continued strong investment in staff training, all TIKONDANE social workers, and also some members of partner organizations, underwent basic and on-going theoretical and practical in-service training in child counselling. In addition, six staff members plus one member of a partner organization underwent training in play therapy. This has enabled the social work staff to work with the children at a deeper level, and has resulted in an increased number of overnight stays.

2009 in figures
Newcomers: 202 boys, 138 girls, 31 mothers
Follow-up visits: about 500
Overnight stays: 6,540
Children in conflict with law: 67 children
Boarding Schools: 36

WITCHCRAFT – A GREAT CHALLENGE

In 2009 several incredible stories of witchcraft were captured in the headlines of the national media, seizing the nation‘s interest. At the annual session of the Children’s Parliament the participating children demanded stiff punishments – even the death penalty -
for adults found to be teaching children witchcraft.

The Malawi Law Commission is in the process of reviewing the Witchcraft Act. The fear of witchcraft is ever present, influencing all
spheres of life. Many of the children who come to TIKONDANE are suspected of being witches. To contribute to the debate and to the search for a meaningful response to this challenge, an interdisciplinary group was formed on the initiative of TIKONDANE and other concerned organisations. It comprises professionals working at the grassroots (child psychotherapist, social workers, pastors, teacher, counselor, anthropologist) and researchers at various universities (psychologist, anthropologists).

One of the children who came to Tikondane in 2009 was Chifuniro (not his real name). His mother died when he was five years old, and after the burial his father took him to the boy’s maternal grandmother. Chifuniro soon felt at home and developed well. However, when he was nine years old his father reappeared and asked the grandmother for permission to have the boy for the Christmas holidays. The father never brought his son back, and Chifuniro now lived with his step-mother and his half-brother in a village far away from his grandmother. Conflicts grew between the step-mother and Chifuniro, who was not able to settle down. The parents came to the conclusion that the maternal grandmother had taught him witchcraft, and so they took him to his paternal grandmother, who later claimed that she tried her best with him but the boy indeed showed very strange behaviour. She confirmed that he must be a witch, and this was why she could not handle him.

Chifuniro was taken back to his father and stepmother. Shortly afterwards his young half-brother died, and immediately he was suspected of having killed the child. By that time Chifuniro, confused by all that had happened, believed that he must indeed be a witch, and at the funeral he ‘confessed‘ that he had killed the child. His father was so terrified at this declaration that one day he put Chifuniro into a big bag, tied it up and threw it into the river. Fortunately a fisherman pulled the bag out of the water, and Chifuniro survived and ran away.

Police officers picked him up in town and brought him to TIKONDANE. By that time he was 12 years old, and he behaved in ways which would be expected of a witch, ways he had acquired over a long period of time. He was wild, unpredictable, violent, noisy and
seemingly uncontrollable. As he had been neglected for many years he also suffered from chronic sickness and was in constant physical pain.

He stayed at TIKONDANE for about 8 months. During that time he had to have a major surgical operation; and of course, his soul was hurting even more than his body. He needed intensive, individual professional support and time before he could start to heal. He had
to learn that no one had the right to hurt him, but by the same token he was not allowed to hurt others.

Little by little he was helped to discover his gifts and his positive sides, and to learn new behaviour patterns. Of course this was a very difficult task, requiring a firm choice and commitment on Chifuniro’s part. He realized that he had only two options, i.e. to persevere on this difficult path to a new life, or to fall back into a situation of hopelessness. Chifuniro has been marked for life and will remain a deeply wounded person, but he has made a choice. Also, he has been offered an opportunity by his maternal grandmother, who has welcomed him back into her home.

It has been our experience that symptoms of loss and grief, trauma, reactive attachment disorders or stress are often interpreted as indicators for witchcraft. Some such symptoms are sleeping and eating disorders; anger or rage; preoccupation with fire, death, blood.

Most of the accused children who have passed through TIKONDANE have experienced relief, liberation and healing through the holistic help they have been offered – help that takes into account the physical, psychological, social and spiritual realities and needs of each person.

CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE – THE CHALLENGE OF TAKING ACTION IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE VICTIM

Dalitso was born in a remote village. When she was 12, her uncle, a security officer, made an offer to her parents that he would take her to town so that she could go to a better school. The parents accepted and Dalitso joined her uncle’s family.
After sometime, the uncle started entering Dalitso‘s room and molested her on several occasions. The girl reported this to her uncle‘s wife, who wouldn‘t listen and refused to believe it. However a neighbour became aware of what was going on and one day took Dalitso
to the Police and to the Hospital. There was clear and fresh evidence that the girl had been molested.
The Police brought the girl to TIKONDANE for care and protection. In trying to pursue Dalitso’s case legally, we were confronted with attempts at bribery, with serious intimidation, and important documents were tampered with.
Our social worker reassured Dalitso that she was safe at TIKONDANE and offered her the support she needed at that time. She also prepared her for the court hearings, which took place under rather challenging circumstances. In spite of all the evidence, the final judgement was ‘indecent assault‘. More than a month later, Dalitso’s parents took herback to their village.

CHILD LABOUR – A PRACTICE STILL WIDELY ACCEPTED

Child labour is still widely practised although it is prohibited by law. In many cases, children have been recruited for work under circumstances which qualify as trafficking.
In one instance, a law enforcement officer who was stationed in the north of Malawi recruited a girl child - let us call her Chimwemwe - from a small village in the south of the country. She had promised to keep her and send her to school. But the girl was
overworked, mistreated and not allowed to attend school. The employer mocked her, saying that she could go back to her family if she was not happy.
The employer was later transferred to Lilongwe, where she knew that child labour was less tolerated and that she had to be more careful. She therefore allowed Chimwemwe to attend school, but the girl was still overworked and went to report her situation to the Victim Support Unit at the Police Station.
When called to explain, the employer claimed that the girl was her relative, and that she had taken her from the village because she felt pity for Chimwemwe’s poor mother who had no means of supporting the child. In spite of attempted intimidation, the case was presented to the Labour Office, the employer got a warning and had to pay the girl for the years she had been employed.