Adoption Isn't the Only Way to Care for Orphans
Today is World Orphans Day.
Look at this football stadium. This is where the Michigan Wolverines play. Its official capacity is 109,901.To get to 17.9 million, you'd have to fill that stadium up almost 163 times. Sit in that for a minute, folks. 163 stadiums, side by side, filled with orphans.When Bill and I traveled to Ukraine for the very first time in 2008, we went to an orphanage. It was bleachy clean. Beds were made up nicely. Bathrooms were spotless.During the fall of 2009, Bill and I spent more time in an orphanage. It was clean too. And we got to play with the kids.
(Can we ooh and ahh for a minute over how little Katya was? Oh my goodness!)But this summer, I was in Zambia. I visited an orphanage there too. But it was a much different experience. My friend, Rose, and I went with Abigail and Humphray to a village outside of Lusaka.
Behind me and these people who I came to love, is a home. It was just as clean as the orphanage in Ukraine, but it was a home. And in each home lives one woman, usually a widow, who has become "Mama" for eight orphans.While I know that no situation is perfect, and every orphan becomes an orphan through tragic circumstances, I LOVE what they are doing here. They are caring for orphans and widows. These kids are not in institutions. They are in homes.The people at Every Orphan's Hope are on to something. They realize that not every orphan is going to get adopted. So rather than putting all their effort into adoption, they are also putting effort into taking care of the children who won't get adopted.Go back with me to Wolverine Stadium. 163 Wolverine Stadiums. Each filled to capacity with orphans.Now take away 2 1/2 stadiums. Or about 250,000 children. That's how many orphans are adopted every year. That leaves more than 160 stadiums full of orphans. People, while I'm all for adoption, and I think many more of us should seriously consider it, adoption isn't the only way we can care for orphans.In a few days I will have some pretty exciting news to share with you. Exciting news that is going to open a way for us, together, to care for stadiums full of orphans. I really, really want to tell you about it. But I can't ... yet.But I can give you a hint. It has to do with supporting the AMAZING caregivers who are loving on these children. Please, please, please subscribe so that when I get the go-ahead to spread the good news, you will be among the first to know! The subscribe box is up and to the right. :)