Orphans International

Orphans International, also known as Orphans International Worldwide or OIWW, is a charitable organization created to support orphaned and abandoned children in disadvantaged communities. Founded in 1999 by former investment-banking employee Jim Luce, the organization established its executive office in New York City and developed a network of small residential homes, foster arrangements, and community-based programs rather than pursuing a large institutional orphanage model. Its stated approach combines immediate assistance with longer-term education and preparation for independent adulthood. The organization opened its first home in Sulawesi, Indonesia, in 2001. It later expanded its work in Indonesia and became involved in Sri Lanka and Haiti following major disasters. In Aceh, Indonesia, and Galle, Sri Lanka, OI supported children affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. It also worked with children affected by Hurricane Jeanne in Haiti. Beginning in 2008, the organization developed a family-care model in Sri Lanka, providing training and financial assistance to relatives such as grandparents, aunts, and uncles who cared for orphaned children. This model was intended to preserve family and cultural ties while allowing limited resources to reach more children than a conventional residential facility. OI's programs have included tutoring, English-language instruction, computer education, healthcare, nutrition, and vocational preparation. Examples of practical training described in reference material include sewing and hospitality classes. The organization has also supported foster care and monitored children's education. Its stated objective was to assist children through graduation, including attainment of a baccalaureate-level qualification where possible, while helping them remain in their native countries and communities. OI does not present adoption placement as its purpose; instead, it emphasizes family care, education, citizenship, and self-sufficiency. The organization describes its philosophy as interfaith, interracial, international, and intergenerational. It seeks to avoid discrimination based on religion, race, and nationality and has emphasized the contribution of older volunteers alongside local caregivers and other supporters. Children were generally referred through local social-service agencies. The residential model used small homes with a locally rooted house parent, while the family-care model relied on existing extended-family networks. These arrangements were intended to provide a nurturing setting, appropriate nutrition, healthcare, and continuity of schooling. OIWW set the broad mission, standards, and worldview for projects in its operating countries. Its work was supported by volunteers, child sponsors, and more than 300 reported benefactors, and the organization stated that it received no government funding. Reference material describes an annual budget of less than half a million dollars, although no current financial information is established here. The organization also maintained relationships with international and civic networks, including associate status with the United Nations Department of Public Information, and organized events such as a World Congress, an electronic newsletter, and benefit gatherings. The available material documents activities through at least 2009, including service to 27 AIDS-affected orphans in Moshi, Tanzania. It also records an organizational separation in November 2009 between OIWW and an American fundraising arm, Orphans International America. The current operating status, leadership, website, and scale of activity are not established by the supplied sources, so the brand's present condition requires verification.

Orphans International was established in 1999 by Jim Luce in response to the needs of orphaned and abandoned children living amid poverty, public-health problems, natural disasters, and the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Its headquarters and executive office were located in New York City. From the beginning, the organization presented itself as an international charitable network rather than as a conventional commercial brand. Its operating concept was to combine a stable and nurturing home environment with schooling, healthcare, nutrition, and preparation for adult life. The first Orphans International home opened in Sulawesi, Indonesia, in 2001. The organization subsequently worked in other parts of Indonesia and expanded to Sri Lanka and Haiti. The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami became a major setting for its activities, particularly in Aceh, Indonesia, and Galle, Sri Lanka, where OI supported children who had lost parents or family support. It also assisted children affected by Hurricane Jeanne in Haiti. These disaster-response activities fit the organization's wider model of providing immediate care while attempting to establish longer-term educational and social support. OI's residential model used small homes rather than a single large institution. Children were referred by local social-service agencies and were often accepted at preschool age. A house parent, generally raised within the local culture and religion, cared for a small group of children. The model was intended to combine consistent adult supervision with cultural continuity. OI's educational services included monitoring school progress, after-school tutoring, English classes, computer instruction, and vocational training. Sewing and hospitality were cited as examples of job-oriented instruction. The organization sought to support children through graduation and to help them build lives in their own countries rather than treating international adoption as the central solution. In 2008, OI began experimenting with Family Care in Sri Lanka. Under this approach, extended-family members—including grandparents, aunts, and uncles—received training and financial support to raise orphaned children. The organization viewed this as both a social and resource-allocation innovation: children could remain within family networks, and the program could potentially serve more children than a system based entirely on renting, constructing, staffing, and maintaining residential facilities. The approach reflected OI's broader emphasis on local culture, family relationships, and community integration. The organization's stated philosophy was summarized through the idea of “Raising Global Citizens.” OI described its mission as interfaith, interracial, international, and intergenerational. It sought to cultivate responsible citizenship, awareness of both local traditions and modern technology, and participation in a connected world. Plans included bringing internet access to project sites so children could use global information resources while continuing to value traditional arts and crafts. The organization also identified international advisers and maintained an association with the United Nations Department of Public Information. OIWW's administration consisted of a global office responsible for mission, standards, and coordination across project countries. Volunteers supported fundraising and other activities, while child sponsorship and individual donations formed an important part of the funding base. Reference material states that the organization had received donations from more than 300 benefactors, received no government money, and operated on an annual budget below half a million dollars. It also organized benefits, a semiannual World Congress, a newsletter called OI InterNews, and a partner program for NGOs and corporations. The supplied historical material records activity in Moshi, Tanzania, in 2009, where OI served 27 AIDS-affected orphans. It also records the November 2009 separation of OIWW from Orphans International America, an American fundraising organization established by Luce. The sources provided do not establish the organization's current leadership, active projects, legal status, or present website. Accordingly, the documented history is strongest for the period from the late 1990s through 2009, while the contemporary status of Orphans International remains uncertain.

• 2009

  Tanzania program documented

  [1]Orphans Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  OI is reported to be serving 27 AIDS-affected orphans in Moshi, Tanzania.

• 2009

  Fundraising arm separates from OIWW

  [1]Orphans Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  Orphans International America separates from Orphans International Worldwide in November.

• 2008

  Family Care model begins in Sri Lanka

  [1]Orphans Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  OI starts supporting extended-family caregivers with training and financial assistance for tsunami orphans.

• 2004

  Post-tsunami expansion

  [1]Orphans Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  OI becomes active in Aceh, Indonesia, and Galle, Sri Lanka, after the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.

• 2001

  First home opens in Sulawesi

  [1]Orphans Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  The organization opens its first small residential home in Sulawesi, Indonesia.

• 1999

  Orphans International is founded

  [1]Orphans Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  Jim Luce establishes Orphans International to support orphaned and abandoned children through care, education, and community development.

A small-scale, internationally oriented child-welfare organization positioned around family-based care, education, vocational preparation, and the development of socially responsible global citizens.

• Child welfare and residential care · 2001

  Residential Homes

  Small local homes for orphaned and abandoned children, generally staffed by a house parent familiar with the children's culture and religion. The model combines daily care with nutrition, healthcare, schooling, tutoring, and supervision. It was designed as a smaller and more locally integrated alternative to a centralized orphanage.

• Extended-family foster care · 2008

  Family Care

  A Sri Lankan support model introduced in 2008 for orphaned children living with relatives. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other extended-family caregivers received training and financial assistance. The approach sought to preserve family connections and local identity while extending the organization's reach within a limited budget.

• Education and workforce preparation

  Education and Vocational Support

  Education-related support included school monitoring, after-school tutoring, English instruction, computer classes, and preparation for later employment. Reported vocational examples included sewing and hospitality training. The stated long-term aim was to help children remain in their own countries, complete their education, and become self-supporting adults.

• 2008Raising Global Citizens

  International

  OI promoted a long-term child-development philosophy combining education, vocational opportunity, local cultural continuity, technology access, and responsible global citizenship.

  Source
• 2004Indian Ocean tsunami child-support response

  Indonesia · Sri Lanka

  OI expanded activities in Aceh and Galle to house and educate children orphaned or abandoned after the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.

  Outcome. The organization continued supporting tsunami-affected children and later incorporated family-based foster support in Sri Lanka.

  Source
• 2004Hurricane Jeanne child-support response

  Haiti

  OI provided housing and educational support for children affected by Hurricane Jeanne in Haiti.

  Source

• 2009

  Separation of Orphans International AmericaOther

  Background

  Orphans International America had served as an American-based fundraising arm associated with the wider organization.

  Action taken

  The fundraising arm separated from OIWW in November 2009.

  Aftermath

  The supplied material does not specify the financial, governance, or operational consequences of the separation.

  Source

• 2008

  Adopt an extended-family care modelStrategy

  Background

  OI sought a way to support more tsunami orphans while preserving family relationships and reducing the infrastructure costs associated with residential homes.

  Action taken

  It began training and financially assisting relatives in Sri Lanka who cared for orphaned children.

  Aftermath

  The Family Care model became a complement to the organization's small-home approach, although the supplied sources do not provide later performance data.

  Source

• 2009

  Orphans International America separates from OIWW[1]Orphans Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  M&A · Other

  The American fundraising arm founded by Jim Luce separated from Orphans International Worldwide in November 2009.

• 2008

  Orphans International develops a family-care model in Sri Lanka[1]Orphans Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  OI began supporting extended families caring for tsunami orphans through training and financial assistance, complementing its residential-home approach.

• 2004

  Orphans International responds to children affected by the Indian Ocean tsunami[1]Orphans Internationalen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The organization expanded work in Aceh, Indonesia, and Galle, Sri Lanka, to support orphaned and abandoned children after the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.

1. 1Orphans Internationalen.wikipedia.org
2. 2First One Orphan, Then Many Morenytimes.com