Children's Day Celebration: Examining The Welfare Of Children Living in Orphanage Homes

追加: 2026-05-28

[00:00:00]The theme for the 2026 National Children's Day celebration future now promoting inclusion for every Nigerian child sends a strong reminder that every child deserves a place to call home a safe space to grow and a hand to hold.

[00:00:18]While thousands of children may have a safe home a routine and a family to lean on a report by the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development as well as UNICEF says there are about 17.5 million orphans and vulnerable children in Nigeria with roughly 7.3 to 8.6 million of these children being single orphans who have lost one parent or total orphans who have lost both of their parents.

[00:00:47]According to the 2024 Lady Helen Child Health Foundation research there are 278 registered orphanages nationwide with Lagos State hosting at least 55 approved homes. The report notes that hundreds of unregistered and informal homes also operate across the country.

[00:01:08]Since it officially began operations in 2006 Heritage Homes in Lagos has been one of these many approved facilities that have created a safe space for these children to develop their aspirations and dreams. We are very particular about those first days those first weeks those the beginning time when the child comes into the home. We work with the child emotionally physically not just feeding and going to school but to make sure that the child is groomed into a total child that can fit in that can have a personal identity.

[00:01:46]With over 22 years of running the Hearts of Gold Children's Hospice Mrs. Laja Adedoyin shares how children from different parents and backgrounds are unified under one home. I look after children with special needs.

[00:02:02]Children that have cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, congenital abnormalities.

[00:02:10]The kind of disabilities that some people would not even want to be associated with.

[00:02:17]But, those are my children.

[00:02:19]So, I always say society's rejects are my treasures. Get to the kitchen, you can see. Running these child care institutions comes with distinct challenges for the children and the caregivers fighting to give them a better future. Some of the challenges that we face for daily operations would include you know, trying to get the right donors for the needs that the children have per time because sometimes the children's needs may be school fees. For children with disabilities, I know that there's been a lot of awareness over the years in terms of acceptability.

[00:03:01]But, then we still have a lot of hurdles to overcome. The more awareness you are able to create, the better for the society.

[00:03:11]And I think for parents who have these children, you don't have to throw them away.

[00:03:16]They are human beings.

[00:03:18]We should all embrace them. When we have children in institutional care, there's a lot of developmental compromise that the child would face cognitively, in terms of emotional development, in terms of psychosocial support. There's just so much that is going on that the child may not have access to. So, we need those policies in terms of regulation, training, financing, and general safeguarding framework that is not just on paper, that is actually seem to be implemented.

[00:03:55]Government at various levels remain committed to addressing these challenges and strengthening child protection systems, safeguarding vulnerable children from abuse, exploitation, violence, and neglect. As a nation and government, we will continue to strengthen policies and programs that protect the rights of children and expand opportunities for every child to succeed. There are also calls for a broader implementation of laws, such as the Child Rights Act, which outlines specific frameworks that ensures vulnerable children are protected and cared for at all times.