Our Story
The Journey of Child Houses
Two grassroots efforts. One shared mission.
Before Child Houses existed, two initiatives were already working with Syrian refugee children in Greece. Happy Caravan, led by Alaeddin Janid, supported Syrian children in refugee camps with psychosocial support and education. Connect by Music, led by Adriaan Kok, brought trauma-informed music therapy to the same camps.
In 2019, they joined forces to respond not only to the symptoms of displacement, but to the root cause: the broken child protection system in Syria. Together, they imagined something different. Not another orphanage. But a family for every child.
From war zones, something new begins.
On November 14, 2019, Child Houses was officially established in northwest Syria — in the midst of war, by a founding team on the ground, supported remotely by Aladin and Adriaan. Despite bombings, displacement, and immense instability, the first emergency shelter opened in Sarmada.
In that house, children who had been abandoned or separated during war were given safety, care, and a pathway to family. It was a small beginning with a big vision: to give every child a chance to grow up in love.
Caring for the most vulnerable.
Operating under constant threat, the shelter welcomed 10 to 15 children monthly, with space for 30. Most were found on the streets or left behind during displacement. Inside the shelter, children received psychosocial support, medical care, civil registration, basic education, and full case management and reunification services.
The heart of the shelter was the "mothers of the house"—local women who lived with and cared for the children like their own.
The beginning of family-based care.
In 2021, a newborn baby girl was brought to Child Houses, born at seven months and left in a hospital. Her condition was critical. With no neonatal care available in northwest Syria, she was airlifted to Turkey under Child Houses' care and spent two months in an incubator.
This was our first infant case—and our first foster placement.
What began as a response to crisis became a revolution in care. A foster care program was born, creating a locally accepted alternative to orphanages. Since then, more than 150 abandoned infants have been placed in loving families.
From shelter to system change
As the foster program grew, local authorities began referring all cases of unaccompanied and abandoned infants to Child Houses, bypassing orphanages. The shelter became a hub for case management, family tracing, and foster placement. Training expanded to include caregivers, social workers, and local officials.
Child Houses became the de facto focal point for children of unknown parentage in the region. A new model was taking shape.
A humanitarian pivot rooted in protection.
When the devastating earthquake struck Syria and Türkiye, Child Houses responded immediately. We expanded our work to support children beyond just the unaccompanied — providing urgent case management, medical aid, mobility devices, psychosocial support, and emergency shelter.
For the first time, we also began working directly inside orphanages—bringing child-centered activities, trauma care, and case reviews to children who had been institutionalized.
A new chapter begins.
After Syria’s liberation, Child Houses launched a national orphanage assessment across 32 facilities, uncovering a powerful truth: 88% of institutionalized children had living relatives.
We expanded to Aleppo and Damascus, scaling our foster family bank, training staff in public orphanages, and helping transition children into families. Our reach moved from regional to national.
From emergency to systemic.
In March 2025, we began the process of transforming Syria’s largest orphanage into a national model for temporary care and family placement. And in November, we will close our own shelter—a profound milestone.
Rather than house children ourselves, we now work directly inside orphanages to support transitions to family care, train staff on safe shelter practices, and advocate for national policy change.
Our mission is no longer just to respond. It is to rebuild the system.
2025–2035 A country without orphanages.
In March 2025, we began the process of transforming Syria’s largest orphanage into a national model for temporary care and family placement. And in November, we will close our own shelter—a profound milestone.
Rather than house children ourselves, we now work directly inside orphanages to support transitions to family care, train staff on safe shelter practices, and advocate for national policy change.
Our mission is no longer just to respond. It is to rebuild the system.
