When Eden was three years old, her parents divorced. Her mother was unable to care for her by herself and her father was unwilling to take responsibility for her, so with few other apparent options, her grandfather decided to place Eden in an orphanage. He often visited Eden, his first grandchild, but would sometimes excuse himself and go outside to cry, because he couldn’t bear seeing her in such a difficult situation.

Our social workers first met Eden in 2016 when she was thirteen years old, having lived in the orphanage for over a decade. She had run away from the orphanage and back to her village a few times, as Eden told social workers, “I wanted to return home as I missed my family so much, but my family needed to give money first. When my grandfather visited me, he told me that he had to give money so that I can return home. Since he has no money, I can’t return home yet.”

Eden was trapped.

In Myanmar it is common for orphanage directors to create illegal contracts, with financial penalties imposed if families ever wish to take their children back home before the child’s eighteenth birthday. When Eden’s grandfather first took Eden to the home, such a contract was drawn up, which meant that it would be very difficult for Eden to ever return to her family. When Kinnected social workers began to work with Eden, they were able to highlight the illegality of the contract to her grandfather. As the agreement was not legally binding, this meant that there was nothing for the families to fear. Eden was able to go home for Christmas and stay with her mother (who had since remarried and had three new children), and also to visit her grandfather, whom she was very close to.

Following this short visit, Eden returned to the orphanage in order to finish off the school year, but in February 2017, at the start of the school summer holidays, Eden again returned to the village and into the care of her grandfather. Social workers conducted family assessments and following a family meeting, it was determined that Eden could live with her grandfather with support. When a child can’t live with their biological parents, kinship care such as this is a great alternative. While Eden’s mother had been willing to take her back into her home, Eden had felt little attachment to her, and her mother’s family was not well equipped to care for her. Eden’s grandfather loved her very much, and lived close to Eden’s mother, so living with him was an ideal solution.

Eden was enrolled into a local school following the transfer of her school records and began to settle back into life in her village. Her mother visited daily, and over time the reconnection between mother and daughter became more evident, with Eden also growing closer to her step siblings. Income support was provided to her grandfather to help pay for her needs.

Social workers continued to monitor Eden’s situation, visiting the family on numerous occasions for over a year. Finally, the decision was made to close the case, as Eden is healthy, happy and safe in her grandfather’s home and is doing well at school. She has more attachment with her mother and step-siblings and is able to visit them regularly.

After more than ten years away, Eden is happily back where she belongs.