Orphans International Worldwide (OIWW) is a

charitable organization A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, Religion, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definitio ...

created to house and educate

orphan An orphan (from the el, ορφανός, orphanós) is a child whose parents have died. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents due to death is called an orphan. When referring to animals, only the mother's condition is usuall ...

s and

abandoned children Child abandonment is the practice of relinquishing interests and claims over one's offspring in an illegal way, with the intent of never resuming or reasserting guardianship. The phrase is typically used to describe the physical abandonment of a ...

. In response to the crisis facing orphaned children around the world, former

investment bank Investment is the dedication of money to purchase of an asset to attain an increase in value over a period of time. Investment requires a sacrifice of some present asset, such as time, money, or effort. In finance, the purpose of investing is ...

employee Jim Luce founded Orphans International in 1999. OI's headquarters are in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Through its network of small "homes" for children, OI provides immediate aid to some of the world's most disadvantaged children. OI operates on an annual budget of less than a half-million dollars. OI houses and educates children orphaned and abandoned after the 2004 tsunami in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

and

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

and 2004's

Hurricane Jeanne Hurricane Jeanne was a Category 3 hurricane that struck the Caribbean and the Eastern United States in September 2004. It was the deadliest hurricane in the Atlantic basin since Mitch in 1998. It was the tenth named storm, the seventh hurrica ...

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

History, philosophy and models

OI opened its first home in

Sulawesi Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Ar ...

in 2001. It became active in housing orphans in

Aceh Aceh ( ), officially the Aceh Province ( ace, Nanggroë Acèh; id, Provinsi Aceh) is the westernmost province of Indonesia. It is located on the northernmost of Sumatra island, with Banda Aceh being its capital and largest city. Granted a s ...

; and

Galle Galle ( si, ගාල්ල, translit=Gālla; ta, காலி, translit=Kāli) (formerly Point de Galle) is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the southwestern tip, from Colombo. Galle is the provincial capital and largest city of Souther ...

after the

2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami An earthquake and a tsunami, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, occurred at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7) on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Suma ...

. Beginning in 2008, OI also supports

foster care Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home (residential child care community, treatment center, etc.), or private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent" or with a family mem ...

for tsunami orphans in Sri Lanka by supporting children living with members of their extended families. OI provides tutoring, English classes and jobs training, such as sewing classes and hospitality classes. In 2009, OI also served 27 Aids affected orphans in Moshi,

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

. With the

AIDS epidemic The global epidemic of HIV/AIDS (human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) began in 1981, and is an ongoing worldwide public health issue. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), as of 2021, HIV/AI ...

natural disasters A natural disaster is "the negative impact following an actual occurrence of natural hazard in the event that it significantly harms a community". A natural disaster can cause loss of life or damage property, and typically leaves some econo ...

, low world health standards and widespread

poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...

contributing to a global crisis for children, OI's model of "Raising Global Citizens" seeks to make a difference in both the short-term needs of children and the long-term improvement of disadvantaged communities throughout the world by raising children as responsible citizens. OI's mission is

interfaith Interfaith dialogue refers to cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions (i.e. "faiths") and/or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional levels. It is ...

interracial Interracial topics include: * Interracial marriage, marriage between two people of different races ** Interracial marriage in the United States *** 2009 Louisiana interracial marriage incident * Interracial adoption, placing a child of one raci ...

, international, and intergenerational – that is, it discourages discrimination on the basis of faith, race and nationality and seeks to utilize the experience of senior volunteers. OI seeks to benefit orphans through

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

and vocational opportunities that are coupled with a nurturing environment, proper

nutrition Nutrition is the biochemical and physiological process by which an organism uses food to support its life. It provides organisms with nutrients, which can be metabolized to create energy and chemical structures. Failure to obtain sufficient n ...

and

healthcare Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...

. OI also monitors the children's education and provides after school tutoring, computer classes and English classes. OI intends to give each orphan support until graduation with a baccalaureat degree. OI does not place children for adoption, but rather seeks to help them live successfully in their native countries and cultures. OI's homes: Orphans are referred to OI by local social service agencies. The children are generally preschool age (2–4 years old) when accepted by OI, and the average age of the children in OIs programs was 9 years old as of 2008. OI's foster homes generally have four children per home and a house "parent" who was raised in the local culture and religion. OI's family care model: In 2008, OI began experimenting with a new extended-family foster care model, which it calls "Family Care", to help extended families in Sri Lanka. There, aunts, uncles and grandparents were offered training and financial support to take care of orphans. Family care allows OIWW to care for twice as many orphans on the same budget, compared with renting, building, staffing, or maintaining an orphanage.

Administration and structure

OIWW sets the global worldview, mission and standards for its project nations. It consists of ten officers. The OI executive office is in New York City. Founder Jim Luce is a director of OIWW. He also founded an American-based fundraising arm, OIA, but OIA split from OIWW in November 2009. The OI staff is assisted by volunteers who help with fundraising and other tasks. Its annual budget is less than a half million dollars. OI has received donations from over three hundred benefactors from around the world, many of whom have become child sponsors. It receives no government money. OIWW is associated with the Department of Public Information of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

OI's activities include overseeing a semi-annual World Congress, publishing the e-

newsletter A newsletter is a printed or electronic report containing news concerning the activities of a business or an organization that is sent to its members, customers, employees or other subscribers. Newsletters generally contain one main topic of int ...

''OI InterNews'', and maintaining a website. OIWW approves global

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

and corporate "Partners for Progress". The sixth anniversary benefit of OI, in October 2007, was held at the home of

Peter Yarrow Peter Yarrow (born May 31, 1938) is an American singer and songwriter who found fame for being in the 1960s folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary. Yarrow co-wrote (with Leonard Lipton) one of the group's best known hits, " Puff, the Magic Dragon". H ...

Peter, Paul, and Mary Peter, Paul and Mary was an American Contemporary folk music, folk group formed in New York City in 1961 during the American folk music revival phenomenon. The trio consisted of tenor Peter Yarrow, baritone Paul Stookey, and contralto Mary Traver ...

, who entertained the group by singing his song "

Puff the Magic Dragon "Puff, the Magic Dragon" (or just "Puff") is a song written by Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary from a poem by Leonard Lipton. It was made popular by Yarrow's group in a 1962 recording released in January 1963. Lipton wrote a poem about a ...

Global focus

OI advocates service to humanity and attempts to instill in children an appreciation of both national and global citizenship and both modern technology and traditional arts and crafts. OIWW plans to bring internet connections to all of its projects to expose the children to information from around the world accessible on the internet. Global Advisors to OI include

Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa (born October 18, 1952) ( ar, هيا راشد آل خليفة) is a lawyer and diplomat from Bahrain. As ambassador to France 1999-2004 she became Bahrain's first ever female ambassador. She is one of the first women to prac ...

, Former President of the United Nation's General Assembly, and Prince Albert of

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

, The fifth anniversary benefit of OI was held at the United Nations in November 2006.Article on fifth anniversary benefit for OI
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Notes

References

* Luce, Jim

''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', November 12, 2007 * ttp://chicagopublicradio.org/Program_WV_Segment.aspx?segmentID=1709 Chicago Public Radio: Worldview June 1, 2006 Global Activism: Aiding Abandoned Children
The Stewardship Report: Indonesian Orphaned Children Grow

External links

OIWW's official website

BBC: ''Child kidnap fears spark mob chase''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orphans International Children's charities based in the United States Foreign charities operating in Sri Lanka Non-profit organizations based in New York City Social welfare charities based in the United States Organizations established in 1999 Organizations for orphaned and abandoned children Foreign charities operating in Haiti Foreign charities operating in Indonesia Foreign charities operating in Tanzania 1999 establishments in New York (state)