Although LANS primary target is children aged between one and three years, we work towards a better life for children of all ages by promoting both local and international adoption. Moreover, we enhance the capacities of communities to take care of their own children.
We have also focused on adoption of HIV positive, abandoned or neglected children by families locally and internationally. In order to do this, we continue to network with existing children’s homes all over the country. After abandonment, most of the children are received through the police, hospitals, offices of the Department of Children Services and the general public. LANS social workers then follow up these cases until court proceedings are over and the children are finally adopted or fostered. A lasting relationship is established between those adopting the children and LANS to ensure proper care and development of the children.
Within such an environment, children are able to go through a loving and playful childhood. Families and or communities are assisted in their role as care givers, teachers, and protectors of their children. They have the time, knowledge, resources and commitment to foster the development of positive attitudes and behavior in their children.
For children to grow in such manner, they need to be part of communities that nurture them fully in a loving environment. In such an environment, the safety and wellbeing of each child is given priority. Further, gender, social status, medical status, religion and ethnicity are differences that enrich the world that the children grow in as they are taught respect for each other and the value of self-dignity.
In order to achieve these, all sectors of society need to be committed to child welfare and hold themselves accountable for taking actions on behalf of orphan children. This should include all public and private partners, the media, the general public and children themselves. This also requires the mobilization of all potential partners, and not only the existing ones but also broader based strategic alliances.
LANS appreciates that the rights, equality and empowerment of women are of key importance in the creation of sustainable healthy families and communities. LANS is therefore committed to the promotion of equal rights for women and girls. We support their full participation in the political, social and economic development of their communities. LANS is passionate about steering its vision by continuous effort to develop solutions, mobilize resources and open up space for dialogue on critical issues as it works with partners to fulfill the mandate for infected, affected and disabled orphan children and their caregivers.
Page Quote: “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.” Frederick Douglass, abolitionist and statesman