Protecting Orphaned, Vulnerable Children

Roots of Promise's founder volunteered at an orphanage in Uganda where she discovered that approximately 90% of the babies actually had families. Many were abandoned due to maternal death or extreme poverty. The belief was that babies were better off in an orphanage until they were 3 years of age, could eat solid foods and be more self-sufficient.

However, there was not a social work infrastructure in place to return these children to their families so instead they remained trapped behind the walls of an orphanage.

There weren't enough helping hands to provide a safe, stable and nourishing environment for 30 babies. The staff turnover was high causing repetitive broken attachments during this vital bonding stage of development. While some babies were withdrawn, most were starving for love and attention. Most were significantly behind in reaching basic developmental milestones.

Jackie fostered a then 3½ year old boy from the orphanage for seven months in Uganda while his family situation was assessed. He was a shy, withdrawn child with trust issues and angry outbursts. The difference that a stable loving home provided was like night and day. He completely thrived when being fostered by Jackie.

The lack of quality social work and infrastructure resulted in an extremely poor and harmful family reintegration experience. Every child deserves to grow up in a safe, stable and loving family. This is how Roots of Promise came to be.