Just some food for thought-

Here's some food for thought. According to Shaohannah's Hope (www.showhope.org)
-There are 143 million orphaned and fatherless children
-500,000 social orphans wait in the US foster care system
-Every 18 seconds, a child becomes an orphan without a mother or father
-Every 15 seconds, a child loses a parent to aids
-There are 1.5 million children in public care in Eastern and Central Europe
-120,000 children in the USA foster care system are waiting to be adopted
-Conflict (Rwanda, Darfur, etc) has orphaned or separated over 1 million children from their families in the 1990's
-orphans are more vunerable and at risk for becoming victims of trafficking, explotation, violence, and other abuses
-Orphans who never find a loving, permanent home (those who age out of the system or live as 'street children') are more likely to be involved in theft, prostitution, substance abuse, and incarceration. They're also at a high risk for suicide. Sadly, this is as true for the USA as it is globally.

starting the change.

I wanted to share a clip of the documentary that really started a change towards Chinese adoption. I would love to say that I'm convinced everything is changed, but after reading Silent Tears, I have trouble believing it.
The Dying Rooms was a documentary filmed in China by three British journalists. They posed as orphanage workers, and filmed their findings with secret cameras. They found multiple cases of deliberate neglect of young children. But what they showed in the latter part of the documentary caused an enormous outcry

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSyEdT_x-SI

Mei Ming was featured on the Oprah special 'Kids Whose faces changed the world'. I'm sure that Mei Ming did change the lives of her 'sisters'. But I can't help but wonder how many more children are still facing situations similar to what this poor baby endured.

I gain comfort in this: Mei Ming is resting in the arms of my Savior tonight. She'll never be abandoned again.

Cultural Change

Have you noticed how some cultural perceptions don't change?
I live in the South, so I get a healthy dose of non-changing perceptions on a regular basis.

However, this is also a problem in other countries.
In China, there was reported a case of an adoptive father going to visit the orphanage where his daughter lived. The orphanage is one of the better places in China. He was handing out candy and noticed a scratching sound coming from behind a door. He asked what the sound was, and the orphanage workers acted as if they didn't hear anything. The scratching persisted on. He finally caught a glimpse of a child through a window to a room. He asked the staff to let him see the child, and was finally allowed access into the room (only after the staff told him to 'be careful'). He encountered a small boy, probably no more than 3, who was naked. He was apparently being given only enough food to survive. His tantrums, which frightened the staff so, were an apparent part of his mental disability. He had the staff get him clothes, fed the boy, gave him some candy, and played with him.

Let me say this: China is a beautiful place with a rich history. But, I believe that deep-seeded fears of the unknown shouldn't have dictation over how children are treated. That being said, I believe that there should be more education about birth defects, disabilities, and mental disorders made available to the government officials and orphanage directors, then passed on to orphanage workers. Then, policies should be enacted so that this does not occur.

What I've been reading

I was researching more articles, and stumbled upon a website calling for more orphanages and for people to help sponsor them. I don't necessarily agree with this (and I've got a smart lady to back me up).

Have you ever heard of Dr. Sara Josephine Baker?
She was the first woman to receive a doctorate in public health, and is considered by many to be one of the 'forgotten heroes' of American History. According to http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/49524/Sara-Josephine-Baker, she developed multiple programs which helped reduce the infant mortality rate in the worst slums of New York City. She initiated programs that encouraged proper feeding, hygiene, clothing, medication giving, etc.
She also hypothesized that infants who weren't cuddled simply died of loneliness. Thus, she started a campaign to set up foster homes.

Now, I'm for giving children a place to go, to be safe and be given food, etc, but it seems that the poor care received in orphanages is part of the problem facing orphans. Unless it's promised that the orphanage will be adequately staffed, with proper food, clothing, and education, I would hesitate to make a monetary donation to an orphanage. I do, however, support small-group homes and foster homes, where children would be given the one-on-one attention that's needed for them to grow up and flourish.

meet the inspirations!

Please, meet my inspirations, Josie-Tatum and Ellie!

I am sad because I don't have enough time to post everything that's pouring out from my heart right now, but I promise I will! These two little girls have FOREVER changed my life (for the better, lol!). I'll have to post stories later.
If you don't know my sisters, you have to meet them.
Josie-Tatum is the most spiritually sensitive almost-seven year old that I've ever met.
Ellie is the most tenacious little person in the world

Realizing things that have happened in their lives have made me aware of the plight of MILLIONS of children around the world.

accountability, part two

I know I posted something relating to accountability earlier. Here's the thought:

A missionary in South Africa has felt led to start an orphanage for the children that he ministers to in the area. While there is already a state run orphanage in the area, he and his ministry team became troubled with something that repeatedly happened. When they would take clothes, food, and other items to the children, they would come for a repeat visit to find that the children still had nothing. Then, they heard that the workers were taking the items home for their children and not using them for the needs of the orphans in their care.

Now, I'm all for children having essential items, but is that honestly fair?

So, proposal to change:
-Tighter enforcement (what goes to the orphanages stays at the orphanages)
-Punishment for those who break the rules

Working

Working on getting everything together for the first few blog posts. Wanting this to be extra good (1, orphan awareness is important, 2, I'd like an A in my Civ class, lol).
But as I sit in the WAY too cold library, something keeps coming into my mind.

Accountability.

We're encouraged (or forced) to have accountability in everything we do.

We'll go into this later.
Work starts soon :-)