Orphanage in Jinja, Uganda: How Tender Love Cares for Vulnerable Children

Orphan care in Jinja, Uganda: understanding the need

Jinja is a warm, busy town in eastern Uganda, famous as the source of the River Nile. It is also home to many families living with real hardship. When a parent dies, falls seriously ill, or simply cannot cope, it is often the youngest and most vulnerable who carry the cost. Some children lose both parents. Others are abandoned, or arrive from homes where staying was no longer safe.

It is worth understanding what "orphan" really means here. Research by organisations such as UNICEF and Save the Children has consistently found that most children living in residential care around the world still have at least one living parent or relative somewhere. Poverty, illness and crisis, not a lack of love, are usually what separate a child from family.

That shapes how we think about running an orphanage in Jinja, Uganda. Our goal is never to warehouse children. It is to give each child the safety, stability and belonging they need right now, while honouring the families and communities they come from wherever we can.

How our children's home began

Tender Love began with a single abandoned baby and a calling my husband, Pastor Dominic, and I could not ignore. For years, while we ministered in evangelical outreaches across the community, God kept pointing me toward children through dreams, street children coming to my arms for comfort. Then one day, during a community outreach, a woman stepped from the crowd and placed an abandoned baby in our hands.

We couldn't turn away. That child became the seed of everything you see today. You can read the full story of that calling on our Our Story page. From that one baby, our family has grown to 50 children who live together as one household, with our own four biological children right alongside them.

A family, not an institution

The words we use matter. We are careful never to describe our children by their hardest days. They are not case numbers or "orphans" first. They are children, each with a name, a personality, favourite foods, best friends and big dreams.

Around the world, child-welfare experts increasingly agree that children thrive best in stable, family-style care rather than large impersonal institutions. UNICEF's guidance on children without parental care stresses safe, nurturing, family-based environments. That is exactly what we try to be: one large Christian family where children are raised, not merely housed. You can meet some of the children we care for and see them as we do.

What daily life looks like

A day at Tender Love has a gentle rhythm. Children wake, wash and share breakfast before the school day. Afternoons bring homework, chores, music and, always, play. Evenings are for a shared meal, prayer and rest. Older children help the younger ones, just as they would in any big family.

Play matters more than people sometimes realise. For a child who has known loss, a game of football on the red dirt or a burst of laughter with friends is part of how they heal. Joy is not a distraction from our work. It is one of the clearest signs that a child is beginning to feel safe.

Education that opens doors

Education is one of the surest ways to change a child's future. Every child in our care is supported to attend school, with the uniforms, books, pens and school bags they need to take part with dignity. We watch children who arrived with little grow into confident learners with real ambitions: teachers, nurses, pastors, mechanics, leaders.

Organisations like World Vision Uganda describe education as one of the highest-impact investments in a child's life, and we see the same thing every term. School fees and supplies are also one of our biggest ongoing costs, which is where sponsors and donors make such a direct difference.

Christ-centred care and discipleship

Tender Love is a Christian home, and our faith is the heart of everything we do. We believe every child is made in God's image and is precious beyond measure. Worship, prayer and gentle Bible teaching are woven through the week, never forced, always offered as the hope that sustains our own family.

For children who have experienced abandonment or loss, discipleship is deeply practical. It tells them, again and again, that they matter, that their worth was never in question. Many of our children find in that truth the security they had been missing.

Health, nutrition and a safe home

Good care starts with the basics done reliably: nutritious meals every day, clean water, medical attention when a child is unwell, and a safe place to sleep. A hot plate of rice, beans, greens and meat is more than food. It is the daily proof to a child that they will be provided for.

Safeguarding underpins all of it. Children are supervised by trusted carers, their health is monitored, and our home is a place where they can relax and simply be young. When the basics are secure, a child has room to grow.

Growing food and life skills

We also want our children to grow in confidence and capability. Tending the vegetable gardens teaches responsibility and patience, helps feed the household, and gives children a real sense of contribution. Cabbages, greens and tomatoes from our own soil end up on our own table.

These small daily lessons, cooking, cleaning, gardening, caring for younger siblings, are quietly preparing our children for independent, capable adulthood. We are raising not just happy children, but future parents, workers and leaders.

How sponsorship keeps our home running

Running a children's home takes a faithful, month-by-month provision of food, school fees, healthcare, clothing and care. Child sponsorship is how many of our friends around the world share that responsibility with us. A regular monthly gift brings the stability we need to plan ahead and keep our promises to every child.

Sponsorship is also a relationship. It connects a child in Jinja with someone, somewhere, who has chosen to stand with them, and that connection is precious on both sides. If you have ever wondered how to help, sponsoring a child is one of the most direct and lasting ways to do it.

How you can help vulnerable children in Jinja

There are many ways to be part of this story, whether or not you can ever travel to Uganda:

• Sponsor a child: a monthly gift that provides food, school and care.
• Make a one-off donation toward a specific need such as school fees or medical care.
• Pray for our children, our carers and our family.
• Share our story with your church, family or friends.

You can explore all of these on our Get Involved page, or simply get in touch. We would love to hear from you. Every child deserves to know they are loved, and with help from people like you, ours do.