Collaborative on Global Children's Issues

The Catholic Church has always cared for the poor and orphans. Care for orphans is rooted in the Bible: “religion that is pure and undefiled before God is this: to care for orphans” (James 1:27). The Church took up the role of being the father to the fatherless (Psalm 68:6; Deuteronomy 14:29), establishing homes where orphans and vulnerable children could stay and receive food, shelter, clothing, and other basic needs. In the Old Testament, the people of God were supposed to show hospitality to foreigners and strangers (Exodus 22:21). When they harvested their fields, they were supposed to leave some margins for the poor to glean (Leviticus 19:9-10). In the fourth century, the early Church lived to care and show charity to each other. Christians supported the poor through food; they collected property and money to share with those who did not have, so there was no needy person among them (Acts 4:32-34).

These biblical stories also show us that a child was seen as a gift and sign of God’s blessing (Genesis 15:1-6; Psalm 127:3). Thus, the treatment of children in the world becomes a measure of humanity and faithfulness to God. The Church believes in living out Jesus’ call to embrace children, as expressed in the Gospel according to St. Matthew: “Whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me” (Matthew 18:5). St. John Paul II underscored this teaching during the 1990 World Summit for Children, stating that “the Church has a vivid perception of the immense burden of suffering and injustice borne by the children of the world.”

Orphanages in Africa started as a response to famine, drought, war, and diseases in the twentieth century, attempting to meet the basic needs of vulnerable children whose parents had died amidst high poverty levels. Beginning in the 1980s, countless children in Africa lost their parents to the HIV and AIDS epidemic. According to a UNICEF report, 13 million children below the age 15 had lost one or both parents to HIV and AIDS by 2002. In response, the Church established numerous orphanages throughout Africa where missionaries, women and men religious, and laypeople of goodwill served poor and vulnerable children. Today, however, we can learn from the past and find different ways of serving children in great need so that all children may know the warmth and love of a family. A report on Global Orphanhood Associated with COVID-19 estimated that 10.5 million children around the world lost one or both parents to the COVID-19 pandemic as of May 2022, so we do not want history to repeat itself by responding with the establishment of orphanages.

Catholic social teachings call for respect for the dignity and rights of every child, including children with disabilities. The Church’s social doctrines point out the vulnerabilities that children face which affect their integral development. In recent years, the Church has expressed concern that children have been the most vulnerable victims of the COVID-19 pandemic. They have faced a “parallel pandemic,” as many children have lost their parents to the virus and have begun experiencing extreme poverty. In response, in 2021 the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development published a document entitled “Children and COVID-19: The Pandemic’s Most Vulnerable Victims,” in which they called for concerted efforts of all key stakeholders around the world—including the Church, governments, and civil society organizations—to promote and protect the dignity and rights of children, emphasizing family-based care.

Catholic teachings and tradition lift up the value and importance of families for all children. No institution can replace the unique place and role of the family, including for orphaned and vulnerable children. The Church’s Charter of the Rights of the Family (Art. 3c) states that the family has a right to assistance by society in the bearing and rearing of children. The Church also stresses the role of the faithful to care for orphaned children within families, urging Christians to be the “father to the fatherless" (Sirach 4:10). The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (501) promotes extension of generosity to needy children through foster care or adoption. This is seen in the story of Jesus, who was raised by his foster father, Joseph. Families are called upon to care for children and especially to support the needy within their communities.

As such, the Church has embraced better options for the care of children. Catholic Charitable Children Institutions (CCIs) are transitioning and re-integrating children back to families. In partnership with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and the Changing the Way We Care (CTWWC) initiative, the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) currently is implementing the Eastern and Southern Africa Catholic Changing Care (ESACCC) Project. The goal of this project is to demonstrate change among Catholic Church leadership and structures by raising awareness and building commitment towards family-based care for children. In addition to supporting Catholic CCIs in their transition to non-residential models of serving vulnerable children and communities and assisting with the reintegration of children into safe and nurturing families, the KCCB emphasizes a keen focus on family strengthening in the promotion of family-based care for children.

The underpinnings of the ESACCC project are based not only in Church teaching and tradition, but also the values of traditional African communities, in which a child not only belonged to the nuclear family but to the extended family and the entire community. If a child’s parents died, the child was not treated as an orphan, as the uncles, aunties, or siblings took the child in; he or she became a member of that family through kinship, a practice described in “Revisiting The Traditional African Cultural Framework of Ubuntuism: A Theoretical Perspective.”

In a society filled with socioeconomic challenges, parents need empowerment, psychosocial, and spiritual support. There is a need for a renewed faith formation towards family-based care for all children, including children with disabilities. The social, moral, and spiritual reawakening of Christians is dire, especially in places where abuse against children, the number of street children, and poverty continue to increase.

Much creativity and generosity in support of all families is needed as the Church moves away from the CCI model and responds to the call for family-based care, which recognizes that every child deserves to be raised and to grow in a family. Key pastoral agents should strategically continue to provide economic, psychosocial, and spiritual support to vulnerable families, including those at risk of separation and families with children with disabilities. This is a noble task of accompaniment for all Christians. Now is the time for Christians to join hands to support children in their small Christian communities, parishes, and dioceses. The Church is committed to extending the message of care reform across different platforms so that all Christians and people of goodwill may join in the journey of sharing love, joy, and care for all children. In doing so, we become a living manifestation of God’s love and mercy.

Elizabeth Ngami Syanda is a program officer serving at the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops – National Family Life Office since September 2018. She has over seven years’ experience in planning, implementing and coordinating family life programs at the national level and providing support to the 26 Catholic Dioceses of Kenya. She is currently playing a supportive role in the implementation of the Eastern and Southern Africa Catholic Changing Care (ESACCC) Project in collaboration with CRS – CTWWC. Elizabeth holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Communication from the University of Nairobi and is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Medical Sociology.