Lumos is the charity founded by J.K. Rowling to help end the institutionalization of children. She established it in 2005 as the Children’s High Level Group, and it was renamed Lumos in 2010.
The organization works internationally to replace orphanages and other institutions with family-based or community-based care. Its programs have operated in countries including Moldova, Bulgaria, Haiti and Colombia, combining policy advocacy with support for child-protection systems.
The name Lumos comes from the Latin word for light and also echoes a magical light-producing charm in Harry Potter. Rowling has emphasized that children separated from families often face developmental and emotional harm in institutions, even when those institutions are intended to provide care.
Lumos is separate from Gingerbread, the UK single-parent charity with which Rowling has also been associated.