About

We are a New Zealand-based organisation devoted to the care and protection of children and their families in multiple locations around the world. Here, you can find out more about our vision, mission, and values, and the people working behind the scenes in New Zealand.

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our Vision

Every child in the world will belong to a home, family and community where they are safe and loved, go to school, have a good diet and health care, and know that God loves them.

Training

We provide training in life skills, social work, and the care and protection of children. This happens in local communities, for our partners and volunteers.

Children directly Supported
13,390 Family/Home visits 3414

Empowerment

We help enable community initiatives which generate surpluses, such as cropping, carpentry, and farming, which in turn help to enable new families to do the same. This multiplies the return over time.

Training Programmes provided 66
Mentoring communications 220

Social Work Care

We provide social work support, health care clinics, tuition centers, and schools, which help to protect, educate, and nurture vulnerable children.

Medical Clinics 17
Adults directly – 4300

Our history

Open Home foundation

The Open Home Foundation was established in New Zealand in 1977 by Ewen and Gillian Laurenson. Whilst running a Family Home and caring for at-risk teenagers, they read a book called “Love is an Open Door”, written by Bill Bair. The central concept of the book is the model of the Christian community across all denominations opening their homes and hearts to care for children and young people in need.

Ewen and Gillian, supported by others, embraced this concept and began to develop it from their own home in Johnsonville, Wellington. A network of Christian Foster Homes quickly developed, which accepted referrals from community and government agencies. The organisation was registered as an Incorporated Charitable Trust with the name of ‘Open Home Foundation New Zealand’. 1986, the Open Home Foundation became a national organisation.

In 1991, people from Manipur in Northeast India requested OHF New Zealand’s (OHFNZ) assistance with the care of impoverished children. It was at this point that seeds of Open Home Foundation International (OHFI) were sown. By 2000, requests for help were coming to Open Home Foundation New Zealand from many countries. This led to the development of Open Home Foundation International, with its own trust deed and charitable status, but with its roots still in Open Home Foundation New Zealand.

Since then, the work of OHFI has continue, and expanded. It now has partners and projects in India, Mexico, Mozambique, Romania, Rwanda, Uganda and Zambia. Ewen remains on the Board and along with Gillian continues to be actively involved in OHFI,i providing guidance and support. The central goal of all OHFI’s work continues to be the empowerment of communities to look after their most vulnerable children.

Chairperson

Grant
Brenton

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Executive Director

Deirdre
O’Sullivan

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Trustee

Mark
Bromley

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Trustee

Ewen
Laurenson

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Trustee

Chris
Olsen

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Patrons

Sir David &
Lady Catherine
Carruthers

Trustee

Andrew
Dunn

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Treasurer

Bill
Jorgenson

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Ohfi-open-home-foundation-International-banner-a04

Ewen Laurenson

Ewen and his wife Gillian founded Open Home Foundation International in 1991, after first establishing Open Home Foundation New Zealand in 1977. The Laurensons personally fostered children and young people for 22 years and in 1995 were each awarded a QSM for services to foster care. Ewen remains a trustee of OHFI and the plight of neglected, abused, impoverished, orphaned, and trafficked children and young people has motivated him for nearly all of his working life. “The call has never gone away and still remains strong within me.”

Grant Brenton

Grant is the Chairperson of OHFI and has been a Board member for 10 years. Having been a General Manager with two trustee corporations, he has had over 22 years of executive leadership experience with strong knowledge in strategic and annual planning and marketing. He has also owned and operated private businesses for the last 15 years. In 2017, Grant visited our Indian partners in Kolkata and Manipur, giving him first-hand knowledge of the work OHFI does with the impoverished and vulnerable overseas.

Andrew Dunn

Andrew has many years of Governance experience as a Board member and as a Chairperson. He is currently a Trustee of Parkinson’s New Zealand (an organisation he founded more than 30 years ago), and President of Grey Power in North Otago. As a recently retired teacher, Andrew has brought his passion for the education of children to his role as a member of the OHFI Country Group for Zambia. He joined the Board in 2022.

Deirdre O’Sullivan

Deirdre has more than 20 years’ experience in leadership roles in the Not for Profit and NGO sector in New Zealand and overseas. She joined OHFI in 2020 because she was inspired by how much OHFI and their local country partners have achieved in improving the lives of thousands of children and their families and communities. She feels a calling to work for the most vulnerable amongst us.

Chris Olsen

Chris’s commitment to OHFI stems from his Christian faith, and he finds great inspiration in working with marginalised children to improve their quality of life and to know God’s love. He has worked with faith-based voluntary organizations for almost 20 years, and he is a former CEO, Member of the Institute of Directors, a Director of the Institute of Collaborative Working NZ and a Fellow of the Institution of Professional Engineers.

Bill Jorgenson

Bill has a background in the insurance sector, and has turned his commercial expertise to benefit OHFI in his role as treasurer. He is pleased to be contributing directly to the welfare of vulnerable children in overseas countries. Along with his wife Marg, he has visited OHFI supported projects in Romania and Kolkata, and this experience has strengthened his ongoing commitment to OHFI’s work.

Mark Bromley

Mark is the Manager of National Strategy & Development at Open Home Foundation New Zealand. He has worked in many countries around the world to improve the lives of those living in poverty and for children who need support. While working in Africa, he ran projects supporting the development of Microenterprise schemes. He is a member of the OHFI Zambian Country Group.

About

our Vision

Our Mission

Our Values

—

Training

Children directly Supported

13,390 Family/Home visits 3414

Empowerment

Training Programmes provided 66

Mentoring communications 220

Social Work Care

Medical Clinics 17

Adults directly – 4300

Chairperson

Executive Director

Trustee

Trustee

Trustee

Patrons

Trustee

Treasurer