When Nicolae Ceausescu’s reign ended in Romania, the world was shocked by images of more than 100,000 children crammed into bleak institutions. Those pictures marked the beginning of our decades-long effort to end orphanages in Romania.

Today, thanks to your support, another dark chapter has closed. Ion Holban – Romania’s largest orphanage – has finally shut its doors.

Why Ion Holban mattered

Back in 2012, Iași County had the most children in institutions in Romania. The biggest was Ion Holban, housing over 215 children and young people at that time. Over the years, another 192 children passed through its gates – 403 in total who needed our help.

Closing Ion Holban became our priority. But it wasn’t easy. It took years of negotiation with local authorities, training staff, supporting families, and helping young adults transition to independence.

And now, after 11 years of hard work, every single child has been rehomed.

• 148 children are now safe with families (birth families, foster families, or kinship care).
• 158 young people are living independently or preparing to do so.
• The rest are thriving in family-style homes or community-based services.

The children behind the numbers

One of those young people is Flavia*. With our team’s support, and encouragement from her mentor Mălina, she has secured an apartment, a job, and a place at college to train as a nurse.

“Through the intervention and support of Hope and Homes for Children, I have become more determined and responsible, with the courage to move forward. Recently, my wings have been polished by Mrs. Mălina, who helps me continue in this new stage. Wings that fly thanks to these wonderful people.” – Flavia, former resident of Ion Holban

Flavia’s story is just one example of how children’s lives are transformed when they are freed from institutions and supported to grow in families or independent living.

Why this work is so important

It might surprise you to learn that 80% of children in orphanages worldwide are not orphans. Most have at least one living parent, but poverty, disability or discrimination forced them into institutions.

Orphanages can never replace the love and security of a family. Children raised in institutions can suffer developmental delays, trauma, and lifelong scars. That’s why closing orphanages is about more than shutting buildings – it’s about giving children back their childhoods.

With your help we can finish the job

The closure of Ion Holban is a huge milestone and brings us closer to the day when every child in Romania can grow up in the love of a family – but it’s not the end. There are still orphanages left in Romania, and the children inside them can’t wait.

At the start of 2025 we started to work on the closure of 12 institutions. So far, we have successfully closed five of them.

• We have helped 206 out of 331 children Back to Family.
• We have prevented 290 children out of 300 children from entering state care.
• We have helped 52 children and young adults out of 80 to transition out of state care.

Thanks to your support, and our Romania team’s tireless effort since 1998, there are now fewer that 1,000 children left in Romania’s institutions.

With your help, we can finish the job. You made the closure of Romania’s biggest orphanage possible. Now, will you help us close the last? Together, we can ensure that no child grows up without the love of a family.

• Read more about the amazing work of our team in Romania

_{*To ensure the safety and privacy of the people we support, the names of the children and relatives featured in this story have been changed.}

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When Cigy was born with disabilities, Mutoni did everything she could to support her daughter. She worked hard and took Cigy to nearby health facilities for care. But the pressure was immense, and her husband rejected Cigy completely. Mutoni’s marriage ended, and she moved in with her mother, who helped her with Cigy and her two other young children.

Tragedy struck when Mutoni’s mother died, and local people convinced Mutoni to send Cigy to a residential institution for children with disabilities. Mutoni was heartbroken to send her daughter away, but she believed it was the best possible thing for her child.

Life in the orphanage was grim. Cigy was severely neglected and lived in appalling conditions. Instead of playing with other children, she was bedbound and unable to move. “When I visited her,” Mutoni says, “the stink was so overwhelming that I couldn’t stay inside.”

Mutoni desperately wanted Cigy back with her family, but she feared she would be unable to provide the care her daughter needed. Our team stepped in to provide advice, emotional support, and practical help so the family felt confident in caring for Cigy once she returned.

To ensure the family had a stable foundation, we bought them a home, giving them security and dignity. We also helped Mutoni start her own business selling clothes, which increased the family’s income and financial independence.

We arranged regular physiotherapy sessions for Cigy, which began an incredible transformation. Within just three months of leaving the orphanage, she had gained 10 kilograms, regained the use of her hands and upper body, and had begun to dance and respond to signals and sounds again.

“You not only brought my daughter back to me – you gave us a home, a way to survive, and the strength to live again as a family.”

Mutoni, Cigy’s mum

Today, Cigy is thriving with the protection and care only a loving family can provide. “She looks like the child I remember before she was placed in the institution,” Mutoni says. Richard Munyaneza, Safeguarding Coordinator at Hope and Homes for Children Rwanda, recalls, “When I first met Mutoni, she was very sad and unsure if she could care for Cigy. Now, seeing her happy and Cigy enjoying life with her family is amazing. It shows how much can change with the right support.”

• Read more about the work we do in Rwanda

Photo credit: Richard Munyaneza/Hope and Homes for Children

_{*To ensure the safety and privacy of the people we support, the names of the children and relatives featured in this story have been changed.}

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Last month, your donations changed lives. Because of your continued generosity, our team successfully shut down the ‘Home for Medical and Social Care for Children’ orphanage in Kardjali, South Bulgaria. Now, there are only three institutions left. And we’re going to close them all.

Behind every story of an orphanage closure are the stories of the children living inside. Stories of the parents they were separated from. Of their happiness when they finally came back to family.

Stories like Ivanka’s.

Meet Ivanka

When Ivanka was born, her mum, Elena*, didn’t know what to do. She was struggling to get by, and single by the time Ivanka was three months old. Elena was only 16.

Ivanka needed surgery, but Elena was too unwell to care for her. Her grandmother, Petya*, did everything she could to help, but Ivanka’s health became critical. The authorities found out. Quickly, they sent her to live in the ‘Home for Medical and Social Care for Children’ orphanage nearby. She was just a baby.

Why do children get placed in orphanages?

Like Ivanka, 80% of children in orphanages aren’t actually orphans. They’ve been separated from their families. Families who just needed help.

Lack of access to medical support is a key driver of family separation. Instead of getting the support they need, struggling parents have their children taken away and placed in institutions. 

Just like what happened to Ivanka.

Find out more about how children end up in orphanages.

Life inside the orphanage

Up to 40 children lived at Ivanka’s orphanage. Several had disabilities and needed round-the-clock care. There was no laughter, no joy.

“I always have a picture in my mind of this orphanage,” says Kremena Stoyanova, National Coordinator for Hope and Homes for Children South Bulgaria. “Long and very wide corridors and a rehabilitation therapist holding the hand of a two-year-old child. Footsteps clanging in the empty space. Those sounds in the darkness are the picture I want to erase.” 

“Those sounds in the darkness are the picture I want to erase.” 

But that’s not the worst part. Institutional care exposes children to violence, abuse and neglect. As a result, for every three months spent in an orphanage, children lose one month’s development.

That’s why we work to bring children back to family.

Find out more about how orphanages harm children.

Bringing Ivanka back to family

Thanks to your donations, our team started helping Ivanka’s family to bring her home.

Elena attended parenting classes, and Petya was supported to find a new job, renovate the home, and create a new safe space for her granddaughter. With our team by their side, we worked with the local authorities to bring Ivanka out of the orphanage and back to family.

But our work doesn’t end there.

Sustainable change

It’s one thing bringing children back to family. It’s another to ensure they’ll stay there. Working with Elena and Petya, we created an action plan for Ivanka’s long-term care. Elena agreed it would be best for Ivanka to grow up with her grandmother.

Thanks to your donations, we helped Petya become a foster parent, inviting her to training sessions while providing emotional and financial support to the family as they adapted to the change.

Now, everything’s different. Ivanka’s three years old, happy and healthy, and growing up with her grandmother. Elena visits all the time, bonding with her daughter while making money to support herself. And Petya couldn’t be happier with a new baby in her home.

Shutting down the orphanage

We’ve been working on closing the ‘Home for Medical and Social Care for Children’ orphanage in Kardjali since 2015. This year, after nearly a decade of hard work, we completed the process.

Thanks to your support, each of the children living inside – including Ivanka – were either brought back to family, or into family-based alternative care solutions. You can read more about the full process here.

What’s next?

Riding on our success, our team in Bulgaria is gearing up for the next big win. With your support, we’re ready to shut down the last three orphanages in the country and bring every child home to a loving family.

But we can’t do it without you.

Will you help us close the last remaining orphanages in Bulgaria and bring the children living inside back to family? Donate today.

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After years of tireless work, our team in Bulgaria has successfully closed the ‘Home for Medical and Social Care for Children’ orphanage in Kardjali.

Also known as a ‘baby home’, the orphanage housed up to 40 children. Now, thanks to you, all these children are no longer shut away. No longer afraid. No longer alone.

This orphanage closure marks another huge milestone for our team in Bulgaria. Now, there are only three orphanages left to close. Thanks to your donations, Bulgaria is heading toward an orphanage-free future.

We’re on a mission to bring children out of orphanages and back to family. Donate today.

How many children lived inside the orphanage?

Around 40 children were shut away inside the ‘Home for Medical and Social Care for Children’ institution. Most were under three. Several had disabilities.

Many struggling parents of children with disabilities can’t access the support they need. As a result, they feel pushed to place their children in orphanages. Just to find them care.

Find out more about why children end up in orphanages here.

Sadly, orphanages don’t protect children. They put them in harm’s way. The majority of children in institutional care will face violence, abuse and neglect. Children with disabilities are at an even higher risk.

Find out more about how orphanages harm children.

What was it like inside the orphanage?

One of the last remaining orphanages in Bulgaria, the ‘Home for Medical and Social Care for Children’ institution was dilapidated, with no natural light and broken play equipment. But the worst part, as remembered by Kremena Stoyanova, National Coordinator for Hope and Homes for Children South Bulgaria, was the silence.

“I always have a picture in my mind of this home. Long and very wide corridors and a rehabilitation therapist holding the hand of a two-year-old child. Footsteps clanging in the empty space. Those sounds in the darkness are the picture I want to erase.” 

Kremena Stoyanova, National Coordinator for Hope and Homes for Children South Bulgaria

Well-meaning members of the community used to raise funds for the orphanage. But as with many orphanages, it was hard to see how these efforts benefited the children. Ivanka Taushanova, our Regional Coordinator in Kardjali, remembers the first time she realised this:

“I was a teacher in a local school, and every year we did a campaign to buy toys for the children in the orphanage. When I first went to the orphanage there were no toys. Everything was quiet. There wasn’t even any childlike curiosity.” 

“Everything was quiet. There wasn’t even any childlike curiosity.” 

Ivanka Taushanova, Regional Coordinator in Kardjali

How do we bring children back to family?

After signing an MOU with the regional government in 2015, we started working on getting the children out of the orphanage and back to family, or into family-based care.

To do this, we pursue four main options:

• Reunite children with their birth families. The ideal solution, especially when 80% of children in orphanages around the world aren’t orphans.
• Reunite children with their relatives. When parents aren’t able to care for their children, we can support their immediate family members to raise them at home.
• Create new families. Through fostering or adoption, we can find children from orphanages loving new families to grow up in.
• Bring children into community-based care. Sometimes, it’s necessary for children to live in alternative community-based care spaces. This is a great solution when children have complicated or round-the-clock support needs. We ensure these spaces are family-style solutions, with a specific amount of carers to children to ensure everyone’s getting the love and attention they need.

For more information on how we bring children back to family, read more about our solutions here.

Closing down the orphanage

Thanks to your support, on August 1st 2024, the orphanage was finally closed down. Boryana Klimentova, Programme Director of Hope and Homes for Children Bulgaria, remembers the day well.

“It was a beautiful hot day, and the sun seemed to be showing us the right way. I felt joy”

We ensured each of the children living inside were safe, secure and in loving family-style homes – through being reunited with their birth families, adoption, fostering or placement in medical centres for disabled children with 24/7 care.

What’s next?

Riding on our success, our team in Bulgaria is gearing up for the next big win. With your support, we’re ready to shut down the last three orphanages in the country and bring every child home to a loving family.

But we can’t do it without you.

Will you help us close the last remaining orphanages in Bulgaria and bring the children living inside back to family? Donate today.

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Messages of joy and accomplishment are coming in from our team in Romania, having just closed yet another orphanage confining wrongfully separated children.

Following a complex two-year process, our Romania team successfully and safely closed the Mihael Sadoveanu Orphanage in Iași County earlier this month. Thanks to your donations, our team ensured every single child living inside was brought back to family.

Over thirty years since the world was shocked by images of children in Romanian orphanages, there are now only seven orphanages left in Iași County. And with your support, we’re set to have them all closed by the end of 2024.

Who was in the orphanage?

The orphanage held 40 children and young adults. All of them girls. None of them actually orphans.

Sadly, 80% of children in orphanages around the world have living family members they could, and should, be growing up with.

Find out more about why children end up in orphanages here.

Instead, the majority of children in orphanages are exposed to violence, abuse and neglect – vulnerable to physical and psychological harm that lasts a lifetime.

Find out more about how orphanages harm children.

How was the orphanage closed?

A cooperation agreement to close the institution was signed with the local government of Iași County in 2022.

Thanks to this partnership, our team was able to assess the needs of the children In the orphanage, find their families, and support them to bring their children home. Where they belong.

We’re also providing monitoring, counselling and support at every step of the reintegration process.

“Every closure is different in terms of work and challenges, but the feeling in the end is the same: a great joy and accomplishment.”

Adrian Oros – Hope and Homes for Children Romania

Find out more about how we safely close orphanages and bring children back to family here.

Where have the children from the orphanage gone?

Following an extended period of research, planning, family tracing and safeguarding procedures, our team helped find safe homes for each of the 40 girls inside.

Thanks to your continued support, we were able to get all of them either back to their biological families, into foster families, or into independent living schemes for those over 18.

Thank you

Since 1994, we’ve been committed to shutting down orphanages and getting children inside back to family. None of this would be possible without your support. Thank you.

“When the institution was closed down, we were happy that all of those children have left behind this large institution and they were now in a new place – family. We were and are happy to be able to contribute to this new stage in their lives, it feels like we have accomplished something not only for now, but also for the future.”

Adrian Oros – Hope and Homes for Children Romania

That’s 40 young lives who get the chance to start again. To feel love. Family. Home.

What’s next?

Thanks to this success, our team in Romania is ready to up the ante. With the help of the local government, we’re now set to shut down the seven remaining orphanages in Iași County, bringing every child inside back to family.

But we need your help.

Our team in Romania is set to close the last remaining orphanages in Iași County by the end of 2024. Will you help us bring each and every one of the children stuck inside these institutions back to family? Donate today.

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When Ombi found out she was pregnant she was terrified. Still in secondary school, she dropped out of school and stayed at home.

Shamed for being young, pregnant and unmarried, Ombi was suffering. Until your donations helped her get back on her feet.

Finding support

The next few months were some of the darkest in Ombi’s life. She was unemployed, out of school and with a newborn baby to raise. Worse, she received no support from her family.

Thankfully, that’s when she found the Adolescent Mother Project.

What is the Adolescent Mother Project

The Adolescent Mother Project is our support network for young, vulnerable women in Kigali.

In Rwanda, adolescent pregnancy has become a major national topic. Facing unemployment, poverty or discrimination, young women are at risk of giving up their babies. That means more children pushed into institutionalised care. More homes being torn apart.

But every child deserves to grow up with the love of family. And every young mother deserves independence. By supporting adolescent mothers in Kigali, we’re tackling gender-based discrimination head on – keeping families together, and children out of orphanages.

And thanks to your donations, it’s working.

How does the Adolescent Mother Project work?

Our team works with community leaders to find and refer vulnerable young women in the community. Many have endured poverty, sexual abuse or food scarcity. Many have no support from their family members.

First, we provide financial support to ensure they have a roof over their heads, food on the table, and anything they need for their baby. Then, we invite them to our community hubs, where we provide counselling, family mediation, and whatever support they need to get back into school. Our team even provides grants to help adolescent mothers set up a small business.

Every adolescent mother we support is different, as are their paths to independence. But thanks to your support, we’re helping them pave their own way.

Sharing, healing and comfort

After being referred to the Project, our team invited Ombi to her first group counselling session. When she walked into the room and saw other young women in a similar situation, she was shocked. She realised she wasn’t alone.

 “I was helped to overcome fear, shame, and the feeling of isolation from society,” she says. “In group therapy sessions with hundreds of peers, we talked, shared critical experiences, healed each other, and comforted each other. I began to see myself as a normal person, not a burden to my family or a source of shame. I started to develop confidence and self-love.”

“I started to develop confidence and self-love.

 “My mother was also invited to a meeting at the community hub, along with other adolescent mothers and their parents,” she continues. “We discussed issues like fighting, discrimination, positive communication in the family, and the importance of forgiveness and understanding.”

With help from our team, their relationship improved. “My mother began to take care of my son and started talking to me again. A good mood returned to our home, and now my mother looks after my son while I work.”

 Looking to the future

Thanks to your support, everything’s now changed for Ombi. Your donations helped her go back to school, get a qualification, and find a job in a local salon. Now, she’s saving money, supporting herself, and, most importantly, raising her son with pride.

“I love my son, and I want him to prosper,” she says. “I am confident that I will achieve greater success than I have today. And as I grow and accumulate wealth, I want to create my own project to support adolescent mothers. This is my grand aspiration.”

“I love my son, and I want him to prosper,”

Looking back on the Adolescent Mother Project

Thanks to your continued support, our team in Rwanda has supported 252 young women through the Adolescent Mother Project. That’s 252 women, just like Ombi, who got the chance to reclaim their future. And the impact speaks for itself.

“When we met them, none of the girls were in school or even getting two meals a day. Only 15% had family support and 60% didn’t have enough money to take care of their children,” says Innocent Habimfura, Director of Hope and Homes for Children Rwanda . “Now, everything’s different. 80% are back in school, 94% have support from their families, and 92% have jobs allowing them to support themselves and their babies.”

“80% are back in school, 94% have support from their families, and 92% have jobs allowing them to support themselves and their babies.”

Innocent Habimfura

Now, we’re looking at replicating the Adolescent Mother Project across Rwanda, empowering an entire generation of young women. Thanks to your donations, we’re building a better tomorrow. A tomorrow where young women can be, and will be, anything they want to be.

If you’d like to hear more about our stories about the Adolescent Mother Project, as well as more heartwarming examples of the impact of your donations, sign up to our Mailing List. We’ll keep you up-to-date as we bring strength and stability #BackToFamily.

Join the Mailing List

* Names changed to protect identity.

This blog was updated in May 2025 to reflect our shift in language from “teenage mothers” to “adolescent mothers”, in line with our commitment to more respectful and non-stigmatising terminology.

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Welcome to Nelson Mandela International Day. A day to celebrate the life, legacy and leadership of the famous South African visionary. 

We’ve been working in South Africa since 2001, collaborating with our local partner organisations to bring children back to family. Today, we’re looking to the road ahead – continuing to build a future where no child grows up without a loving family. Anywhere.

The History of Nelson Mandela International Day

What is Nelson Mandela International Day?

Created by the United Nations in 2009,  Nelson Mandela International Day is a day to honour the life and accomplishments of Nelson Mandela.

It’s celebrated on July 18th in commemoration of Mandela’s birthday. Every year, people are encouraged to spend 67 minutes – one for each year of Mandela’s political career – to remember his achievements as a figurehead for South African and global peace movements. 

Who was Nelson Mandela?

Nelson Mandela was a revolutionary anti-apartheid leader in South Africa. He spent 27 years in prison for fighting against segregation.

After being freed in 1990, Mandela led the way to seeing the end of apartheid, creating a new, democratic, integrated South Africa. In ’94, he became the country’s first Black President.

Mandela’s work on equality and justice won him the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize, cementing his place as a global icon.

“The true character of a society is revealed in how it treats its children.”

Nelson Mandela

Celebrating Nelson Mandela International Day

Why is Nelson Mandela Day important?

Nelson Mandela Day is a huge day on the calendar, and not just in South Africa. It’s a day to honour Mandela’s vision of unity, of peace. It’s also a time to commemorate the ongoing struggle for justice.

Our work in South Africa

Bringing strength back to family

Nelson Mandela was a strong advocate for children’s rights. He believed every child deserves a loving, family environment. A place to grow. A place to thrive.

Our children are the rock on which our future will be built, our greatest asset as a nation. They will be the leaders of our country.

Nelson Mandela

Following in Mandela’s footsteps, our team in South Africa works with children, for children. We’re taking steps to secure a bigger, brighter and bolder future for all children in the country. And from education to development, emotional well-being to health, that all comes back to family.

Orphanages in South Africa

Right now, in South Africa, over 8,200 children are growing up inside 282 orphanages. That’s 2,800 children denied their right to family. To love.

And what’s worse, on average, 80% of these children have living families they could be growing up with. Which is exactly what we’re fighting for.

Read more about why children are separated from their families and placed in orphanages.

How we’re helping

In South Africa, your donations are helping us to transform child care – moving away from orphanages and towards a system that puts family first.

In the Gauteng Province, the largest in South Africa, we’re working on closing down the remaining orphanages and getting the children living inside back to family.

Many of the families we work with face stigma due to HIV/AIDS. We’re helping them access the health, education and welfare services they need to overcome their challenges and be reunited with their children. Read more about how we support families here.

And, we’re preventing any more children from being placed in orphanages by training ‘Temporary Safety Parents’ – emergency foster parents that form the first line of defence against any more children being placed in orphanages, welcoming children into their homes for temporary, safe shelter.

Read more about our life-changing work in South Africa here.

Thank you for your support

This Nelson Mandela International Day, join us in celebrating Mandela’s legacy, the progress made by South Africa, and the road ahead as we create a better world for its children. Thank you.

If you’d like to hear more about our work in South Africa – and eight other countries across three continents – sign up to our Mailing List. We’ll keep you up-to-date with the latest news and developments for our life-changing work bringing children back to family.

Join the Mailing List

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Welcome to World Population Day. Celebrated every year on the 11^th of July, World Population Day is a chance to champion our global community, the people who create it, and what it means to be “counted.”

History of World Population Day

Created by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 1989, World Population Day aims to raise awareness about the world and its population.

As our numbers grow, so do the challenges that come with a bigger population.

World Population Day is a chance to reflect on these challenges, a day to think about our future, our demographic shifts, and our identity as a global community.

Global Population Statistics and Trends

Current Population Growth Rates

Right now, the world population is growing more than ever before. Right now, Worldometer estimates there are 8.1 billion people on earth.

“It took hundreds of thousands of years for the world population to grow to 1 billion – then in just another 200 years or so, it grew sevenfold.”

UN

And that’s not all. The global population is set to grow to 8.5 billion by 2030, 9.7 billion in 2050, and 10.9 billion in 2100.

Why is the population growing?

There are many reasons why our global population is increasing. Improved healthcare means fertility rates and life expectancy have skyrocketed. For example, in the 1990’s, the expected life span was 64 years. By 2019, it was 72.

Population rises also stem from increased urbanization and migration. By 2050, more than 66% of the world’s population will live in cities. This shift is set to increase birth rates and life expectancies on an unprecedented scale.

Why is population growth so important?

Population growth has a big impact on our world. There’s a lot of work to be done to make sure our world can be as positive a place as possible for everyone. As we grow, we need to fix our social infrastructure, environmental policies and healthcare systems.

To make these changes, we also need to ensure we’re including everyone. That means counting everyone in the population and using statistics that reflect the scale and diversity of our global community. That way, the future we choose will be a future for all.

“To leave no one behind, count everyone.”

UN – World Population Day

World Population Day is a great chance to address the needs of our ever-growing world. It’s an opportunity to understand how many people are living on our planet, who they are, and what they need for a sustainable, healthy future.

World Population Day 2024

As we celebrate World Population Day 2024, let’s double down on our mission to champion sustainable population growth, create welcoming communities, and push for policies that put people and the planet first.

By tackling these challenges head-on, we can craft a future where everyone has the chance to flourish in a harmonious and nurturing global family.

If you’d like to keep up to date with more news stories, updates on our work, and different ways you can get involved, sign up to our Mailing List.

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“I learned nothing there except trauma.”

These are the words Paris Hilton used to describe her experience in a child care facility. She spent years inside a harmful institution, far from her family, terrified and abused. Sadly, she is not alone. 

Currently, there are at least 5.4 million children around the world who are separated from their families, confined in institutions like orphanages – even though 80% of them are not orphans. 

Research has shown that the majority of all children in orphanages suffer physical, emotional or sexual abuse. And as Hilton also testified, the trauma suffered in childhood can last a lifetime. 

Watch Paris Hilton’s testimony on the harm of institutions.

“I was physically, verbally, and emotionally abused,” said Hilton. “My peers around me were being sexually abused. I was strangled. I was hit. And I was cut off from the outside world.”

“My parents had no idea,” she continues. “They were deceived. Just like the parents of children are really manipulated by these places, the same thing with (my) parents.”

“If you are a child in the system, hear my words: I see you, I believe you, I know what you’re going through and I’m not giving up on you.” 

Paris Hilton

Rachel’s* story

Significantly, these painful stories of child abuse in orphanages are all too common around the world. Rachel in Uganda is one with such a story.  

Rachel lived with her father and two younger brothers after her parents separated when she was young. When their father passed away suddenly, the children found themselves on the street, and were eventually taken to separate orphanages. 

“The staff used to beat us and abuse us.”

Rachel

Like Paris Hilton’s parents, Rachel’s mother was kept in the dark as well. Then, when her mother tried to visit, she too was beaten up, and denied access to her own child.  

A cycle of abuse

Over the next years of her life, the orphanage directors trapped Rachel inside and forced her to do whatever they demanded.

“Instead of going to school, the directors used to take me around to the radio to speak, and we would get a lot of donations and sponsors to the orphanage,” she remembers. “He used to travel everywhere, America. We never saw the money, the whole money went to the orphanage director, not the children.“

Over time, the abuse got worse and worse.

“When I was touring the country with the director of the orphanage, he raped me.” 

Rachel

The sexual abuse continued for years. Eventually, Rachel fell pregnant. She was just a teenager.

Finding freedom

Years later, Rachel managed to escape the terrible confines of the orphanage. But not before she had given birth to two of the director’s children, one who died as an infant and another she had to leave behind at the orphanage. 

“He stopped me from seeing my baby. I felt like I was living in prison, and in another way… missing my baby.” 

From this pain, Rachel has become committed to telling her story so that people will know the harms of institutional care. This abuse children are suffering in orphanages around the world must end. And it can – by moving the financial, social and community support away from orphanages and back to family. 

“I think I would be much better and complete if I grew up with my family and achieved my dreams of being a lawyer.” 

Rachel

100 years of research backs her up. Kids do far better in families than in institutions.  

Making a change

Let’s hope that Paris Hilton’s brave testimony in the US Congress lets millions more people around the world recognise the harm caused by locking children away in institutions, and the desperate need to get these children back to family.  

Read more about the harms of orphanages and how we’re bringing separated children back to family.

If you’d like to keep up to date with more news stories like this, updates on our work, and different ways you can help amplify the voices of young people suffering under institutional care, sign up to our Mailing List.

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The post Paris Hilton exposes traumatic institutional child abuse   appeared first on Hope and Homes for Children.

Welcome to Disability Pride Month 2024. Join us as we raise awareness, foster inclusivity, and advocate for the rights of all people with disabilities around the world.

At Hope and Homes for Children, we believe every child deserves a loving, family home. Yet sadly, one in three children living in orphanages have disabilities.

Whoever they are, wherever they are, every child deserves the chance to thrive. That’s why, this Disability Pride Month, we’re championing these children and their right to come back to family.

Disability Pride Month Facts & Tips

What is Disability Pride Month?

You might be wondering, ‘What is Disability Pride Month?’

It’s celebrated every July and marks the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) signed in 1990. This landmark legislation was a significant step towards ensuring the rights and freedoms of people with disabilities.

Now, we dedicate the month to highlighting the incredible achievements of the disabled community and standing up for their rights to equality, inclusion, and visibility.

When is Disability Pride Month?

Disability Pride Month takes place every July – a perfect time to reflect on the progress made since the ADA was enacted.

How to Observe Disability Pride Month

Wondering how to observe this year’s Disability Pride Month?

• Get engaged – There’s plenty happening this month. From flying the Disability Pride Flag to taking place in some local Disability Pride parades and events in your community, there’s always great ways to get engaged.
• Get educated – Read up on what it means to be part of the disabled community, and how you can be an ally.
• Get involved – The best way to observe Disability Pride Month is to engage in fundraising. We’re always looking out for fundraisers and volunteers on our Get Involved page. Head over to find out how you can help out this month.

No matter what you plan on doing, make sure you take some time out for reflection and research. Above all it’s a month for solidarity and celebration. Overall, it’s a month to get involved.

Disability Pride Month 2024

For Disability Pride Month 2024, a huge suite of workshops, events, and demonstrations will take place. Reach out to your local community hub to see what’s on for Disability Pride Month in the UK.

Why Disability Pride Month Matters

People with disabilities can face huge barriers in our society, as well as unfair discrimination and prejudice.

Disability Pride Month reminds us of how important the fight for inclusion and equality is. Celebrating Disability Pride Month helps us break down stereotypes, creating a society where everyone thrives. No matter who they are.

Supporting children with disabilities

This Disability Pride Month, we’re platforming our ongoing commitment to supporting children and young people with disabilities all around the world. Every child deserves a home. Every child deserves to find their way back to family.

Orphanages and children with disabilities

The UN Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities states the right of all people (including children) with disabilities to independent-living, family life and to access the highest standard of health care, and inclusive education without discrimination. 

Yet still, young people with disabilities are among the most vulnerable in society.

Did you know?

• One in three children in orphanages have disabilities.
• Without the right support, struggling parents may feel like their only option to get their children the care they need is inside an orphanage. Sadly, it’s not true.
• Orphanages can neglect children and young people with disabilities, exposing them to violence, abuse, and even trafficking.
• Young people with disabilities in orphanages don’t get the individualised support they need, depriving them of their chance to grow with their disabilities.

You can read more about how orphanages harm children and why children with disabilities need loving family homes on our website.

How are we helping?

It’s our mission to bring every child living in orphanages back to family. Including children with disabilities. We work tirelessly to dismantle orphanages and reform childcare systems globally, ensuring every child, regardless of ability, grows up in a nurturing family environment.

Our work proves that young people with disabilities always thrive when they return to their families. Young people like Divine*.

Divine’s story

Divine, born with disabilities, was placed in an orphanage because her mother, Ruwera, fell sick and couldn’t afford to care for her anymore. She prayed she’d receive the support she needed. Instead, Divine suffered for nine long years.

Thankfully, your donations helped bring Divine out of the orphanage and back to family. Now, she’s happy, healthy and surrounded by family.

“In years to come, I’ll become a journalist or a lawyer. I want to advocate for people living through injustice, like people with disabilities.”

Divine

Read Divine’s full story here.

How You Can Make a Difference

1. Read their stories: Learn more about what life for children living with disabilities. Children like Uwase* and Ivan*.
2. Spread the word: Share information on social media and in your community. Use the hashtag #DisabilityPrideMonth to join the conversation.
3. Donate today: Your contributions help us continue our vital work in reuniting children with disabilities with their families. Every donation makes a significant impact.

Subscribe to our Mailing List

Thanks to your support, we’re making waves for children with disabilities, all around the world.

Want a regular dose of impact straight to your inbox? Subscribe to our mailing list—it’s jam-packed with heartwarming stories, interesting facts and exciting ways to get involved. Welcome to our movement.

Join the mailing list

The post Disability Pride Month 2024: Empower, Nurture and Celebrate appeared first on Hope and Homes for Children.