Children under the protection of their adoptive father in Zinder

In an old district of Zinder, the ochre facade of an old house gives no hint of the hustle and bustle of life inside. Once through the door, one is greeted in the small courtyard by a joyful hubbub of children of all ages and sizes. Rabbits and chickens move all around, while the women bustle around the cooking pots. Dozens of children gather around the same man, the smallest sits briefly on his lap, then goes off to play, leaving the space to others. "Baba" is their adoptive father. A temporary father, a surrogate father, a loving father, for this group of children who have been brought together by chance, whose lives have been turned upside down, but who have found refuge and the possibility of a future here. Ali Yaro has inherited the tradition already carried on by his forefathers, according to which hosting is a duty emanating from the Sultanate of Zinder. 

" Look at this girl ", said the old man. "She was brought to us, having been found in the riverbed of a kori, she had been dropped there to be swept away by the current and fall down the cliff." The smiling child is dressed in a white dress decorated with red hearts. Another is playing quietly. He is discreetly pointed out: "he was found among the rubbish, he was going to be eaten by the dogs.   

Among the 38 children adopted by the old man, not all have unknown origins. "I know the parents of at least seven children here," says the old man, who is well known throughout the town. "A child is a child, no matter where he or she comes from. The aim is to relieve their suffering." Ali Haro has continued a tradition that began "since the dawn of time", and which the state services, through the Regional Child Protection Department, began to rely on in 2011 to deal with the influx of children abandoned, running away, or lost. 

Social services drop off unaccompanied children at Baba's home while the families are identified. The influx can be huge because the police cannot keep the children. In Zinder, moreover, "we often take in children who are on the move, so there are waves of 50 children who have to be taken care of", explains Omar Nahandi, head of the Child Protection Division at the Regional Child Protection Department.  

Eleven foster families are currently active in Zinder, monitored by social workers from the regional and local authorities. This fostering system seems more suitable for abandoned children than an orphanage, explains Omar Nahandi: "We follow the administrative procedures, police, juvenile judge, protection services. But the child placed here will never feel marginalised, which can happen if they are in an orphanage. 

Although passionate about continuing his family's tradition of fostering children, Baba is often hampered  by a lack of resources. In fact, the support given to each foster family by the state services is the same, regardless of the number of children taken in. And this support does not cover all the needs of Ali Yaro's teeming home. "During the malaria season, we have high medical costs", he points out as an example.  

But Baba knows that he can count on the many children who have lived in his house: "When they grew up, some of them became senior civil servants. Some of the children who grew up here have gone to school and university, got married and gone on to do very well in life. They don't forget us and send us what they can to help us. 

Since 2011, thousands of children at risk or victims of abuse, violence and exploitation have been assisted by protection services. In 2021, 23,412 children (including 8,543 girls and 14,869 boys) 58 per cent of vulnerable children assisted by protection services were unaccompanied or separated children on the move, 33 per cent of whom were girls. In Zinder, 1,3243 vulnerable children or victims were assisted/cared for by the protection services (9,095 boys and 4,148 girls). Of these, 7,387 were children at risk of mobility (5,231 boys and 2,156 girls). 

To strengthen child protection in Niger, UNICEF is funding 127 social workers in the 64 Protection Services under the supervision of the country's various Regional Child Protection Department. More than 300 host families have been identified and are active in providing temporary emergency accommodation for children.