As children, we all have dreams. Hard work, talents, persistence, and a little bit of luck helped many of us move closer to our dreams.

In our oil-rich country, some children in orphanages said that they dream about: having meat for a holiday dinner, learning French, having their own money to choose shoes that they like, and becoming a doctor one day…to treat the illness that took his mother away.

These children did not choose their past, and have few choices about their future. More than 10,000 children live in orphanages in Azerbaijan. Some of them lost their parents due to an illness, an accident, or crime.

Remember how you felt when your parents were asking you to come home, while you still wanted to play in the yard for 15 more minutes? For 18 years these children rarely leave the walls of the same institution.

There are roughly five or six adults caring for 100 to 120 children in each orphanage. Often there is no time to listen to each child, what he or she likes or is scared of, to give a hug or advice when they are struggling with a problem.

However, with some support and care, the children can get new opportunities in their lives. We have some ideas how.

After children leave the orphanage, they have very limited options. Many of them are left without stable housing or jobs, which makes them vulnerable on the street (often falling into stealing, prostitution, etc).