"A father of the fatherless and a judge for the widows, Is God in His holy habitation." -Psalm 68:5
“You shall not afflict any widow or orphan”. -Exodus 22:22
“Learn to do good; seek justice, reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, plead for the widow.” -Isaiah 1:17
“Your rulers are rebellious, and companions of thieves; everyone loves bribes, and follows after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless.” -Isaiah 1:23
“But You, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to You; You are the helper of the fatherless.” -Psalm 10:14
“Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of the least of these, you did it unto Me.” -Matthew 25: 45
There is an growing epidemic going on in the world that is only getting larger. Today there are an estimated 163 million orphans and displaced children worldwide (some sources site as many as 210 million) and that number is growing by one orphan every 2 seconds. That is enough children to go around the world at the equator 3 times! That number is also greater than the population in all of Russia. This sad number doesn't even include the millions of children that are abandoned or sold/trafficked. Without assistance these orphans continue the cycle of poverty, HIV/AIDS, trafficking, prostitution and slavery that haunts developing countries. In Africa due to HIV/AIDS, the number of orphans is growing exponentially. Africa has by far the greatest proportion of children that are orphans while Asia has the largest number of orphans due to its population size. In Eastern Europe, less than 50% of the orphan population will live to see their 20th birthdays and of those that do survive, 50% will end up in organized crime, drugs, or prostitution. In Africa, homeless children are armed and used for war. In the US, 25,000 children will leave the foster care system without families and 25% of these foster children will become homeless. 56% of these emancipated foster care children in the U.S. enter the unemployment ranks. 27% of the emancipated male children in foster care end up in jail and 30% of the emancipated foster care females experience early parenthood. 30,000 children in foster care are dropped from the state system because they ran away. In the US, there are 500,000 children left in the foster system each year. California alone is home to 20% of the national total of foster care children, a percentage that is drastically much larger than any other state. 70% of prison inmates in the US are said to have spent some time in a foster home at one time. That makes every person's life affected by this horrible statistics either directly or indirectly.
“Whoever receives a child in My name, receives Me.” -Matthew 18:5
In Russia, there are over 3 million orphans and homeless children. 60% of Russian children are sick and 1.5 million Russian children are classified as "special needs". After leaving a Russian orphanage, 80% of the females become prostitutes, 40% of these children become addicted to drugs, 50% become incarcerated, and more than 10% end up committing suicide.
"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute." -Prov. 31:8
"Some studies have found that violence in residential institutions is six times higher than violence in foster care, and that children in group care are almost four times more likely to experience sexual abuse than children in family based care."
Every day 5,760 more children become orphans. Each day 38,493 orphans age out. An estimated 1.2 million children are trafficked every year; 2 million children, the majority of them girls, are sexually exploited in the multibillion-dollar commercial sex industry. (THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S CHILDREN 2005)
In Russia, 25% of children live in institutionalized orphanages. China is home to millions of abandoned children, mostly girls, living in institutions across the country. These facilities lack heat, electricity, indoor plumbing and adequate laundry facilities. These institutions are often understaffed, overcrowded and under-resourced. Special needs children are especially underserved.
My heart breaks for these millions of children who deserve to feel loved and deserve to know about Jesus and the TRUE Father to the fatherless. Please pray for these children and that God will give them a better future with an opportunity to hear about His love for them; that God will continue to send more laborers out into His harvest, to share HIS love to these precious children. These statistics can be overwhelming, but nothing is too big for our God. He loves His children and wants them protected. As one person we may not be able to change the world, but we can change the world for one person. Change the world for the heart of that child who deserves to know and feel love. Adopt, foster, sponsor, counsel, mentor, lead, protect... most importantly LOVE HIS PRECIOUS CHILDREN.
Jesus said, "Let the children come to ME, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven". -Matt. 19:14
Amazing organizations that make a difference in their countries in the lives of orphans:
Russia: http://agaperu.org
Africa: http://www.empoweringlives.org
Sponsorships:
World Vision: http://www.worldvision.org/content.nsf/pages/sponsor-a-child?open&campaign=1193512&cmp=KNC-1193512
Gospel for Asia: http://www.gfa.org/sponsorachild/
Why Orphans? from World Orphans on Vimeo.
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