Worldwide Orphans Foundation

Programs: Worldwide orphans foundation (organization") is a not-for-profit organization founded and registered under the laws of the state of new york on september 11, 1997. In 2007, the organization also registered under the laws of the state of new jersey. The organization was organized exclusively for charitable and education purposes. The mission of the organization is to transform the lives of orphans and vulnerable children and help them to become healthy, independent, productive members of their communities and the world. The organization believes that through play and engaging significant adults in the community, all children can become homegrown heroes. The organization served over 10,000 children and adults across six countries in 2016, including bulgaria, ethiopia, haiti, serbia, vietnam and the united states. In bulgaria, programs focus on early intervention for children living in government-run orphanages and community-based programs to support early childhood development. The organization's programs in ethiopia focus on early intervention, psychosocial support, and positive youth development. The wwo preschool serves as a model of play-based learning for 72 children ages 3-6 years. Wwo also provides educational support to 580 students from 1st grade through 10th grade, runs a girls youth club on the weekends for 200 youth and sport programming for over 600 boys and girls. Wwo also cares for 37 youth who used to live in their des's village orphanage and have now transitioned to small group homes and independent living. Wwo remains committed to these children until they become adults and earning their own income. In haiti, programs focus on integrating children who live in orphanages and those in the community through play programming. Early intervention programs for children from birth to age 5 (and their caregivers) and afterschool programming for children from 6 to 16 years of age, combine to create opportunities for play, social connections, and educational support through tutoring. In serbia, the organization supports a college assistance project for four young people to finish their schooling. Programs in vietnam play a leading role in working with children living with, and affected by, hiv/aids in residential care facilities through pediatric hiv/aids care and psychosocial support projects. The organization also works in the community to provide psychosocial support projects for children and caregivers utilizing a case management approach and the establishment of family resource centers. The organization is also supported through the orphan ranger program, giving an opportunity for those interested to volunteer by donating their time and talent to support each of the country programs. In 2015, the organization began work in the united states. Starting in orange, new jersey, in 2015 and expanding to brooklyn in 2016. Both programs work with young children through the wwo toy library. In orange, we also offer after school support and run a haitian girls club. In brooklyn, programming is based within ps307 school. Partnerships are key to the success of wwo in each of the countries we work in and include a mixture of government-level (ministry of education, social services), other non-profit organizations, schools and hospitals.