Who Knows Tomorrow

"Somebody's Child" is the extraordinary true story of Lisa Lovatt-Smith, a "Vogue" magazine editor who, at the age of 35, made the astonishing choice to abandon her glamorous lifestyle and dedicate her life to helping Africa's most vulnerable children in rural Ghana.
Born in Spain to a single mother who struggled to make rent, Lisa Lovatt-Smith rose to become the photo editor at British "Vogue" at the age of 19, the youngest in Conde Nast history. At 21, she helped launch Spanish "Vogue," hosting massive, lavish parties in Madrid with celebrities such as the Rolling Stones, Madonna and Andy Warhol. By her mid-thirties, Lisa lived an enviable life filled with designer clothes, a dream career, and a beautiful Parisian home.
But at home, Lisa's life is less than perfect. Her adopted daughter Leila is expelled from school for a series of increasingly disturbing behaviors. Determined to get her daughter back on track, Lisa takes Leila to Ghana to volunteer at an orphanage. The experience is transformational: Lisa, who had feared the hardship of even a short visit to Africa, finds herself stunned out of her luxurious life and compelled to act.
Within 18 months, Lisa moves to Ghana and set up OrphanAid Africa, her own fostering network and activist group, dedicating all her personal resources to bringing up hundreds of Ghanaian children. In her drive to give love and a future to these orphaned children, Lisa first builds a beautiful fostering center in the tropical forest. Next -- in a country with almost no regulations protecting these vulnerable children -- she spearheads a drive to develop nation-wide reform throughout Ghana, advocating a phase-out of orphanages in favor of monitored fostering.
Lisa's quest is a dramatic, unforgettable journey. She confronts snakes, death threats, cruel betrayals, illness, road accidents, arson, an armed attack, and the AIDS epidemic that has killed so many parents with young children, and a corrupt system of for-profit orphanages. Her lonely childhood gives her the keen appreciation for what the orphans are missing, and her apprenticeship within the disciplined structure of "Vogue" has taught her the enormous resourcefulness and persistence she needs to succeed.
"Somebody's Child" is eye-opening and heart-wrenchingly honest, an inspiration to anyone who seeks meaning in helping those who cannot help themselves. It examines the myths surrounding aid to impoverished African children with a critical, yet compassionate, eye. A vivid portrait of West Africa today, it is an unflinching portrayal of the tragedies endured by millions of children, who struggle despite, and sometimes because of, outpourings of often-misplaced Western benevolence. And although to Lisa, it will always be all about the children, it is also a touching celebration of a woman who is talented, generous and brave.