Our Story
A vision to rebuild a future emerged just a few weeks after the December 26, 2004 Asia Tsunami.
Our first orphanage in Aceh, Indonesia became a reality only a year later and we’ve been expanding ever since. Read more about how we began and our journey so far.
After the December 26, 2004 Asia Tsunami, one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history, Dian Alyan was determined to act in response to the devastation in her hometown, a small Indonesian territory in Aceh. Within two weeks, with support from a small group of friends offering to help, Project Noordeen was conceived focusing its efforts on Aceh. But in the bigger scheme of things, it was just the beginning; a new vision was born that day, which would change the future of orphaned children around the world.
This disaster that struck Dian’s hometown, was to be the most depressing and horrifying moment of her life. Not only did she lose family members and friends, but she also witnessed her entire homeland become shattered to pieces. Her whole existence was shaken and the images of destruction and suffering complelled her to take action.
The tsunami claimed the lives of almost a quarter of million individuals, over a 166,000 were in Aceh, leaving behind many orphaned children. Our goal was to provide a hopeful future to these orphans one at a time. We set out to build a permanent orphanage to house 50 orphans at the earliest. The orphanage would provide a living residence, library, computer lab, and a multifunctional hall with a learning and activity center for the children staying there. Our short-term goal was to provide monetary support to the families taking care of orphans till they have a place to move in.
Dian Alyan’s family donated 3,000 square feet of land to build the orphanage. Funds began to pour in from generous donors and volunteers worked around the clock. Within seven months from the ground breaking ceremony, our very first orphanage became a grand reality. On December 26, 2005, exactly a year after the Tsunami, Noordeen Orphanage opened its door to fifty children that now have a haven that they call home.
The orphanage was named Noordeen after Dian’s great grandfather. It was a fitting tribute to a man who had once participated in the effort to free Indonesia from Dutch colonization in 1930-1934 and was a highly respected man of this tiny village. Amongst his community and family, he was remembered as a stern yet loving and fun man that taught his children compassion with more actions than words. The Noordeen orphanage was built on his land, a legacy to him and his admired actions.
Noor means light and deen means to give. That was the inspiration behind naming our foundation as GiveLight Foundation. The vote of the volunteers in choosing this name was unanimous. These dedicated volunteers became the GiveLight family. We’ve been primarily run by volunteers since then.
GiveLight Foundation has expanded ever since reaching out to orphaned children across several other countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Sri Lanka and Haiti. It is a registered USA 501 (c)(3) organization with Tax ID: 562500794. Contributions to GiveLight Foundation are tax deductable.
Join us in our efforts to give light to as many orphans around the globe as possible