Doing 'real' charity with 'real' style: Lisa Lovatt Smith

Lisa Lovatt-Smith with Damon Dash and Rachel Roy


Lisa Lovatt Smith and Mr Francis Hurtut [French Ambassador in Ghana]
Lisa Lovatt-Smith and Marcel Desailly
"Our policy, in line with UNICEF guidelines, is to avoid institutional care whenever possible. We believe that the family is the structure most suitable for providing care for children. International research has proven that consigning children to orphanages for long term care can be detrimental to their development and does not respect a child’s basic rights...............Children may be placed in orphanages after loosing a parent, despite having family members who want to care for them but lack the means to do so. Orphanages often represent access to food, clothing, and education, when what really should be done, is make these necessities accessible in the local villages and communities. When an orphanage is treated as the principal solution, it can hinder the incentive for the local population to address the orphan problem and at the same time channel resources into making better orphanages, which encourages parents and families to abandon their children for lack of a better alternative. For all these reasons we channel our resources into supporting families and encouraging family and foster care as opposed to orphanage care for vulnerable children." OrphanAid Africa

A touching piece by uber fashionista, Rachel Roy, -in the May issue of American Vogue,-struck a cord. Moving and inspirational, -Rachel talks about her trip to Ghana -for the United Nations to participate in a fashion show, -benefiting their World Food Program in Accra. She talks about taking her daughter -Ava, who, -like her mother was greatly effected by this humbling trip. Shopping, sleeping off her jet lag on the beach and collecting unique seashell, -Rachel then mentions, an orphanage [that her friend had told her about] called OA (OrphanAid Africa), -run by Lisa Lovatt-Smith. Well, I just had to google her.

Lisa Lovatt-Smith is a 'tour de force'. A mother and author [she wrote 'Paris Interiors' and 'London Living'], -and the hard working founder of, -OrphanAid Africa (OA), this ex Vogue editor -is tireless. Born in 1967 in Barcelona of British parents, Lisa is a well connected, glamorous fashionista, -with a heart of gold. Lisa is passionate about -how to raise orphans [and I totally agree with her philosophy, -'that orphans left in orphanages are not nurtured and that prolong time spent in theses institutions -can be detrimental to their development'] -and thus started, OrphanAid Africa [a NGO that offers support 'to strengthen families and communities so they can care for their own children']. Lisa's OrphanAid Africa works tirelessly to keep families together -enabling extended families to look after orphans -who would otherwise be left in institutions, -sometimes not receiving good care. They also help to send children to school, help mothers and protect children by -transforming their lives. Ghana Rising would like to take this opportunity to thank Lisa Lovatt-Smith, for her tireless work and incredible contribution to Ghana. For more information on OrphanAid Africa or to donate, please visit: http://www.oafrica.org/