In recent years, there has been a growing concern globally and in Tanzania about the rising number of children living in institutions. This situation has led to various social and psychological issues. However, there is a lack of research on the process of reintegrating institutionalised orphans back into their families. This study aimed to explore the experiences of social welfare officers (hereafter SWOs) in Tanzania regarding the reintegration of institutionalised orphans into their families as a sustainable means of safeguarding children’s rights. The study employed a qualitative, interpretive-phenomenological design. Face-to-face unstructured interviews were conducted with 19 social welfare officers to gather qualitative data. Purposive sampling was used to select participants, and a hermeneutic-phenomenological method was employed for data analysis, following the six steps of interpretive phenomenological analysis.
The findings revealed that social welfare officers employ various strategies, including stakeholder involvement, collaboration with other social welfare officers, family tracing and assessment, and the provision of education and counselling services to orphaned children and family members, as well as adherence to laws and national guidelines on children’s reintegration. However, they also face challenges such as limited funding, low cooperation from institution owners, lack of information on reintegration processes, and the reluctance of relatives to accept their children back. Recommendations for improvement include increasing funding, providing training and counselling for orphans and their parents, and establishing programmes at the district/municipal level to guide financing, approaches, and reintegration management. Successful reintegration requires collaboration between families, orphanages, and institutions rather than relying solely on stakeholders.