Last week, we held an online learning session on the importance of family-based care with several of our partner orphanages across Uganda.

The session acted as a learning exchange for orphanages that have had success resettling children back to their families, allowing them to share their experiences and challenges with fellow orphanages that are looking at starting the process of repurposing their services and placing their children in families.

Smile Africa Ministries in Tororo District is one of the orphanages we have worked with that has resettled all the children in its care back to families. Pastor Ruth, the Director of Smile Africa Ministries, was present during the session to share her journey with participants.

“The journey to resettle children in the orphanage back to their families was not easy, I had a lot of fear since I had personally become attached to the children but together, with Child’s i, it was a step by step process with sensitization,” Pastor Ruth said during the session.

“Now all the children in the orphanage have been resettled back with their families. They are flourishing with their families. Those who could not be resettled back with their families have been placed in foster care or adoptive parents. They are doing well. I see them occasionally and it gives me joy to see them happy,” Pastor Ruth shared.

Late last year, we started to work in Mpigi District to help transform the district to eliminate the need for placing children orphanages. During the session, Emmanuel Shanyolah, the programme manager for Mpigi, noted that the engagement was a great opportunity for orphanages in Mpigi to hear the experiences, learning, and challenges from other orphanages that have successfully resettled children back into families in partnership with Child’s i.

“We are just in the initial process of transforming Mpigi district, we are engaging with orphanages in the district and training them on the importance of children growing up in families. This is a great learning opportunity for Mpigi District to dispel fears that the orphanages may have when it comes to resettling children back to their families,” Emmanuel shared.

The orphanages in attendance expressed their desire to resettle children in their orphanages back to their families and thanked Child’s i for providing a platform for them to learn and share experiences with other orphanages on the importance of children growing up in families.

If you are an orphanage who is interested in learning more, contact us here.