Blood binds: Confronting the moral and political economies of orphanhood and adoption in Uganda

Abstract

Strong extended-family fostering traditions and beliefs about "blood" as a substance that not only binds kin but also carries pathogens like HIV and certain character traits make formal adoption of unrelated children rare. Even so, there is strong public sentiment against the increasing number of foreigners seeking to adopt Ugandan children in the wake of other African countries closing adoption programs. Institutionalized orphans are thus in a double "blood bind,"-where, on one hand, they are nobody's children but, on the other, they are Uganda's children-rekindling Ugandan debates about orphan care against the hegemonic, international moral and political economies of adoption. This article examines how the situation is confronting Ugandan conceptions of kinship, belonging, and child protection-the moral and political economies of Ugandan "blood binds."

Closing New Loopholes: Protecting Children in Uganda’s International Adoption Practices

“…Meanwhile, there have been some efforts to encourage domestic adoption for children without parental care, as stipulated by the United Nations Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children (United Nations General Assembly, 2010) and The Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption (Hague Conference on Private International Law 1993). Despite a long tradition of kinship care, fostering, and child circulation, many Ugandans have been reluctant to embrace formal adoption practices, especially of unrelated children (Cheney, 2015). So, in 2013, MGLSD and Child’s i Foundation launched a nationwide media campaign called Ugandans Adopt .…”

Orphanage tourism and orphanage volunteering: implications for children

“…Instead, it drove the establishment of orphanages to meet the demand of funding, rather than to address the needs of orphans (Cheney, 2014b). She found that foreign donors were instructing their partner orphanages to increase the numbers of children living in the orphanages to meet their supporters' expectations (Cheney, 2015). Therefore, whilst the express intent of the orphan industrial complex is to respond to children in need, in reality it has the reverse effect with children being touted as orphans for purposes of profit and status (Cheney, 2015).…”

“…She found that foreign donors were instructing their partner orphanages to increase the numbers of children living in the orphanages to meet their supporters' expectations (Cheney, 2015). Therefore, whilst the express intent of the orphan industrial complex is to respond to children in need, in reality it has the reverse effect with children being touted as orphans for purposes of profit and status (Cheney, 2015). Cantwell and Gillioz (2018, p. 6) agree that the act of voluntourism "reinforces the orphan myth among foreigners who are unaware that they are basically contributing to a system which tears children away from their families for financial gain".…”

Intercountry adoption swimming against the tide: Restitution in Samoa

“…As Kim (2007b, p. 135) reported of Korean adoptions, strong economic and political relationships with the US create a 'fever' of all things American so much so that 'whoever goes to America, his or her life will be better off', a belief common in developing countries. This combines with a parallel belief held by prospective parents that life is better in the west and political discourse that seeks to find a child for every home (Cheney, 2015).…”