Orphanages

I have learned a lot about life from some very smart people: children. Some of the simplest, purest truths have been told to me by six-year-olds.

We often hear about children in our Pajama Program reading groups who are transferred -- children we'll probably never see again. I can't help but won...

It was amazing to see him nestling close to her in complete silence, as she read to him page by page. Genna had no idea about Timothy's past behavior. She had no idea what magic had happened.

As the children came into the room to sit and read with me, I gave each one a pair of pajamas. One little girl wouldn't take pajamas from me. She stood perfectly still, looked up at me, and asked in a whisper, "What are these?"

A little boy once asked me, "If the children don't have moms, how do they grow up?" He looked very puzzled. It was a good question and I didn't have a good answer for him.

Laura and her young friend Maurice, shared meals at the start of their relationship, but it wasn't until an impromptu conversation about lunchtime did Laura learn the true meaning of a brown bag lunch.

I have always felt enormous compassion for the teenagers in foster care. Recently, I got to know a woman named Ivy.

We can't meet only the needs of individual children if we expect them to mature into adults that can be productive within a thriving community. Cura Village, as it turns out, thrives without us.

It's time to find a bigger space and make our next NYC Reading Center just as magical, even more so. This has become our home and it's tearing me apart to leave, but I know it's time.

Since Haiti's devastating earthquake two years ago, WWO has been in the process of adapting our current program models to fit the needs of children who have been affected by the horrific tragedy.

Many of the girls in the group homes have been moved often. They've been taken away from their natural homes, sometimes shuffled between relatives and then foster homes. A group home can be just another stop for them.

So many of you have helped us grow and work harder and faster every year to reach more and more children in need. Your encouragement has fueled us to set our goals higher and higher.

We were talking about the state of our world when my guest leaned over and asked: "Do you think next year we might actually go do something instead of just talking about it?"

Pajama Program exists for a very simple reason: it reflects the child that lives within all of us, the child who is desperate for love, to belong, to matter to someone, even just to snuggle up on someone's lap.

Books and pajamas provide not only bedtime comfort and pretty pictures, they are often the only clean clothes a child has at the time and the only reading opportunity they'll have for a while.

In 10 years I can say a lot has surprised me. But what strikes me as unforgivable every single day is that thousands of children never enjoy the simple comfort of having a mother or father tuck them in at bedtime with warm, clean pajamas and a bedtime story.

The Bulgarian psychologists at Varna had revealed how wonderful and improved the development of the children had been due to services provided starting at six months of age.

After finishing high school in Mendham, N.J., Maggie Doyne wasn't sure what she wanted to do. She'd been an ambitious and driven student -- the editor...

How is it that we still have a world filled with children (18 million double orphans and 413 million in extreme poverty) living in degradation, without dignity and the rights we promise to them daily?

This post is part of our month-long series featuring Greatest Women of the Day, in recognition of Women's History Month. To nominate a Greatest Woman...

Orphanages that promise a better life for children may appear attractive to poor families, but there is often no way of knowing whether the children are treated well and given access to health care and education.

The trend of real-life superheroes has spread overseas. ABC Tokyo reports that a series of anonymous donations have been received throughout Japan. ...