‘The children are not safe here’: the Nigerian couple fighting infanticide

The story follows the work of Olushola and Chinwe Stevens, Christian missionaries who established the Vine Heritage Home Foundation in 2004 to rescue children condemned by traditional beliefs in rural Nigerian communities. Their work began after discovering that some children were still being killed, poisoned, or abandoned due to beliefs that certain children bring curses - particularly those born with disabilities, twins, or after their mothers died in childbirth. The couple has rescued over 200 children over 20 years, with 75% coming after maternal death. Nigeria has the world's highest maternal mortality rate, with one in 100 women dying during childbirth. The home operates near Abuja, serving isolated communities with poor healthcare and infrastructure. Children like Esther Stevens, who was nearly buried alive with her deceased mother as a newborn, now thrive at the facility. The Stevens originally planned to reintegrate children into their communities as agents of change, but this vision has largely failed due to language barriers, educational gaps, and persistent community resistance. Some children have been successfully returned to families, but others face danger or rejection. The work has taken a severe toll on the founders - Chinwe Stevens is now seriously ill and depends on donations for medical care. The home struggles financially due to Nigeria's economic crisis and lacks formal organizational structure. Despite government denial of these practices, surveys show 16% of men in affected areas still support infanticide. ActionAid and other organizations have worked to address the root beliefs through community development programs, achieving some success in stopping killings in four communities. The couple continues their work with help from local missionaries and Islamic clerics, though the challenge of changing deeply entrenched traditional beliefs persists.