Always Emily

Originally written for a 1MILLIONHOME campaign email.

Dear Friend,

We often believe that our greatest impact happens outside of our homes. And yet, we have the most impact on those who live in our very own households. 

Family plays a major role in our lives from the moment we’re born. Their presence—and even their absence—informs who we grow up to become, how we view and move through the world, and how we choose to raise our own family. 

Kids need a loving caregiver; they need a safe, strong family. And yet there are millions of children in institutional care who are missing out on the love only a family can provide. They are missing out on the leadership and love of a thriving family.

Meet Hassan,* a 9-year-old boy who has lived in an orphanage since he was 6. He gets three meals a day and goes to school, an expense his parents couldn’t afford for Hassan and his four siblings. Hoping he would receive more opportunities than they could provide, his parents sent him to live at the orphanage

Hassan likes learning, but he misses playing with his siblings. 

Hassan gets more than enough to eat, but he misses eating home-cooked meals made by his mother. 

Hassan likes the staff, but he misses running out the door to greet his father when he comes home from work.

Hassan has his own bed, but he would prefer to sleep in the same room as his siblings, rather than the dozens of kids in his dormitory.

But there is a reality where Hassan gets to go home.

A reality where the orphanage becomes an education center, and Hassan gets to go to school while also going home every night. 

A reality where Hassan’s parents are empowered to support their family, rather than be separated from their children due to poverty. 

A reality where Hassan and his siblings grow up together, under the confident and loving leadership of their parents. 

This is the reality we are building for the millions of kids just like Hassan by partnering with orphanages and their leaders. We provide them with training resources and tools so they can move children home to families, and transition their programs into community-centered, family-based supportive services.

We have overlooked the role of parents and caretakers for too long. Mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, grandparents, foster parents, and adoptive parents are the ultimate bedrock for children to grow and thrive. 

Building stronger families begins at an individual level. It starts with you and me in our own homes, yet how often do we overlook ourselves as leaders, and thus, undervalue the care we provide, just like Hassan’s parents? 

And the hope for stronger families around the world starts when we say “yes” to investing in the leaders who can make family a reality for the millions of children around the world who are aching to go home. 

Will you say “yes”? 

*Hassan story is representative of many children and families’ stories in Kenya and throughout the world, and is not based on one specific child’s story.