Rethinking Orphanages
Tuesday, January 12 2010
by Frank Stasio and Katy Barron
A new study from Duke University challenges the widely-held belief that children in developing nations fare worse in orphanage care than they do in family homes within a community. Kate Whetten, director of the Center for Health Policy at Duke University, researched orphans in South Asia and Africa and found that they often thrive in institutional care. Duke University medical student June Tibaleka, who grew up with the stigma of being an AIDS orphan in Uganda, joins Kate to explain why such places don’t necessarily fit the Dickensian mold. Plus, economist Richard McKenzie agrees that growing up in an orphanage isn’t necessarily a hard-knock life. He spent his formative years at the Barium Springs Home for Children, outside of Charlotte. He joins the conversation to share his personal story and to explain the politics of orphanage care in the U.S.
