One of the most common questions I get asked comes after people receive a letter stating their child has left the orphanage and their sponsorship has transferred to another child. What happened to my child? they want to know, quite understandably! Since the child is an orphan, we assume, wouldn’t they stay at the orphanage until they are old enough to support themselves?

While the majority of the children available for sponsorship are full orphans, some have relatives who still care about them. Being too poor to provide for that child, they had no choice but to send that child to an orphanage. Thankfully, some economies are growing. In Myanmar, for example, economic conditions have begun to improve, so many of those relatives are able to care for their child once again. I’m ecstatic when this happens, because being cared for by one’s own family is usually preferable to living in an orphanage.

In rare cases, children run away or we learn that an orphanage director has in some way become untrustworthy, but those instances are scarce.

All that said, I want to encourage you if you’ve received such a letter from me stating that you child has left his or her orphanage. Usually it is a reason to rejoice!

Thank you for sponsoring your child(ren)!

Remember…you are making a difference for eternity!

Elisabeth Walter
Director, Orphan’s Tear division