it told of a nightmarish institution .
the idea of any child being taken from their family and locked away , all too often in atrocious conditions , is particularly poignant at this time of year .
these efforts led quickly to the establishment of lumos , named for the spell i created in harry potter to bring light to some dark and frightening places .
there would be no lumos – the charity dedicated to closing child institutions and so - called orphanages – if there had n’t first been this picture .
georgette mulheir , ceo of lumos , tells how one christmas she took sweets to the 270 children in a particular institution .
for children in institutions , life too often resembles the darkest of grimms ’ fairytales .
again and again , when i quote the statistics to people who are not familiar with the field – 8 million children separated from their families worldwide – they are aghast and disbelieving .
the sad truth remains that my instinctive reaction to that picture could stand as a metaphor for the attitude that has enabled the unjustifiable incarceration of 8 million children around this world to take place with little outrage or comment .
his hands clutched what appeared to be chicken wire containing him , and his expression was agonised .