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Andre is an inquisitive boy who dreams of exploring the world. He is hard working and loves to do lots of different activities. Andre also ...

Stanley* is a 16 year old boy originally from one of Haiti’s poorest regions. Like 80% of the children currently living in Haiti’s orphanages, Stanley ...

“Ani is friendly, smiles a lot, likes contact with others. Repeats words she has heard without understanding their meaning (eholalic speech). She is fed blended ...

Hi my name is Veronika, I'm 18 years old and I live in Czech Republic with my mum and foster sister Vendy. I study Secondary ...

Two years ago, Daniel’s mother died of cholera, an epidemic that has claimed the lives of over 8,000 people in Haiti since October 2010. Poor ...

We may (almost) grasp the challenges faced by a poor Romanian family with five children when they learned their newborn twin boys had cerebral palsy.

Gregor doesn’t know how old he is, because his birth was never registered. Without his birth certificate his health, education and well-being are not being ...

For some families it is grinding poverty and the absence of any local care support that forces them to institutionalise a beloved child.

Viorica’s son, Daniel, is 12 years old. He is severely disabled with epilepsy and needs a high level of care. Viorica has made many sacrifices ...

Cristina and Igor have intellectual disabilities. When they were very young, their parents were told by doctors that they would need to go into an ...

As soon as he was born, Sonya’s baby was taken from her.

Maria’s son has an intellectual disability. She was told that he would be better off in an institution.

Shaun Webster, International Project Worker at CHANGE is a self-advocate who works with Lumos to support children with learning disabilities become self-advocates, enabling them to ...

Orphanages in the developing world have often been perceived as a social good, or at least a necessity. They are neither.

In Eastern Europe, it is still common for children with disabilities to be raised in institutions. In countries where health and social care is more ...

What does freedom mean to you? On the 14th March In celebration of #MyFreedomDay, Lumos-supported self-advocates wrote poems, created videos and told us what freedom ...

Verca, Vendy and Nicky are three young self-advocates from Czech Republic who presented with Lumos at the Zero Conference in Vienna in February.

Veliko and Mihaela, self-advocates from Bulgaria, attended the Zero Project conference in Vienna with Lumos at the end of February 2015.

In 2012, a twelve year old boy, Veliko, joined a group of young spokespeople at his school. Veliko has intellectual disabilities and this group, initiated ...

Mihaela, now in her mid-20s, has an intellectual disability. Having spent time in an institution herself, Michaela now advocates for children’s rights to family-based care, ...

Marketa has Down syndrome. She has lived in a large institution for people with disabilities since she was born. Six years ago, Lumos began collaborating ...

Every child has the right to a say in decisions that affect them. Being heard helps children feel respected and safe, and can increase their ...

Ion was nine years old when his mother died. His father moved away and was unable to be traced and his older sister was married ...

Natural disasters, disease and wars can have a devastating impact on families, often separating children from parents. Orphanages and residential child institutions are widely used ...

A short film on Sonya’s baby, who was born in 2015. Sonya was told by doctors that her baby would not be able to walk ...

"I would like to tell you why there should not be institiutions" - A film created and written by our Lumos self-advocates.

An orphanage volunteer gives their account of the reality of the day-to-day operation of an orphanage in Haiti. It includes information about the way the ...

In some European countries, children born with certain disabilities are denied access to basic life-saving treatment. This may be because parents are given no information ...

“Living here is just like living with your mom!” That’s what the Director told Mirlande on the day she arrived at the gates of the ...

Stéphanie was one of the first children to arrive at the orphanage, in a town not far from the Haitian capital of Port au Prince. ...

Wesley is a 17 year old boy, who lives happily with his family in their village in Haiti. He is bright and articulate, and he ...

This is how Ivan describes Rudnik, a state institution in Bulgaria where he spent his childhood. It housed 35 children with disabilities and was described ...