For a man who spent most of his childhood in an orphanage in Sierra Leone, it is safe to assume that Emmanuel Mohamednaview, known as NABS, will become a passionate advocate for the orphanage.
However, from his decades of experience in children’s care centres, as the director of the same center he grew up in, Nabs believes there is a better sustainable model of supporting vulnerable children.
He acknowledges that orphanages helped escape a decade of catastrophic civil war by providing much-needed shelter, food and education in the 1990s, but NABS insisted on shifting support from orphanages to family support.
“Orphanages offer specific needs, physical needs that can be seen like food and clothing, but only the family can provide intangible needs such as love, identity, connections and more.
After reconnecting with his family, Nabbs felt a disconnect. “I still have a hard time getting to know some of the members of a large family — my uncle, aunt, and their children. When I go to family meetings, I don’t know how to speak our native language. This is the only language that the majority of our families speak.”
The regulations and protections NAB discovered in his previous orphanage are good and admirable, but they protected him and others from the realities of life. He felt that the orphanage had not properly prepared him for the real world. A common thread for people who lived in care centers in real life in their younger days.
“I still get a lot of calls from people who grew up in orphanages who struggle with life after the orphanage,” Nabs said.
The experience of NABS separation at the orphanage got worse when he learned that his mother had tried to visit him several times in the orphanage but was not allowed to see him. She didn’t want him to be kicked out, so she ended up quitting the challenge. Nabs assumes that most orphanages position themselves as the only hope of the children they care for.
A study commissioned by the Faith to Action Initiative revealed that five million children around the world live in orphanages, while an astounding 80% of children have at least one living parent. Unfortunately, many of these families live in poverty and struggle to feed the children who are sent to orphanages.
“When I returned to the orphanage, we did our own research and found that 98% of children at the time had live parents who could have cared for their children if properly supported,” NABS confirmed his suspicions and confirmed in line with global statistics.
This reality has identified NAB’s approach to transition from orphanage-based care to family-based care, and as an alternative solution for vulnerable children. He emphasized that the best way to support vulnerable children is to build the capacity of their own families and communities.
“Providing adequate support and access to basic community services will help many families keep their children in care, so it’s important for Christians to support family-based care. We can help funding, mission volunteering and government services to support vulnerable families,” Nabs said.
Family-centered support
This new approach NABS worked for Child Rescue Center has moved to the Child Reintegration Center (CRC) with a focus on providing tailored support to families to help children become independent.
This family-based approach to care is rooted throughout Africa, where many orphanages in Kenya, Nigeria, Liberia and other parts of the continent have moved to child reintegration centres by helping children track their families and allowing families to support their children.
NABS emphasizes the need to assess each family’s unique needs and provide appropriate support to help them become independent.
This includes initiatives such as providing vocational training to parents, providing small loans to start or expand family-owned businesses, training in agriculture and livelihoods, and education in parenting and life skills.
“Let’s say they get $50 or $100 depending on the needs they use to improve or establish a business. After that, social workers continue to monitor them while they’re in business.
He gives a recent example of four single mothers approaching the orphanage because they were unable to care for their children. However, the center was unable to take all four children who put her in the dilemma of separating her children.
“When she came to the CRC, we told her, ‘No, we can’t take your child, but we have something better.” We registered her in microfinance and she received a $100 loan after a while.
NABS’s appeal to Christians moves beyond traditional models of orphanage support, a passionate plea to embrace a more effective and biblically grounded approach to strengthening families and keeping children within loving care.
