Starting an orphanage in Cameroon poses unique challenges.
The word orphanage is formed from the word orphan. An orphan is someone who has lost either or both parents to death at a very tender age.
In this article, when the word orphans isis mentioned, it refers to the very few children who have lost their parents. On the other hand, an orphanage is an institution whose primary vision is to cater to children who have lost their parents to death.
Like Non-governmental organizations (NGOs), orphanage homes are not meant to be a profit-making enterprise. Though they could fetch money, it is supposed to be built mainly for the passion of housing those deprived of parental love and care, either by death or rejection.
Insurgences in Cameroon
Suppose you live in the northern parts of Cameroon, where insurgency prevails, such as Boko Haram, and clashes between the herdsmen and farmers have rendered innocent children homeless. In that case, you'll agree that there is an urgent need for orphanage homes to raise these children to live up to their full potential.
These insurgencies render children homeless, and some parents label their children as witches and send them out of the house because of a false prophecy from an unnatural and conscienceless prophet. These parents drive out children with great destinies to the street regardless of what may befall those children.
You are reading this article because you intend to start an orphanage but need help figuring out how to proceed. Note that the orphanages you see or hear about are funded by individuals, and only in a few cases does the government come in.
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How to Start an Orphanage Home in Cameroon?
Here is the procedure to follow when starting an orphanage home in Cameroon:
A. Get Funds To Set-Up the Orphanage
As your orphanage gets popular, a lot of philanthropists will begin to give voluntary donations to help you take care of the children but first of all, you need to be able to foot the bills that will provide the children with a comfortable life, something close or better than what they would have had if they had been at home.
Ideally, you should be a business person before bringing orphans to one place to cater to their needs. Why this is suggested is so that you could have money with you at all times just in case of unforeseen circumstances.
B. Adequate training
Whether you studied a course in school that focused on training children or not, you need to leverage the experience of those who have been in the operation of orphanages for maximum success of your own.
These people have gone through experiences you will not even imagine, so you must undergo the training by becoming a volunteer staff.
Also, take advantage of YouTube classes and other online mastery classes. But you shouldn't substitute one for the other. You may never know what you'll learn in both.
C. Get a good Housing facility
Whether you'll be building or renting a property, make sure that the location of your orphanage is free from external and internal threats.
The children's safety should be considered when choosing a place. By security, we mean emotional, psychological, physical, intellectual, and academic safety.
Your facility should be leveled and not prone to flooding or any other natural and man-made disaster.
D. Register the orphanage home with the necessary bodies.
So many orphanage homes have been termed illegal because due registrations were not carried out. Even before you start bringing children into the house, remember that a stitch in time saves nine.
Meet all the regulatory bodies that are important to meet (you need to carry out research on this from existing orphanage homes), and pay all the stipulated fees before you start. This will place your home on the lips of the agency should there be a grant for orphanage homes.
E. Know the Art of Attracting investors
Apart from the free-will gifts people give to orphanage homes, some reputable organizations within and outside the country contribute immensely to orphanages.
If you operate in isolation, that share of favor may elude you. Get out of isolation, surf the internet, and see, you'll see them. This is something you should also learn while learning from an existing orphanage.
An orphanage home ultimately gives out most of its children for adoption by those who don't have or those who just want to have an adopted child in their home.
You should provide intending adopters with all the necessary documents to fill in and follow up to ensure that the children are well taken care of.
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