Orphans International
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Orphans International Worldwide (OIWW) and Orphans International America (OIA) are charitable organizations (referred to together as OI) created to house and educate orphans and abandoned children. In response to the crisis facing orphaned children around the world, former investment banker Jim Luce founded OI in 1999. OI's headquarters are in New York City.
Through its network of small orphanages or "homes" for children in countries throughout the world, OI provides immediate aid to some of the world's most disadvantaged children. OI's small staff operates with the help of about 100 volunteers, on an annual budget of only a half-million dollars. OI currently houses and educates children orphaned and abandoned after the 2004 Tsunami in Sri Lanka and Indonesia, and 2004's Hurricane Jeanne in Haiti.[1] OI is also seeking to arrange foster care for some orphans, beginning in 2008 in Sri Lanka.
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[edit] Description of OI's models
OI opened its first home in Sulawesi, Indonesia in 2001. With the AIDS epidemic, natural disasters, low world health standards and widespread poverty contributing to a global crisis for children, OIWW'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 areas throughout the world by raising responsible citizens. OI seeks to benefit children in its homes through education and vocational opportunities that are coupled with a nurturing environment, proper nutrition and healthcare. OIWW also monitors the children's schooling and provides after school tutoring. Each child is given individual attention, with a child-to-adult ratio of 1:3, leading towards graduation and either scholarships for further education or micro-loans for creating small businesses. Children may be sponsored for $600 per year. OI does not place children for adoption, but rather seeks their sponsorship in their native countries.
OI's mission is interfaith, interracial, international, and intergenerational – that is, it discourages discrimination on the basis of faith, race, and nationality and seeks to take advantage of the experiene of senior volunteers. Orphans are referred to OI by local social 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 is currently 9 years old.[2] OI's surrogate foster homes generally have four children per home and a house "parent" who was raised in the local culture and religion. The organization was also active in housing orphans in Aceh, Indonesia; Lagos, Nigeria; and Galle, Sri Lanka after the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami.[3]
In 2008, OI will begin experimenting with a new extended family foster care model, which it calls "Family Care", to work with extended families in Sri Lanka - aunts, uncles and grandparents - offering training and support to take care of orphans.
[edit] Administration and structure
OIWW is the committee that sets the global worldview, mission and standards for its cooperating organizations in both developing and developed nations. It consists of ten officers. The OI executive office is in New York City. Founder Jim Luce continues as a director of both OIWW and OIA. Dr. Donald W. Hoskins became President of the Board of OIA in 2006. Beginning in January 2008, Linda Stanley became OIA Executive Director.[4][5]
OI operates through the generosity of over three hundred benefactors from around the world, many of whom have become child or home sponsors. It is associated with the Department of Public Information of the United Nations[6] OI oversees an annual World Congress, the e-newsletter OI InterNews,[7] and a website.[8] OIWW approves global NGO and corporate "Partners for Progress".[9] The Sixth Anniversary Benefit of Orphans International, in October 2007, was held at the home of Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul, and Mary.
[edit] Global focus
Orphans International advocates service to humanity and attempts to instill in the 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 homes and inter-connections among the homes to foster a fraternity of graduates as well as to expose the children to information from around the world accessible on the internet. Global Advisors to OI include HE Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa, President of the United Nation's General Assembly, HSH Prince Albert of Monaco, and Gloria Starr Kins, CEO of the Kins Group Ltd. The Fifth Anniversary Benefit of Orphans International was held at the United Nations in November 2006.
[edit] Notes
[edit] References
- Essay by Jim Luce: "First One Orphan, Then Many More" in New York Times, November 12, 2007
- Luce, Jim Riding the Tiger: The Creation of Orphans International Worldwide 2006.[1] ISSN 1234-5678-910
- BBC: Child kidnap fears spark mob chase http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/6947794.stm
- Chicago Public Radio: Worldview June 1, 2006 Global Activism: Aiding Abandoned Children
