We work alongside those already caring for vulnerable children.

Who We Are

Worphan is an international charity that exists to support orphaned and vulnerable children by standing alongside the caregivers who raise them. We work through trusted, personal relationships with people already carrying responsibility in their own communities, and we commit to supporting that work with integrity, transparency and long term intent.

Worphan exists to provide stability, not short term solutions, so children can grow with dignity, care and opportunity.

The name Worphan reflects the reality at the centre of this work.

In many communities, orphaned children are cared for by widows, women who carry responsibility quietly, often without recognition or support.

The name brings those two realities together: widow and orphan.

Worphan was founded by Lizy in Gweru, Zimbabwe. Around the time she took in the first children, Lizy herself was widowed. She continued to care for those children, not as a project or an intervention, but as a responsibility she had already accepted.

The name Worphan honours that reality, recognising the women who care for children long before organisations, funding, or attention arrive.

Our Name,

To support orphaned and vulnerable children by strengthening the caregivers and communities who raise them, through long term, relationship-based support that honours culture, dignity, and local leadership.

Our Mission

Our Vision

A future where children who have lost family, stability, or protection are able to grow into healthy, educated, and capable adults, supported by caregivers who are trusted, resourced, and respected in their own communities.

We believe these children are future pillars of their societies when given the stability they need.

How We Work

Worphan does not establish or operate orphanages directly.

Instead, we partner with caregivers and local leaders who are already doing this work; people we know personally and whose integrity has been demonstrated over time. We expand through trusted relationships, not target country strategies.

Our role is to support, strengthen, and uphold their work, not to replace it.

Our Values

Dignity

Children are individuals, not symbols. Their lives and stories are treated with respect, privacy, and care.

Relationship

We work through personal relationships built over time, not through distance or abstraction.

Local Leadership

The people closest to the problem are best placed to address it. We follow their lead.

Transparency

Those who support this work deserve clarity, honesty, and accountability.

Long Term Commitment

Stability is not created quickly. We stay.

Transparency & Accountability

Worphan is committed to transparency in how funds are received, managed, and distributed.

As we work to formally establish Worphan as a registered charity in Australia, governance and accountability structures are being built deliberately and properly, in line with regulatory and ethical expectations.

This includes:

• Clear separation of charitable funds

• Traceable pathways from donation to use

• Openness with supporters about where funds go and why

• Proportionate and disclosed administrative costs

Where requested, donors will be able to see how funds are applied.

As the organisation grows, reporting and disclosure will grow with it.