The World Without Orphans vision is to see every child grow up in a safe, loving family and community, including children with disabilities who are too often separated from family in order to receive care. WWO works with partners around the world to bring leaders together, share learning, and help more children receive the care they need while remaining where they belong: in family and community.

Many WWO Regional Ambassadors and friends have adopted or cared for children with disabilities and discovered both the challenges and the deep blessing of walking with them. Pete Garratt, Director of Global Programmes at Hope and Homes for Children UK, is one of the advocates helping more children with disabilities receive the care and support they need.

In this short video, Pete shares one powerful example from Rwanda. A residential institution that once cared for 40 children with disabilities has been transformed. Those 40 children have now been reunited with their families, with support around them, and the same place now operates as a day center providing physiotherapy, occupational therapy, counseling, and education support.

The impact has grown. The center now serves 70 children with disabilities each day, and each week mobile outreach supports 400 families caring for children with disabilities in the surrounding community.

This story also reflects a core part of the WWO vision: children grow best in safe, loving families and communities. When leaders, organizations, churches, and governments work together, even places once built for institutional care can become centers of support, healing, and inclusion.

As Pete shares, this example shows that transformation is possible, even in lower-resource settings. With the same place, the same staff, and the same commitment, many more children and families can be reached.

Watch Pete’s reflection and see how family-based care is helping children with disabilities in Rwanda receive support while remaining at home with their families.