No heat. No toys. No education. Scraps of food.

Could you imagine being beaten for the simplest things you did? Could you imagine seeing your friends die of starvation? Or knowing a friend who just gave up on living because life was too cruel to him?

That’s what life was like for me in a Romanian asylum for the first 11 years of my life.

But just when I thought my life was pointless, a kind nanny took me home for the night. I experienced the love of family for the first time in my life.

And from that moment on, all I could think about was how to escape and find where I belong.

–  Izidor Ruckel

To  belong  is  to  be  alive.

I want my life to be more than just another “orphan tale.”

Instead, it can be the story that launches real change for millions of vulnerable children by educating the public on orphan and adoptee issues.

I’m currently working on a short film and limited series based on my life story.

The short film reveals the disparity between how institutionalized children experience life compared to children in families.

The limited series breaks down several adoption myths and explores how traumatized children and families can truly find healing.

Join with us to make these needed tools for change a reality with your donation today.

Your tax-deductible donation will be processed by The Film Collaborative, a nonprofit that offers fiscal sponsorship to filmmakers.

Alone doesn't even begin to describe it…

A disabled orphan in the Home Hospital for Irrecoverable Children in Romania. How would he ever leave there?

Let alone become an international speaker and orphan advocate?

The path was not just unlikely.

It was impossible. 

And then the miracles happened.

Meet Izidor Ruckel.

izidor in the orphanage
First image of Izidor in 1990 (John Upton)

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“You  are  not  alone”
— Izidor