The ruin of a nation begins in the homes of its people.

What it means
The proverb places the strength of a nation in its households. When care, honesty and discipline fail within families, the wider society is weakened as well.
Akan · West Africa
Source and context
From: Akan, West Africa
Source: Ashanti/Akan proverb; listed on UCLA's "Ashanti Proverbs from Ghana" page (dcl.sscnet.ucla.edu). Also recorded here as cited in Belgrave, Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology (SAGE), which could not be opened for this audit.

The meaning given here is our own reading. Other interpretations exist.