Rethinking orphan care

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MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Up next, caring for orphans.

Christians are generous in helping orphans—giving to residential care like shelters and group homes has nearly doubled in the last decade to $4.5 billion annually. But new research suggests donors’ reasons for giving may not align with what children need most.

WORLD’s Harrison Watters has the story.

HARRISON WATTERS: Emmanuel Nabieu was eight years old when his father was killed during a civil war in the West African nation of Sierra Leone.

NABIEU: Shortly after that, I was separated from my mother, the rest of my siblings, and I spent nearly a year on the streets.

Nabieu found refuge at the Children’s Rescue Centre, an orphanage run by the United Methodist Church. He later learned his family was still alive, and that his mother tried to visit him. But staff turned her away, saying Nabieu’s donor-funded support could be compromised.

NABIEU: Otherwise, if people know that Nabs has a mother, they may send your child home.

Nabieu’s mother could not pay for his education, and knew only the orphanage could provide the resources her son needed to get a firm footing in life.

NABIEU: At some point she stopped coming. That's happened to many other children.

Estimates put the number of children living in residential care between 3 and 9 million worldwide. And most, like Nabieu, are not parentless. 

Elli Oswald is Executive Director of the Faith to Action Initiative.

OSWALD: The data shows us that eight out of 10 of those children have at least one parent, if not both parents, many of which could care for their children if they were given support to be able to do so.

Faith to Action has researched the limitations of orphanages, and the developmental needs that families meet. Last month, the group published data on Christian giving to orphan care since 2020 and found that donations to residential care have gone up.

OSWALD: Most people who are giving to residential care say it is the most important thing that they give to, even above a local church.

She says churches play a key role in connecting the dots for Christians to visit orphanages on short term trips and donate to them through church programs.

While a growing number of donors say they know about the downsides of residential care, 8 in 10 believe orphanages are essential for children in need.

OSWALD: …it might be that people believe family is best for children, but they don't know that it's possible. And the reality is there are other options, and those options are working.

Some in the U.S. are working to help churches better understand those other options, internationally and domestically. 

Bryan Proctor is Executive Director of Orphan Care Alliance, or OCA, in Louisville, Kentucky.

PROCTOR: We were doing a lot of support for international adoption, and that was really kind of the focus. And then we began to see just a sudden increase of needs right here in Kentucky…

Opioid addiction surged in Kentucky between 2013 and 2020, destabilizing many families.

PROCTOR: I often say, not everybody's called to foster or adopt, but we're all called to do something.

OCA still supports families visiting international orphanages and making adoptions. But they also assist foster families and train mentors for children in residential care.

PROCTOR: There's a little over 6,500 churches in the state of Kentucky and 8,700 children in the foster care system. So if every church would step in and help one and a half kids, man, we would eliminate a government-ran foster care system.

For his part, Nabieu returned after college to Children’s Rescue Centre to work with children and their international sponsors.

NABIEU: They are starving for family, they are longing for family, for love, for belonging.

A decade ago, Nabieu started reuniting the 40 or so children with family members, providing ongoing education support. Oswald says this transition is part of a larger development across Africa, where church-run orphanages have long been the norm.

OSWALD: …that's a challenging mindset that more and more people are overcoming as they see the opportunities and benefits to help children either stay in family or grow foster families and adoptive families amongst their congregations.

Nabieu now lives in the United States, and advocates for orphan care that helps local communities raise children in family homes.

NABIEU: I want to be very clear: those who have supported orphanages over the years did so out of love, compassion and faith…they helped children survive. But as our understanding has grown, so has our responsibility.

Poverty continues to be the primary reason children end up in long term residential care. But Nabieu and Oswald are hopeful the shift to home-based care continues to provide children what they need while keeping family in the picture.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Harrison Watters.

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