Purpose narrative

We believe all children need a functional and committed parental structure in order to thrive. The primary beneficiary of our work must be a child who has a substantial absence of parental involvement, support and input in their lives.

Our definition of an orphan is more all-encompassing than that used by the United Nations. For us, an orphan is a child whose parental structure has been significantly weakened or no longer in place. Their welfare is at risk due to the ‘substantial absence of parental involvement, support and/or input in their lives.’

We are committed to the orphan – we are parents to the parentless and we don’t leave them. If things don’t go exactly to plan, we find another way of helping and protecting them. They can’t be left vulnerable again.

We operate globally, and where the need is greatest, looking for areas where there is little to no other agencies operating, so as to reduce duplication. We are proactive in our responses, ensuring we locate, make safe and keep safe children who are orphaned. Reasons for our engagement could be due to extreme poverty or crisis situations including natural and man-made disasters.

Help means…

Keeping the child at the centre - We always start from, and keep coming back to, the child’s perspective.

Prioritising the essentials – we keep orphans safe, warm, healthy and learning.

Safe – ensuring children are safe, both physically and emotionally. For children to have as stable a home environment as possible, with a genuine sense of support, love and care. To have a safe place to sleep and someone to turn to when they need help. 

Warm - ensuring children live in a nurturing and supportive environment. To have clothes, shelter and a safe and warm place to lay their head. To know they are loved, to know they are known and to know they are not alone. 

Healthy - ensuring children have access to nutritional food and healthcare. To have access to emotional, mental, and pastoral support. 

Learning - ensuring children have access to education and the opportunity of tertiary and vocational training. To be coached, empowered and supported into strong, mature and contributing adults.  

Doing whatever it takes – helping orphans fully in their context, providing support that’s relevant and will improve their quality of life sustainably. We are able to do whatever it takes because we can, and do, operate impartially, ethically and without political constraint.

Putting every penny donated towards supporting orphans – uniquely, due to secured long-term funding of our core operational costs, we can operate in an agile, lean and efficient way in the field and ensure that 100% of individual donations reach orphans.

Our nurturing approach – A Cedar Tree Analogy

We see ourselves ‘as a cedar tree with birds of every kind finding shelter in its branches’. Our cedar tree provides many hubs, each a different environment, a safe home for the care and nurture of life.

We understand the vulnerabilities of traditional, western-led, centrally funded aid, and instead we seek a different path

What this looks like in practice is that we operate as a networked organisation based on relationship and trust. There must be overwhelming evidence that the people we partner with love the children and have personally invested in their support. A local approach with local power and decision-making enables partners to flourish and apply their local knowledge and skills, supported as necessary by our leadership team. Combined with our agility and growing support base of individuals, companies and schools, we quickly adapt, innovate and deliver relevant support where the needs are greatest.

Our partnerships involve deep collaboration with shared responsibility. We seek humility and excellence in all that we do, avoiding a solely westernised view on what would work, which can miss cultural nuances that may not be optimal for the beneficiaries.

Due to the localised and nuanced nature of projects, each is run differently and will be focused on relevant elements or gaps in a child’s care structure. However, each project should look to build sustainability through a long-term care structure rather than become solely dependent on international funds.

We constantly tell stories, both in person and across as many media platforms as possible, of the real-world impact of our projects. This is essential in demonstrating our relevance and engenders donor trust. We constantly look to grow our network of donors and volunteers and are creative in developing mutually beneficial relationships that deliver our purpose whilst ensuring each contributor has outworked their sense of mission and desire to help. There is no absolute limit on our potential to grow and further help the neediest.

We develop new responses and services where there is a significant need and no local partners equipped to deliver the project.

We find innovative ways to generate support and ensure we have multiple sustainable income streams of finances, practical resources and professional services. We ensure that our work has a positive impact on the environment and that our children are educated and encouraged to look after the planet.

We are one team and interact with each other by asking the following 3 questions:

·         Who is responsible?

·         What’s the plan?

·         How can I help?

Finally, we are committed to creating the safest and most secure environment for orphans to grow up in with the goal of releasing them into adulthood, equipped to live a fruitful and sustainable life.

We are people-centered

We believe every person is of equal value and is to be treated with dignity, love and respect.

We operate with integrity

Our desire is that our attitudes, work, words and actions will be upright, trustworthy and true. In our pursuit of this we aim to employ best practices in our management and operations, striving for excellence in every step.

We remain open and accountable

We make ourselves approachable and accountable to each other, our supporters, our partners and those we serve.

We are committed

We will give out best, we will work together and we will not give up.

We empower others

We aspire to see everyone reach their full potential by being developed and released to function in their strengths, skills and passions.