ACE Zambia, formerly Christian Alliance for Children in Zambia (CACZ), is a faith-based NGO founded in 1998 under the vision of Alliance for Children Everywhere (ACE) US to support orphans and vulnerable children through care, family preservation, and empowerment services. Between 2001 and 2003, ACE established three residential care facilities serving children from infancy through age fourteen. Initially, admissions were unregulated, but in 2010, the introduction of national Minimum Standards of Care strengthened gatekeeping, requiring placements through mandated authorities.
In 2013, the closure of one facility, House of Martha, exposed the limitations of residential care, including prolonged stays and negative impacts on children’s well-being, prompting ACE to begin its transition in 2014. Over the following decade, ACE invested in family- and community-based services, partnering with Bethany Christian Services Global to develop prevention programs, foster care, and adoption systems while strengthening reintegration processes and family support. By 2023, ACE stopped new residential admissions and began closing its remaining facilities, completing the transition in 2025. During its years of operation, ACE served 1,356 children in residential care, with many reunified or placed in families. Today, with the same resources, ACE supports 250% more children through family-based care, demonstrating a scalable and sustainable alternative to institutional care.
This case study describes how ACE Zambia transitioned from providing residential care in Zambia to pioneering family-based care, including foster care, and supporting other residential care service providers to transition.
