Emula’s story: How loving families advance girls’ rights

When she and her siblings were placed in an orphanage for their protection, Emula remained their anchor and sense of stability. In institutional care with a high child-to-caregiver ratio, she became the mother figure her siblings needed.  

While she showered her siblings with comfort, security and love, her own dreams for the future slowly faded.  

“I worry about my siblings and biological mother,” Emula said. “Who will take care of my younger siblings when I’m not around?”  

When children—especially girls—are forced into caregiving roles, they lose opportunities to purse education, independence and the potential for future success. But family-like care offers a different path—one where girls can thrive and reach their full potential.  

The power of family in achieving gender equality 

While Emula* was caring for her siblings in the orphanage, a two-month-old baby, Polina*, was welcomed into SOS Children’s Village in Tsumeb, Namibia. 

Like Emula’s mother, Polina’s mother, suffering from untreated mental illness, was unable to care for her and often put the little baby’s life at risk.  

Thankfully, SOS, in collaboration with the Ministry of Gender in Namibia, stepped in to ensure Polina found a safe home and loving family.  Savelia, an SOS Mother for more than 13 years, welcomed little Polina into her family.  

“I became an SOS Mother because I love children,” Savelia said. 

As SOS traced Polina’s family history, staff made a surprising discovery—she had four older siblings living in a nearby orphanage. 

Keeping siblings together 

At SOS, we believe no child should grow up alone, and research continues to show it is paramount for children’s well-being to keep siblings together. When siblings remain together, their mental health, emotional maturity and sense of identity are all strengthened.  

Recognizing this, our team worked tirelessly to reunite Polina with her siblings—including Emula—under Savelia’s loving care. 

For the first time, all five siblings had the chance to grow up together in a safe, nurturing home, where they could thrive without the burden of parentification—a role far too many girls face.  

“I am very happy and excited to have all my siblings with me,” says Emula, the eldest of the siblings. “I like the unconditional love and bond in my SOS family.”  

From caregiver to dreamer: Emula’s new future 

Unlike institutionalized orphanage care, which hinders a child’s development and emotional growth, family-like care—like the kind SOS Children’s Villages provides—offers a child the safe home, nurturing care and emotional support they need to thrive. 

Now, instead of worrying about raising her siblings alone, Emula is free to dream about her future, ready to achieve her full educational and emotional potential. She wants to become a police officer or a doctor, driven by her passion for helping others. 

This transformation—from child caregiver to empowered young woman—is why loving families are essential building blocks for gender equality. When girls grow up with the foundation of a safe, nurturing family, they have the support and freedom they need to pursue their right to education and focus on their own goals instead of taking on premature caregiving responsibilities. 

How you can help 

Millions of girls around the world are at risk of growing up without a family or taking on caregiving responsibilities far beyond their years.  

When you sponsor a girl, you provide more than food and shelter—you give a girl, like Emula, the chance to grow up with the support of her biological siblings in a loving family, access her right to education and build a future full of opportunities. 

Sponsor a child today. 

*Name changed to protect privacy