Nuns Say Children Suffer Due to Negative Beliefs, Violence

Certain negative traditional beliefs and violence are responsible for child destitution in Malawi, according to nuns working with disadvantaged children in the capital.

In the just released 2006 report on Tikondane Centre in Lilongwe, run by the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa, the nuns urge more understanding and action by families and communities to protect Malawi's children.

A 3-year-old boy the centre rescued had gone missing from home, and when his mother could not find him, she went to a witchdoctor who told her the son had been killed and his body parts used in witchcraft rituals.

The family stopped searching for the boy. When social workers from Tikondane traced the boy's home and took him there, they found the family busy with his funeral preparations.

In the case of nine-year-old "Tiferanji", her father took no responsibility for her following her mother's death. She was moved from one relative to another; and then she began showing signs of stress and anxiety: interrupted sleep, nightmares, bedwetting and aggressiveness.

The relatives interpreted these signs as indicators that the child was a witch, because witches are believed to be active at night, causing sickness and death. When certain family members got sick and died, the relatives were convinced Tiferanji was responsible. They chased her away.

Tikondane social workers who visited Tiferanji's relatives confirmed that no one was prepared to take her back. Even the local chief made it clear that the family would be chased away from his area if they took the girl back.
The nuns said belief in witchcraft, child labour, domestic violence, sexual abuse or children being lost are the common causes of child destitution.

Last year Tikondane Centre received 417 newcomers, 316 of them children. At the transit-shelter, there were 2,700 overnight stays, 2,533 of children. Most newcomers stayed only for 1 to 3 days for investigation, psycho-social support and counselling.

The centre is planning a series of short radio programmes to raise awareness on issues affecting children in Malawi.