Don't Skip This One

Today in Ethiopia there are over 6 million orphans.  Out of all the children who are available for adoption, LESS than 5% will have a family to call their own.  53% of children over the age of 5 in Ethiopia HAVE to work to support their family (statistics taken from Gladney Adoption Agency).  These are children just like yours and mine.  They love sweets, silly games,  get scared when they hear thunder and need to be comforted when they are sick.  There's not one single difference between us except that for whatever reason, they do not have anyone to take care of them.  I just finished reading a book called, There Is No Me Without You.  It's about a local middle class woman in Ethiopia who after suffering several devastating life changes, opens her heart and her home to hundreds(eventually) of locally abandoned children.  It is, by far, one of the most interesting, accessible, heartwarming and emotional books I've read in a long time.  As foreigners ask her if she thinks that her "children" will have a hard time adapting to life in other countries, she responds by saying that children can adapt to anything, except not having parents to love them. Maybe there is a piece of your puzzle missing. Maybe adoption isn't for you.  That's okay.  But you can do something. Honor your blessings in life by investing in your community, help out at a local soup kitchen, become a "Big Brother", sponsor a child in another county, give to an organization that helps to make a difference in the lives of people who are less fortunate than ourselves. The Gates foundation and others are good places to start. Many adoption agencies also run child sponsorship programs. Tom Davis (another favorite author of mine- see his blog) runs Children's HopeChest, many religious groups also have foundations that distribute supplies, funds and volunteers all around the world. For example, The Episcopal Relief and Development, http://www.er-d.org/  and the United Methodist Church, http://www.umc-gbcs.org/ .147 million children around the world will thank you.