For years, Hedwig Mbaziira, a ministry leader in Uganda, believed the best place for vulnerable children was inside a residential home. Driven by a deep commitment to their wellbeing, she was convinced that residential care offered greater stability and opportunity than life with struggling families.
“Whenever the caregivers would come to me and say, ‘Maybe we should think of taking some of these children to their families…’ I would say no. They are going to suffer,” she admitted.
At the time, her reasoning made sense to her. Like many leaders serving children in difficult situations, she believed the residential home offered children opportunities they may not otherwise have.
“We would feed them, give them clothing, beautiful beds with bedding, nice toilets, a good school within the compound,” she shared.
She was not trying to harm children; she was trying to protect them. But over time, questions began surfacing that she could not ignore.
Life beyond the blue gate
One of those pressing questions she struggled with was what happened to children after they turned 18? How would they learn to live within a family or community if they spent their entire childhood inside a group home? And what was being lost along the way?
“A year into the CTAA program, I felt convicted that children needed to be in a home,” Mbaziira said. “God designed these children to be in families.”
That realization did not happen all at once. Some of the shift came through coursework and conversations during the Care Transition Accelerator Academy (CTAA), a two-year learning and coaching program created by the CAFO Research Center to equip leaders guiding the transition from residential care to family solutions.
But some of it came from listening to children themselves. One conversation in particular stayed with her.
“I’m tired of the blue gate,” one child told her.
Mbaziira could not stop thinking about it. For years, she had focused on making sure the children had everything they needed inside the residential home. But increasingly, she began asking whether safety alone was enough.
What was missing
As she continued learning through CTAA, Mbaziira began reflecting on the deeper realities children were experiencing inside residential care — not only physical separation from family, but separation from culture, identity and belonging.
“They miss the funeral rites, they miss the weddings,” she said. “They were not able to identify their relatives.”
A young woman who had grown up in residential care got married, and the wedding was celebrated at the home. At the time, it felt like a joyful occasion. Later, however, leaders discovered that the young woman still had family connections that could have been explored years earlier. Mbaziira realized those family members could have been part of one of the most important moments of her life.
That experience reinforced a growing conviction that care was about more than meeting physical needs. Children needed opportunities to remain connected to family, culture and community.
She also began thinking differently about attachment and loss. Children who entered residential care after losing their biological families often formed close bonds with caregivers inside the home. But eventually, many lost those relationships, too.
“They lost their biological parents, then their caregiver moves or changes to a different job, and then they lose another mom,” she said.
Changing her mind
At one point during her CTAA practicum experience, Mbaziira found herself returning to organizations that had once looked to her as a model for residential care. For years, she had encouraged others to follow a model she believed was helping children. Now she found herself having very different conversations.
“I have come to tell you that what I told you about residential [care] is not the right thing. It’s not good,” she recalled telling others.
Rather than talking about buildings and programs, she began talking with them about bonding, family relationships, child development and the importance of children growing up within community and culture whenever possible.
She started slowly and cautiously. “The first time was not easy,” she added.
Testing a new approach
During her practicum placement with World Hope Uganda, Mbaziira walked alongside an organization serving 52 children in residential care.
Many of the first children to leave residential care and return to homes in the community were older youth. They were connected to vocational training and independent living opportunities, and gradually the staff began seeing them thrive and grow.
“They said, ‘It works! It works!’” Mbaziira recalled.
One of her biggest concerns had been what would happen when children aged out of care. Now she was beginning to see the new possibilities emerge.
The work was practical and relational, yet often complicated.
Families needed preparation and support before children could return home. Leaders needed time to process new ideas. Staff needed training, and overall a lot of mindsets needed to shift.
“We have to prepare the children and prepare the families,” Mbaziira said.
The process was not perfect, however. After some children were reunified, five children returned to the children’s home because their placements had been unsuccessful. At another point, organizational leaders decided to move children home more quickly than Mbaziira expected.
“I was scared, very scared,” she said. “This is going too fast.”
Even after her own perspective had changed, she still worried about children being moved too quickly without adequate preparation and support. But slowly, she began seeing something different emerge.
Children were reconnecting with family members. Families were taking responsibility for children they once believed belonged elsewhere, and communities were becoming part of the solution.
And the organization itself eventually transformed from a residential home into a school and healthcare center.
“It’s no longer an orphans’ home,” she said.
Children belong in families
Today, Mbaziira’s understanding of quality care for children looks very different from before.
“Children belong to families, not in residential care.”
What began as skepticism eventually became conviction. The leader who once resisted family care now actively advocates for care transition and helps other organizations navigate the same journey.
Join the Next CTAA Cohort at CAFO
Leaders interested in learning more about moving toward family solutions can explore the CTAA program and apply here.
