Made for Love - It Takes a Village

We believe that is is important for children with special needs to build stable and supportive relationships through a network of adults—caregivers, teachers, group home parents, project managers etc.

There’s a well-known proverb that says, “It takes a village to raise a child.” In the work we do, we see the truth of this every single day. When a child has been abandoned, or when a family is unable to care for their child due to hardship or illness, the village becomes not just important, but essential. It is this village where the child learns to trust, to connect, and to hope again. 

Many of the children we care for are not only orphans or separated from parental care, but also live with special needs. Some were born with disabilities that their birth families felt unequipped to support. Some have developmental delays. Others carry deep emotional scars from early trauma or chaotic family situations. Each child’s story is different, but they all share a common need: relationship—secure and nurturing relationships with stable adults in their lives.  

What we see in our daily work is that when a child is both orphaned and living with special needs, it takes an entire village working together to help them heal, grow, and thrive. 

Group home parents provide daily nurturing, routine, and a sense of family and belonging. 

Caregivers offer care, tenderness and warmth. 

Teachers adapt learning to each child’s capabilities and developmental ages. 

Managers ensure environments are safe, responsive, and rooted in respect. 

Volunteers and sponsors provide additional and specialized support that helps transform survival into thriving. Each one plays a vital role—not alone, but together, as part of the “village” that raises and supports every child. 

When these adults work together, consistently and compassionately, they begin to offer what many of our children have never had: a stable network of care. For orphaned children with special needs, this kind of relational stability is crucial. Above all, they need adults who do not give up on them—who keep showing up, even when progress is slow or behaviors are difficult.

We have learned that healing does not happen through structure alone. It happens in the seemingly trivial everyday moments like shared meals, random conversations, and celebration of every child’s birthday. These moments, woven together by a team of caring adults, tell a child, “You are important. You belong. You are not alone.”

We realize it is essential to invest in creating this village. We train staff in play-based, trauma-informed, and inclusive practices. We work to build trust among our staff members. We strive to hold children with compassion and dignity, recognizing their unique potential and not just their diagnosis or history.

We cannot replace a parent, but we can be a village—a network of consistent, loving adults who help each child develop, one relationship at a time.