Most children in orphanages worldwide have one or two living parents. Poverty, discrimination, and lack of educational opportunities can cause a child to be separated from her family. This separation can traumatize the child and make her feel betrayed and unloved. Orphanages often can cause further harm by not giving her the individualized care and love that she needs. As a result children raised in orphanages often have lower IQs and psychological and behavior problems. Finally, an orphanage puts a child at risk to all forms of abuse and often leaves her unprepared for life beyond the institution.
Doing What’s Best for Children
Children belong in families, not institutions. In fact, a child has a God-given right to live in a family. To protect these children we need to 1) help them stay in families, and 2) help them get back into safe and loving families when not. This can be accomplished through three approaches.
Prevent
Strengthen families and communities so that children can stay where they belong.
Reunite
Placing orphaned children back with their safe and loving families.
Speak Out
Exposing the orphan industry that often exploits and abuses children.
You can do something to end this horrible abuse
YOU can give a child the gift of their own family. YOU can help a girl feel the embrace of her mother again. YOU can help a boy hear the words “I’m proud of you” from his father. YOU can restore a child’s identity by allowing him to hear his parent’s stories and wisdom and his family’s history.
Here are a few things you can do today…
Sponsor a Child
You can help reunite a child to his family by sponsoring them each month.
Give
Your generous support makes sure each child returns to a safe, loving home.
Learn
By educating yourself about orphanages, you can help children receive the love they need.
What Guides Us
Family
Family is sacred. God created and entrusted families with raising children.
Love
Love for God and children.
Worth
Children are valuable in the sight of God and worth the effort.
Defense
When not in families, children are more vulnerable.
Determination
We won’t stop until every child is in a safe, loving family.
