Homecoming: Restoring Children to Families with the Homecoming Project
There are 5.4 million children currently living in orphanages around the world. But children thrive in families, not orphanages.
80% of children in orphanages have a living parent, and most have extended family—siblings, grandparents, aunts, and uncles. But in poverty-stricken areas, orphanages can unintentionally draw families into surrendering their children, believing it's their only option.
At Just Love UK, we are proud to be part of the Leadership Council of the Homecoming Project. As part of the Homecoming Project, we believe that the UK Church is uniquely positioned to impact the future of global child welfare. Every year, the UK Church contributes half a billion pounds to the international orphanage sector, with churchgoers being three times more likely than the average Brit to donate to this sector .
However, this significant goodwill is often directed toward institutional care models (including orphanages, children’s villages, children’s homes, children’s centres, and institutions), which research has shown can have devastating effects on children’s development.
The Leadership Council of the Homecoming Project is a coalition of organisations that believe that children thrive in families and want to inspire and equip the Church in Britain and Ireland to support family strengthening, reunification, kinship care, fostering and local adoption as a healthier alternative to orphanages. As part of the Homecoming Project’s Leadership Council, we’re committed to supporting the Just Love movement to think deeply and critically about supporting the thriving of children globally and to champion family-based care through their actions.
Read on to hear Tony’s story of engaging with this issue, how we as the Just Love movement are getting involved, and how you can too.
Tony’s Story
How did you first get into working on issues related to orphanages and family-based care?
“My wife and I first got involved in work with vulnerable children when we moved to Brazil in 2012. We began serving in a boys’ shelter and eventually helped establish another one. Over time, we saw firsthand that while shelters could provide safety and meet basic needs, they couldn’t give a child everything they need to thrive—things like a secure sense of identity, belonging, and the individual attention that comes from being part of a family. That experience opened our eyes to the limitations of institutional care, and eventually we had the opportunity to join another organisation where we helped develop a local fostering service. That work really deepened our passion for family-based care as a better, more lasting solution for children.”
We gather around six Justice Practices as a Just Love movement, including a desire to serve humbly by using our careers to respond to injustice in the world. How have you used your work life to tackle the issues surrounding care for children globally?
“I feel a strong calling to serve the most vulnerable and marginalised people around the world, and that calling has shaped every ministry and career decision I’ve made. From the very beginning, my heart has been focused on children who are growing up without the safety and belonging of family. I spent 12 years in Brazil serving children in vulnerable situations, and over time, God deepened my conviction that every child belongs in a loving, safe family—not an institution.
As time has gone on, God has opened doors for me to have a broader impact. Today, through my work with the Homecoming Project, I have the opportunity to inspire and equip the Church in Britain and Ireland to respond to the injustice of family separation and to build solutions that prioritise family-based care. I’m also grateful for the chance to speak into government policy around international care reform, in a small way, helping shape Global systems and partnerships that protect children and strengthen families worldwide.
For me, serving humbly through my career means stewarding every opportunity God gives me—whether that’s in local communities, global movements, or policy spaces—to confront injustice and work toward a world where every child can grow up thriving in a safe and loving family.”
How is the Homecoming Project seeking to help this big, global issue?
“The Homecoming Project works with the Church in Britain and Ireland to help Christians respond wisely and effectively to the big, complex issue of children growing up outside of families. Across the world, many well-meaning people support orphanages through donations, mission trips, and volunteer work—often without fully understanding the harm that institutional care can cause or the better alternative of safe, loving families.
Our goal is to help individuals and churches know exactly what kind of work they’re supporting—whether through finances, mission trips, or global partnerships—so they can align their efforts with solutions that truly prioritise children and strengthen families.
Through resources, training, and connection to trusted local organisations, we’re equipping the Church in Britain and Ireland to become informed advocates for care reform and active participants in God’s mission to bring restoration to every child and see them thriving, embedded in a safe, loving family and community.”
How could members of our Just Love Network respond? Through prayer, advocacy, or through thoughtful, generous financial giving?
“Members of the Just Love Network can play a vital role in this global movement to see every child grow up in a safe, loving family. First, through prayer—asking God to bring lasting change for children who are separated from family, and for wisdom and courage for governments, churches, and organisations working toward care reform around the world.
Second, through advocacy—using your voice to raise awareness about the harm of orphanages and the need for family-based care, and helping others understand how they can support solutions that strengthen families. Advocacy is as simple as sharing social media posts about justice issues, talking to your church about what missions work they are involved in or writing to your local MP expressing concerns about the government's plans to slash the UK’s international aid budget. When we all speak together, we cannot be ignored!
And third, through thoughtful and generous financial giving—making sure your resources are supporting organisations and projects that prioritise family care, both in emergency situations and in long-term solutions.
Whether it’s through prayer, speaking up, or giving, your response can help change the story for vulnerable children and make family a reality for many who are still waiting to come home.”
Through projects like the Homecoming Project, there is a global movement of people, like Tony, working to see the 5.4 million children currently living in orphanages come home to loving families - through family reunification, kinship care, fostering or local adoption. As the Just Love Network, we would encourage you to engage with Homecoming’s work and consider how you can be part of this movement!
To learn more about the challenges with institutional models of caring for children and the alternatives, sign up to the Homecoming learning journey today: https://homecomingproject.org/sign-up
You can also read the latest Homecoming report on the UK Church’s support for orphanages and family care for children globally here: https://homecomingproject.org/resource/homecoming-report-2024