Adaeze was seven years old and sleeping on the streets of Ijebu Ode when we found her. Her mother had left when she was small. Her father, struggling with alcoholism, couldn't hold things together. When we sat with him and asked about Adaeze, he told us plainly that out of five children, she was the only one who survived, and that he didn't want her.
In Nigeria, nothing really catches a child in that situation. There is no social worker assigned. There is unfortunately no authority that follows up. What we have seen, over years of doing this work, is that the brunt of these situations falls on the community, on neighbours and strangers who are already carrying their own struggles and worries. People like Adaeze slip through the cracks because the cracks are everywhere, and they are wide, and there are far more children falling into them than there are hands reaching down. We found Adaeze because someone in her community refused to look away. That person made a call. That is how most of our cases begin.
How we got involved
A Good Samaritan in the area had been watching the situation for some time. They reached out to us, explained what they had seen, and we went to Ijebu Ode to meet Adaeze and her father ourselves.
We listened to everything. We assessed what was needed.
The priority was immediate: Adaeze needed stable housing, a consistent adult in her life, and a legal arrangement that would protect her going forward. Her father was present for that conversation. He signed the agreement. We found her a guardian in the community, someone willing to take responsibility for her care properly and consistently.
What that actually looked like
We enrolled Adaeze in school and made sure she had everything she needed to attend. We committed to paying her guardian a monthly stipend for her upkeep, covering food, clothing, transport, and the ordinary costs of a child's life that her father could not provide. We stayed involved, checking in regularly, making sure the arrangement was holding and that Adaeze was settling. When something was needed, we came back. That is how we work. The first visit is never the last one.
Where she is now
Adaeze is in school. She is living with her guardian and by all accounts she is settling into her new home. The people around her say she seems happy. We will keep checking in, keep paying, and keep making sure that the stability she has now continues. She has been through enough instability for one childhood. The least we can do is make sure the ground beneath her stays steady.
Names and details have been changed to protect privacy.
