The willingness of Islamic NGOs to participate in jihad activities as aid to members of the Ummah (community of Muslims) results in varied actual practices. This paper describes the complex moral economy constructed by the inhabitants of Zinder in everyday life, working between Islamic rules and the legal pluralism inherited from the colonial period. It focuses on the practices of creating a new family for the "orphan" child. It considers the reappropriation of international Islamic aid as well as its connection to a broader set of practices ranging from the use of civil registries to religious baptism.