Day Six: Social Work Visits

Today was my lucky day! Becky (one of my other teammates and I) were selected to follow along with the organizations social workers, Lucky and Gertrude, on a tracking visit. As I mentioned in a previous post, the main goal of ACE in Zambia is to reconnect these abandoned children with extended family here in country. On a tracking trip, we load up a jeep full of 6 kids and take off to the compounds in hopes of finding their families. But, our first stop is the Department of Social Welfare. One little girl, Esnade found her family the day before on a tracking trip. We are going to meet the family at the office and get a letter of release so she can return with them. Lucky and Gertrude will follow up with them over the next few months to ensure that she has landed in a healthy living situation. Esnade walks away flanked by her father, her aunt and her cousin. I think that both Becky and I through up a little prayer as we watched her walk away.

The rest of the day is tracking with the remaining kids. The first girl, Averess, we take to a police station in Kanyama. There is a rumor that there was a man searching for a girl her age a few months ago. We are hoping to access police records to find out who he is and see if Averess is the girl he is looking for. Unfortunately, even though it is only 10am, the commanding officer has left for the day and all the files are locked in his office. We pile Averess in the back with the rest of the kids and move on to the next one.

Marsupa is a boy about 9 years old. He leads us through the streets of a different compound. He points left here and right there. Finally, we reach an impasse. He's gotten lost, he can't remember the rest of the way home. This is common. Families move frequently, roads are convuluted and some of these kids have been away from home for a long time. Dejected, Marsupa climbs back in the back of the jeep. Now, the only option for him is to run his picture and story on a local TV show focused on connecting lost children with their families.

Next is Josephine who is 8 years old. Josephine, quickly guides us through the winding roads to a small but well-cared for home. Several women on the front porch cry, "Josephine!" as we approach and she is greeted with hugs all around. One of the women invite us inside and we sit on torn, stained and mismatched chairs in their "living room." Becky and I have know idea what is being said but after about 20 minutes we leave. Lucky explains that the child had been living there and the woman was her aunt. Unfortunately, she had been being abused by her uncle and it was not a safe home for her to return to. In follow-up visits, Lucky and Gertrude will try to determine if there is another family member who would be willing to take Josephine.

The next child is Joyce, who is 9 years old. She also leads us directly to her home in Kanyama but there are no cries of recognition and hugs. Joyce politely greets the women on the front stoop and after a few minutes of conversation sadly walks back to the jeep with Luckys hand on her shoulder. Lucky explains that the family has "shifted" (moved away) and that a new family occupies the house. Once again, the only chance for Joyce now is the TV show for missing children.

Our last child is probably the saddest story. Fatima led us around in circles for several minutes in a new compound we hadn't visited before. Eventually, she and Lucky get out and stand in the intersection for a long time. Uncle G, our driver, explains that the child is intentially leading us in circles . . . most likely because she doesn't want to go home to her family. She is pretending she is lost but that is very unlikely. She is 11 years old and has only been away from home for a month. I asked Uncle G what will happen now and he says that they will continue to bring her out on tracking trips and hope that she will eventually show them where she lives. He reminds Becky and I that they would never put her into a bad situation so if they find the home and there is abuse, it just gives them the documation they need to pursue another option for her.