About Lumos

Lumos is an international non-profit organization, founded by the author J.K. Rowling, which works to end the institutionalization of children around the world and helps to support the 8 million children in institutions worldwide regain their right to a family life.  Despite living in so-called 'orphanages' the majority of children who live there are not orphans but placed there as a result of grinding poverty, disability and discrimination.  Lumos works with countries to transform education, health and social care systems so children can be moved from institutions and supported in the families and the community.

In six years, Lumos has

• Supported 14,280 children to move from harmful institutions to families or supported independent living;
• Prevented 11,000 babies and infants from serious harm or admission to institutions;
• Saved the lives of 935 children suffering from malnutrition, severe neglect or a lack of access to medical treatment;
• Trained 23,000 social workers, medical professionals, teachers, carers, civil servants, and policy makers;
• Helped redirect US$500 million that was planned to be spent on orphanages and institutions and ensured that it was spent on community-based services instead.

The Lumos model of 'deinstitutionalization' combines advocacy at international level, support for national governments and demonstration work on the ground to show that reform can be achieved.

Lumos has recently started working with the government and other agencies and NGOs in Haiti, where at least 30,000 children live in orphanages, 80% of them with living parents. Lumos will focus on two orphanages – helping to save the lives and stabilise the health of very vulnerable children and then preparing them to return to family life.

Information about children in institutions

The UN estimates that around the world there are approximately 8 million children living in care institutions.^[1]

Institutionalization causes harmful effects to the child, including impaired early brain development, leading to delayed cognitive and physical development, in some cases, resulting in the onset of an intellectual disability. Children with a moderate to severe intellectual disability have even fewer prospects for escaping the vicious cycle of institutionalization. Analysis of admissions to and discharges from children's institutions in a number of countries demonstrates that the majority of these children, once they reach adulthood, are transferred to an institution for adults.^[3] 

Scientific and other research – including authoritative work at Harvard University's Center on the Developing Child - shows that consistent loving adult engagement with a young child helps strengthen neural electrical connections in the brain, shaping its development. A key failing of orphanages is that low ratios of adults to children cannot ensure the sustained adult attention children need to grow and prosper.

Research has also shown that reuniting children with families makes sound economic sense. In most cases, it is far cheaper to support a family in the community than to keep a child in an orphanage. The institutionalization of children also places long-term economic burdens on societies. Institutionalized children suffer more ill health than the wider population and, as adults, are more likely than those raised in families, to drop out of school, face unemployment, or worse, have a criminal record, become involved in prostitution or commit suicide.

For more information on the scale of institutionalization and the harm it causes, read Lumos factsheets by following the links above

J.K. Rowling biography

J.K. Rowling is the author of the bestselling Harry Potter series of seven books, published between 1997 and 2007, which have sold over 450 million copies worldwide, are distributed in more than 200 territories, are translated into 78 languages, and have been turned into eight blockbuster films. 

She has written three companion volumes in aid of charity: Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in aid of Comic Relief; and The Tales of Beedle the Bard in aid of her children's charity Lumos.  Published in 2008 it was the fastest selling book that year and has raised millions for the charity.

In 2012, J.K. Rowling's digital company Pottermore was launched, where fans can enjoy her new writing and immerse themselves deeper in the wizarding world.

Her first novel for adult readers, The Casual Vacancy, was published in September 2012 and her first two crime novels, written under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, were published in 2013 (The Cuckoo's Calling) and 2014 (The Silkworm) respectively.

On April 14^th 2015, J.K. Rowling's 2008 Harvard commencement speech will be published as an illustrated book, Very Good Lives: The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination, in aid of Lumos and university –wide financial aid at Harvard.

As well as receiving an OBE for services to children's literature, she has received many awards and honours, including France's Legion d'Honneur and the Hans Christian Andersen Award.

J.K. Rowling supports a number of causes through her charitable trust, Volant. She is also the founder and president of the international children's non-profit organization Lumos, which works to end the institutionalization of children globally and ensure all children grow up in a safe and caring environment. 

Biography of Georgette Mulheir, Chief Executive Officer, Lumos

For more than two decades, Georgette has worked in 23 countries around the world, leading large-scale programs to transform (and at times save) the lives of thousands of disadvantaged children. She pioneered a model of 'deinstitutionalization' (DI) now followed by many governments, preventing the separation of children from families, returning children from so-called 'orphanages' to families, and shifting finances from harmful institutions to community services that support children in families.  She advises officials at the European Commission on using EU funds for reforming children's services, and has published four books on children's rights. Georgette sits on the Leaders' Council of the Global Alliance for Children the UK-based Commission on Civil Society and Democratic Engagement.  In 2014, she was named as 'one of the world's 30 most influential social workers' by socialworkdegreeguide.com.  She has also been honored in the 6^th Tribeca Disruptive Innovation Awards for her work and the awards will be held on Friday, April 24 2015.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150409/197654  
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150409/197655  
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150409/197617LOGO

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/jk-rowling-lights-up-the-empire-state-building-to-launch-her-childrens-non-profit-organization-lumos-usa-300063745.html

SOURCE Lumos