🧠 It’s time to rethink orphanages. Before our ally transitioned from orphanage into a Child Reintegration Centre, 98% of the children in their care had at least one living parent. These families didn’t need to be separated—they needed support. Why make the shift from orphanages to family care? ✔️ Most children in orphanages aren’t orphans. Poverty, not the loss of parents, is often the reason for separation. ✔️ Children thrive in families. Long-term institutional care can harm emotional, social, and brain development. ✔️ Families are the foundation of communities. Supporting families keeps children safe and strengthens society. CRC chose a better way—family-based care—and the results are powerful. It’s not easy work, but it’s the right work. Let’s stop funding the separation of families. Let’s start supporting what children really need: belonging, connection, and love. (fb)

In this episode of Optimistic Voices, we hear from three changemakers who are reimagining child welfare—not in theory, but in practice. 👣 Stephen Ucembe shares how his lived experience fuels his fight for family-based care across Africa. 🌍 Phil Aspegren, once an orphanage director, now helps organizations across Latin America transition to family-first models. 🎙️ Hosted by David Titus Musa, who brings firsthand insight from Sierra Leone. Together, they reveal: • Why institutions can never replace the belonging of a family • How communities are closing orphanages and strengthening families instead • Practical ways we can all support the shift from separation to prevention and reunification The message is clear: Every child deserves to grow up in a family. And with the right support, it’s not only possible—it’s already happening. 🎧 Listen to this inspiring episode: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1997407/episodes/17044910 (fb)