‘Nigeria lacks institutional framework for orphans’

The founder of Chadash Empowerment Foundation, Mrs Temitope Adeola, has identified the lack of institutional framework as one of the major challenges faced by orphans in orphanage homes.

She spoke at the weekend in Abuja at the annual commemoration of World Orphans Day and fundraising for the foundation.

The event, which had in attendance over 500 orphans, also featured a 1km walk.

“We don’t really have an institutional framework that supports these orphans, especially the ones in the orphanage homes,” Adeola said.

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She said her foundation “Is trying to encourage the government to come up with a framework that can assist orphanage owners to keep them going.”

She listed “adoption” as another major challenge faced by orphans, saying, “Adoption too is another problem that orphans face. People don’t adopt children the way they used to in the past.

“If they are not being adopted, the government should come up with ways in which these children can be helped,” she said.

According to Adeola, her foundation reached out to a lot of orphanage homes.

“Last year, we were able to reach out to 25 orphanage homes. This year, the number increased to 30 that we’ve supported in one way or the other,” she said.