I’m sitting here sobbing, having a hard time typing this.
A friend of mine who is working as a missionary in Kazakhstan just sent pictures from a graduation ceremony from one of the orphanages she’s connected with. 26 kids she’s known since first grade graduated today from ninth grade. They’ll be sent to boarding schools all over the country, leave the only family they have ever known and study a trade they did not choose. They will basically be on their own.
The outlook for these kids may not be bright. When we adopted from Kaz we were told that many of the boys that age out of the orphanages end up in criminal life and girls end up in prostitution, whether through lack of opportunity or coercion.
That’s the life my three youngest would have faced had God not brought them to us. Thinking that MC would be in that situation in two years is terrifying. The fact that none of them may have ever heard of Jesus’ love for them is heart-stopping.
I compare this to my oldest, who just graduated from twelfth grade and is going to a university for four more years in the fall. She’ll continue to live at home when not at school and like most college students, probably ask for and receive spending money on a regular basis, not to mention the love and support of her family.
I do know my friend’s group will be prayed for. But there are millions more. Kazakhstan alone has about 75,000 orphans. The number of orphans worldwide is estimated at around 150 million.
The disparity across the world staggers me. I wrote a scene last night for my second book where a little boy, an orphan, says he never owned anything except the one piece of clothing he wore until he came to the hero’s family. I’m sure most people would accuse me of overdramatizing, but it’s often true. Our social worker adopted a two-year-old who had never owned anything but his toothbrush. We were presented a naked baby—actually three. They share everything in the baby house—clothes, shoes, toys, and of course, caretakers. I read of another adoptive mom who bought her daughter lots of shoes. Whenever the kids went out, the shared shoes went to the favorites in the orphanage, and she didn’t get any. So to her, shoes meant love.
That 150 million includes children who have been abandoned, or have lost only one parent. Maybe you can’t do anything to help 150 million kids. But you can probably help one. Give money. Sponsor a kid in a developing country. Help someone adopt. There are lots of ways—I urge you, beg you, to find one.
Right now, I have to go hug my kids.