How To Start An Orphanage Home In Nigeria

This is a detailed guide on how to start an orphanage home in Nigeria.

Do you love the well-being of children or you have a strong passion for taking care of them especially the ones with less care in society?

Perhaps, you are always passionate about the needy and less privileged around you, you might just be interested in building and running an orphanage home.

In this post, I will guide you on how to start an orphanage home in Nigeria.

Take a few minutes to read through and you will be satisfied and confident enough to start your own Orphanage home in Nigeria.

But before I show you those things I promised, I will like to share a few details on what an orphanage is and the contribution it has to society.

What Is An Orphanage?

An orphanage is a non-profit institution that helps to keep orphans who have no guardians.

An orphan is simply a child (male or female) who has no parent.

Children in this category are most times vulnerable and helpless and an orphanage helps in providing an environment that can be likened to a family for them.

The Role Of Orphanages In The Society.

In time past, not too many children are left uncatered for.

There were orphans but not so mass in number as of today.

In those days Orphanages have helped to procure better life and better future for kids with no parents.

Kids that might have probably lived a life void of real meaning.

But more recently, Nigeria has been faced with a lot of security challenges and this has endangered the lives of many people.

This insecurity, as a result, has left a lot of young people orphans.

And it has in turn made the impact of Orphanages more obvious in society.

Orphanages help these vulnerable children by nurturing them properly and also giving them the chance to get properly adopted by interested foster parents.

How do orphanages make money?

An orphanage is a non-profit organization.

The aim of starting an orphanage should not be to make a profit.

Rather, It should be set up to give hope to the hopeless by catering to needy and vulnerable children who are uncatered for.

You may have a strong need for clarity in your mind now, asking how do Orphanages make money then?

Again, Orphanages are not set up to make money.

Although they may get donations from volunteers in the Society who also have passion for what they do.

Things To Know Before Starting An Orphanage

Before you start an Orphanage home in Nigeria or anywhere, there are certain things you should put in place.

And I call these the Preliminary Orphanage requirements.

1. Get Trained Professionally.

Professional training will lead you in the right direction in starting an orphanage.

You may have the passion, but the knowledge and skills needed to be successful is an important guide.

And you can acquire this through professional training.

Apply for some training to get you equipped.

2. Volunteer In An Existing Orphanage.

When a firm asks for your experience before offering you a job, it should tell you that experience is a strong tool to handle difficulties.

And this you can not buy.

Therefore, before you start an Orphanage it will serve you greatly to volunteer in an orphanage.

You will gain massive experience on how it is being run.

3. Research Broadly.

When you start an orphanage, the lives of those children involved will lie in your hands.

And you would want to keep them out of danger.

Therefore there is still a need to carry out broad research in areas relating to child care, child psychology, non-profit fundraising, and so on.

Steps To Start An Orphanage Home In Nigeria.

Having had the preliminary orphanage requirements listed above, You can start considering how to start an Orphanage in Nigeria with the following steps:

1. Raise Capital.

You are already aware that you wouldn’t be starting an orphanage for profit’s sake.

Therefore, the first step you should take is to raise money for a startup.

Know that the startup Capital is not all you need.

You also need Capital to run it after you have started.

And once you have started well, many Nigerians have good hearts and will be willing to support you with donations subsequently.

2. Select A Location.

Just any location is not suitable for an orphanage.

Reason being that you would be raising children and an important consideration is to keep them away from hazards.

Try to look out for the following in choosing a location:

Select a conducive environment.

Investigate the security state of the location.

A spacious environment is advised.

Should be visible to potential donors.

Preferably, it should be chosen with a long-term plan in mind.

Citing a location for an orphanage can be likened to citing a location for a boarding school.

It should really be conducive and safe. Especially taking national insecurity into consideration.

3. Get Licensed/Registered.

There are strict government regulations guiding the running of orphanages in Nigeria.

It has been recorded that some persons hide under the canopy of the orphanage to perpetrate evils.

They abuse the children, sometimes molest them, and use them to make money.

All of which is illegal and punishable.

Therefore there is a compulsory registration process before you can start an orphanage in Nigeria.

The process of registration, as well as the punishment for illegal setting up, are captured in the Child Rights Act.

Before you start, you must have the government backing by registering with the Current Affairs Commission (CAC) in Nigeria.

4. Prepare A Non-Profit Business Plan.

This is more important for a non-profit organization like an orphanage than it is for other businesses.

You should have a laid-out plan on how you intend to run the orphanage.

You should consider the number of staff to start with, the number of likely children you’re capable to hold, the criteria for accepting children, the strategy on fundraising, and so on.

5. Bring Your Orphanage To The Attention Of The Public.

More like a profitable business enterprise, you need to publicize your orphanage.

One basic reason being that it would help you cater to more children that needs help.

Another reason is that it will help to attract donors and patrons.

To publicize, you can use public media, Flyers, Banners, and social media.

6. Be Present On The Internet.

You can be present online by having a website, creating social media handles like Facebook and Instagram.

This will help publicize the orphanage more and give it more exposure.

It can help the orphanage become known globally and thereby attracting serious international bodies that can provide supports.

7. Build Trust

There are many orphanages already in place all over Nigeria.

But many of these are out there to fend for themselves and not with the love of the vulnerable children at heart.

Many of these Orphanages takes advantage of the challenges of orphans in Nigeria.

Although, some of them are still not caught, never dream to be a part of such.

It may dampen your reputation especially if you have been successful.

Stand with your purpose of starting out in the first place which is to cater to the needy.

Don’t be tempted to commit evil as hard times may come.

Be different and be trusted.

That will be all on how to start an orphanage home in Nigeria.

Hope this was helpful?