RESUMO
The purpose of this study is to better understand the practice of child fosterage both in and out of crisis among Owambo speaking people in Namibia; Southern Africa. The study utilized the existing 2000 Namibian Demographic and Health Survey (N=5949) (Macro 2000). Results indicate that when controlling for age of the child; fostered children experience less education and probability of attending school than biological children. Degree of relatedness to the head of household further differentiates the disparities. Gender differences emerged to disadvantage less closely related boys. No differences were found between orphans and non-orphans in education or health. Fosterage seems to be a protective factor for orphans closely related to their caretakers. Understanding how gender and kinship; and the broader context of fosterage shape family life for both orphans and non orphans may help the development community identify interventions for the most vulnerable of children in Africa