Worldwide Orphans Foundation Information

WWO is working to ensure that orphans and at-risk children have a happy, healthy childhood, and reach their full potential. By providing boys and girls with play, education, health, protection and hope, we give them what every child needs… a chance. OUR UNIQUE APPROACH PROTECTION: Our first and most immediate goal is to provide safety and protection to orphans and at-risk children, adhering to the principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. EDUCATION: Without an education, children are destined to repeat the cycle of poverty. Orphans, who age out of institutions by 16 without a proper education, have limited opportunities to find work and adjust to independent living in the community. We work to provide at-risk children with a first-rate education - starting from a young age - so they can reach their potential. PLAY: We encourage creativity, healthy competition, team work and self-expression through camp, global arts and sport. Our toy libraries enhance cognitive development through joyful play and experimentation. COMMUNITY: All WWO programs include training for caregivers and staff on early childhood development. Our play-based programs connect adults from the community to support individual children’s growth and development. HEALTH: Children who are sick can’t learn, grow and thrive. Our care for orphans and at- risk children, including those living with HIV, is based on attention to the whole child. HIV, special needs, developmental delays – whatever the issue, we address it. HELPING TO KEEP FAMILIES TOGETHER: Many families living in extreme poverty believe their children will have a better life in an orphanage, but that is rarely the case. WWO works with families at risk of abandoning their children to give them the skills and confidence they need to keep their children at home. Where abandonment has already occurred, we use a social work case management approach to reconnect and—where possible—reintegrate children with their families.