If a parent has passed away, we strive to find a grandparent or aunt or uncle who can care for the child.
In the vast majority of cases, family members are eager to look after each child.
Sadly, it is not always possible to find a safe, suitable, and sustainable caregiver and home situation for a child.
I found out today that one of the sweet babies who spent four months with us at the safe-home has just been placed in an orphanage.
This news hit me right in the heart.
It hurts to think of this little girl away from her family....away from everything she knows.
Boitumelo originally came to us not because of her own health, as most of our children do, but because her mother was dealing with severe mental health issues.
Sadly, in Lesotho, there are few interventions for those struggling with mental health and Boitumelo's mother could not provide the care Boitumelo needed.
After four months in the safe-home, Boitumelo returned to the care of her grandmother.
Right now, it is unclear what circumstances lead to her placement in the orphanage.
The orphanage she is now living at provides excellent care and I know she will be healthy and safe there.
And there is a possibility that she will be adopted and a have a new family of her own.
But it is still hard to picture her growing up without her mother...or her grandmother...her grandmother...her cousins...or the home village.
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