Dr. Sandra Morgan and Dave Stachowiak talk to Brandon Stiver about how having his own family totally changed his perspective on caring for orphan children and why family-based care is so much better than orphanage-based care.
Key Points

Tanzania’s official policy is actually family-first, but that doesn’t always play out in reality.
The vast majority of children that end up in alternative care really shouldn’t be there in the first place.
90% of children in orphanages worldwide have at least one living parent.
An orphanage should be the last resort — there are many other options for children.
Orphans often become a commodity for orphanages because they help raise money.

“It is the belief of Kingdom Families in accordance with Tanzanian policy as well as scripture that family-based care is the highest standard of care for a child. We believe that every child has a right to be raised in a family.”

—Brandon Stiver
Resources

Kingdom Families
Faith to Action Initiative

Transition to Family Based Care Manual
UN Guidelines on the Alternative Care of Children
The Law of the Child Act for Tanzania
National Guidelines for Improving Quality of Care, Protection and Support for Most Vulnerable Children 
National Plan of Action for MVC in Tanzania 

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Transcript
Dave: [00:00:00] You're listening to the Ending Human Trafficking podcast. This is episode number 161, Orphan Care in Tanzania with Brandon Stiver.

Production Credits: [00:00:09] Produced by Innovate Learning, maximizing human potential.

Dave: [00:00:29] Welcome to the Ending Human Trafficking podcast. My name is Dave Stachowiak.

Sandie: [00:00:34] And my name is Sandie Morgan.

Dave: [00:00:37] And this is the show where we empower you to study the issues, be a voice, and make a difference in ending human trafficking. Sandie, so glad to be back with you here in the new year. And today a conversation I know that will be yet another lens that is so important for us to know about on elements that relate to human trafficking. And I know Brandon is going to really provide a lot of perspective on care for children. And we talk a lot about children on this podcast of course, but Brandon is going to I know bring us a new perspective. He is an alum of Vanguard University, where the Global Center for Women and Justice of course here is based. And Brandon Stiver grew up on the central coast of California and has been working in orphan care in Tanzania since 2010. Originally working at a Christian orphanage for a couple of years, Brandon realized that even the best of institutions fall dramatically short of meeting the child's deepest and most intimate needs. Brandon's deepest desire for Kingdom Families is to continue seeing orphaned, vulnerable and abandoned children restored to God's first construct, the family. Brandon lives in Moshi, Tanzania with his wife Melissa and their three children. Brandon, we're so glad to welcome you to the show.

Brandon: [00:01:58] Thanks it's really great to be on.

Sandie: [00:02:00] It was especially exciting for me to have him visit Vanguard this fall, and speak to my commercially sexually exploited class. And I think one of the things I noticed about him first when he turned on his slides and started presenting. And of course, my students are focused on prevention and globally when we look at issues of slavery and human trafficking, children are some of the most marginalized. So when he started his slides the first thing I noticed is that there were no pictures of him surrounded by smiling orphans. And I thought Brandon,