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- 2. 3 Summary THE NEED: One of the biggest challenges facing the Christian Church today is the ever-increasing number of children grow- ing up without the loving care of their parents and without knowing their Heav- enly Father. UNICEF has identified approx- imately 153 million children around the world as orphans. If all of these children were counted as a single nation, they would comprise the ninth largest nation in the world, slightly smaller than Ban- gladesh and slightly larger than the total population of Russia. The children of this “Orphan Nation” are vulnerable to exploi- tation and abuse, and they are severely ill equipped to survive and thrive as adults, even when they have “graduated” from the best possible institutional care avail- able. God knows all orphaned children by name, and He has a purpose for each of them. He is the Father of the fatherless, and His dream is that the Orphan Nation will disappear from the face of the earth. This can happen only when each child has a permanent, “forever” family. “Father of the fatherless… is God in his Holy habi- tation. God sets the solitary in families” (Psalm 68.5–6). Beyond the moral implications of ignor- ing this crisis, there are grave social, eco- nomic and even security consequences if progress is not made in rectifying the cur- rent situation. Because the Orphan Na- tion is a global crisis, it demands a global response. THE SOLUTION: World Without Orphans (WWO) is one such global response that was born from the understanding of God’s heart for orphans and His clear mandate from Scripture for the Church to care for them. Launched in 2012 and modeled after the successful national- level program of the Alliance for Ukraine Without Orphans, the WWO is a move- ment towards Christian leaders, non- government organizations (NGOs), and government officials working togeth- er to develop national-level solutions to care for orphans and vulnerable children through family-based care. The vision of the movement is for every child to grow and flourish in a loving, permanent fam- ily, and to know the Heavenly Father. If all Christians would come together in their churches, with their families, and as individuals, we could address the orphan challenge and bring closure to this esca- lating crisis. World Without Orphans National Christian Foundation 11625 Rainwater Drive, Suite 500 Alpharetta, GA 30009 717-461-2273 www.worldwithoutorphans.org info@worldwithoutorphans.org WWO’s immediate goals are to: ▶▶ Break down social, legal, and infra- structural barriers that prevent chil- dren from being adopted or fostered by loving families in their home coun- tries, or reunited with rehabilitated bi- ological families. ▶▶ Identify and train national Christian leaders to use their influence and net- works to change cultural attitudes to- wards adoption and foster care. ▶▶ Provide platforms for national leaders to collaborate with other regional and global leaders on efforts directed to- wards family based care for orphans. Revised and updated Edition, 2014
- 3. WORLD WITHOUT ORPHANS 54 Who Are The Orphans? There is no easy answer to the seeming- ly simple question of “Who is an orphan?” However, the way we define these children has very important implications for our ca- pacity to help them. Historically, orphans were children who had lost both of their parents, usually through death. UNICEF has expanded this defini- tion to include children who have lost one of their parents. The Bible seems to use the words “orphan” and “fatherless” interchange- ably which supports a broader definition. Consider also James 1:27 that ties togeth- er caring for orphans and widows, single mothers. Contemporary child welfare prac- tice focuses also on children who have lost their families through abandonment, even though one or both of their parents may still be alive. Therefore, in a broader sense an orphan is a child who has lost one or both parents or has been abandoned by or separated from them. Some children, born with disabilities, be- come orphans because their families and communities lack the skills and re- sources to meet their special develop- mental needs. Still other children may be removed from their families to ensure their safety, pro- tecting them from child abuse, neglect, and other forms of child endangerment. Many orphans grow to adulthood without per- manent family connections, and they often “graduate” to the streets, homeless and job- less, being drawn into lives of crime to sup- port themselves. The most vulnerable may be trafficked into various forms of inden- tured servitude in other nations. Orphan children may be considered “at-risk” in the most fundamental sense. With- out the nur- turance, support, and consistency of a per- manent loving family in a stable, support- ive community, orphaned children are faced with seemingly insurmountable challenges. Where Are They? Top ten countries by absolute number of orphans COUNTRY # OF ORPHANS 1 INDIA 31 000 000 2 CHINA 20 600 000 3 NIGERIA 12 000 000 4 BANGLADESH 4 800 000 5 ETHIOPIA 4 800 000 6 INDONESIA 4 700 000 7 CONGO 4 200 000 8 PAKISTAN 4 200 000 9 BRAZIL 3 700 000 10 SOUTH AFRICA 3 400 000 Top ten countries by the percentage of orphans to the total population of children COUNTRY # OF ORPHANS % 1 ZIMBABWE 1 400 000 22,67 2 LESOTHO 200 000 20,99 3 ZAMBIA 1 300 000 20,73 4 MOZAMBIQUE 2 100 000 19,25 5 SWAZILAND 100 000 18,73 6 SOUTH AFRICA 3 400 000 18,49 7 EQUATORIAL GUINEA 45 000 18,22 8 CENTRAL AFRICAN REP. 370 000 17,31 9 LIBERIA 340 000 16,86 10 ANGOLA 1 500 000 16,63
- 4. WORLD WITHOUT ORPHANS 76 HUNGARY PANAMA UKRAINE MOLDOVA BELARUS LITHUANIA LATVIA ESTONIA POLAND ROMANIA FINLAND SWEDEN NORWAY GERMANY DENMARK NETHERLANDS UNITED KINGDOM FRANCE ITALY TURKEY IRAQ IRAN (Islamic Republic of) BELGIUM LUXEMBOURG ALGERIA LIBYAN ARAB JAMAHIRIYA TUNISIA GREECE AZERBAIJAN GEORGIA CZECH REPUBLIC SLOVAKIA AUSTRIA ALBANIA SLOVENIA SWITZERLAND MONTENEGRO LIECHTENSTEIN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA MONACO CROATIA SAN MARINO SERBIA IRELAND SPAIN PORTUGAL MOROCCO MALI MAURITANIA SIERRA LEONE LIBERIA COTE D'IVOIRE CAPE VERDE GAMBIA GUINEA-BISSAU NIGER NIGERIA SENEGAL GUINEA BURKINA FASO GHANA TOGO BENIN SUDAN CHAD CAMEROON CONGO CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO EQUATORIAL GUINEA SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE EGYPT UGANDA KENYA ETHIOPIA SAUDI ARABIA ERITREA GABON ANGOLA ZAMBIA BURUNDI RWANDA UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA NAMIBIA BOTSWANA SOUTH AFRICA LESOTHO SWAZILAND MOZAMBIQUE ZIMBABWE MALAWI SOMALIA MADAGASCAR COMOROS MALTA ANDORRA ISRAEL BULGARIA CYPRUS LEBANON ICELAND UNITED STATES U. S. CANADA MEXICO BAHAMAS DOMINICAN REPUBLIC ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES HONDURAS NICARAGUA CUBA JAMAICA HAITI BARBADOS DOMINICA SAINT LUCIA VENEZUELA (BOLIVARIAN REPUBLIC OF) GUYANA GRENADA TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO GUATEMALA EL SALVADOR BELIZE COSTA RICA COLOMBIA ECUADOR PERU BRAZIL BOLIVIA (PLURINATIONAL STATE OF) PARAGUAY CHILE ARGENTINA URUGUAY SURINAME SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC JORDAN BAHRAIN DJIBOUTI KUWAIT OMAN QATAR UNITED ARAB EMIRATES YEMEN PAKISTAN AFGHANISTAN KAZAKHSTAN KYRGYZSTAN UZBEKISTAN TURKMENISTAN ARMENIA TAJIKISTAN INDIA CHINA BHUTAN MYANMAR MALDIVES NEPAL SRI LANKA BANGLADESH THAILAND CAMBODIA VIET NAM BRUNEI DARUSSALAM LAO PEOPLE'S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC MALAYSIA MAURITIUS SEYCHELLES AUSTRALIA PHILIPPINES INDONESIA MICRONESIA (FEDERATED STATES OF) PALAU TIMOR-LESTE PAPUA NEW GUINEA SINGAPORE MONGOLIA JAPAN DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA REPUBLIC OF KOREA SOLOMON ISLANDS FIJI KIRIBATI MARSHALL ISLANDS NAURU NIUE SAMOA TONGA TUVALU VANUATU NEW ZEALAND COOK ISLANDS RUSSIAN FEDERATION THE MAP OF GLOBAL ORPHAN CHALLENGE > 10 % OF ALL CHILDREN ARE ORPHANS 5–10 % < 5 % N/A
- 5. WORLD WITHOUT ORPHANS 98 What is World Without Orphans? The initial vision for World Without Orphans came from believers in Ukraine, who began to meet together in 2009 to discuss the possibility of forming an Alliance for Ukraine Without Orphans. With 30,000 adoptable children in orphanages in Ukraine and over 30,000 Christian churches, they calculat- ed that if just one family in each church in Ukraine adopted an orphan, orphanages would be emptied. It was their dream to see Ukraine become the first country in the world where national Christians would emp- ty orphanages by adopting children. Though it was only officially launched in November 2010, Ukraine Without Orphans is already transforming Ukraine. The number of adop- tions by Ukrainians is growing every year. There is a waiting list for Ukrainian families wanting to adopt children under the age of seven, and most orphaned children are now being placed into families instead of going to orphanages. The number of babies who are abandoned in birth hospitals decreased 50% in the last 4 years. This is unprecedent- ed in Eastern Europe! Not only that, but the spark from Ukraine has spread to believers in other countries, leading them to start their own “Without Orphans” movements in Russia, Belarus, Romania, Moldova, Latvia, Kyrgyzstan. It is amazing to watch how the vision for providing a family for every orphan has caught fire in the hearts of believers in dif- ferent places of the world. We believe that this vision has the power to transform na- tions and it is our hearts’ desire that this movement would catch hold around the world, and that believers across the globe would unite to fight for a World without Or- phans. It is with the understanding of God’s heart for orphans and His clear man- date from Scripture for the Church to care for them that the World Without Orphans (WWO) movement is being birthed. It is not a proj- ect or an organization, but a vision that Christians around the world can have a sig- nificant impact on the orphan challenge. It is an acknowledgement that God is moving through His Church around the world and He desires that every child would grow and flourish in a loving, permanent family and know their Heavenly Father. Vision and Mission of WWO The World Without Orphans (WWO) move- ment was begun with the vision that all or- phans and vulnerable children will be given the opportunity to grow in loving and car- ing families and will know their Heavenly Fa- ther. Our mission is to inform, equip, and mobi- lize the Body of Christ around the world to help make this possible. “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep one- self unstained from the world”. James 1:27. Several beliefs underpin the World Without Orphans movement: ▶▶ All children have inherent value in God’s eyes and an unconditional right to holis- tic development, to enable them to live up to the potential that their God has given them. ▶▶ The very best environment for all children is a loving and caring family – parents, siblings, and extended family members for life… a family to call their own and to come home to forever. ▶▶ God cares in a special way for the father- less, and He commissions the Church, and thus every Christian, to do every- thing in their power to help orphaned children. The first is to inform the Body of Christ and its leaders, to broaden their under- stand- ing both of the problems faced by orphaned children and the potential ways they can contribute to devising effective solutions. We provide re- search data on the status of orphans in different parts of the world, and disseminate information on the most effec- tive, empirically supported models of caring for and serving orphaned children. The second strategy is to mobilize. We seek to establish, promote, and sustain national, regional, and global networks that involve
- 6. WORLD WITHOUT ORPHANS 1110 churches and their members, non-govern- mental service organizations, business com- munities, the media, and governmental agencies who, together, can develop orphan advocacy movements in their own countries and communities. The third strategy is to equip. We provide op- portunities for our partner advocates to ful- ly understand the special needs of orphaned children and the best resources and strate- gies to serve them. We promote communi- cation within and among orphan networks, helping advocates share their successes and failures and learn from each other as they design and test working models to improve services to orphans and families. WWO is ready to provide national orphan care movements around the world with: ▶▶ Consulting in the establishment and growth of national orphan care initiatives. ▶▶ Assistance with national and regional conference development. ▶▶ Bringing national leaders together on a regional and global level to share ideas and resources, as well as to develop strategies, and to help each other share the vision. ▶▶ Assistance in the development of an on- line orphan care resources directory for their language. ▶▶ Consulting in the use of mass media, so- cial networking, and publicity to bring awareness of orphans and their needs. ▶▶ Help to develop prayer movements for orphans. ▶▶ Encouragement and assistance to pas- tors and other church leaders to establish and support orphan care and adoption movements in their own nations. ▶▶ Development of resources and events to help families understand how they can bring orphans into their families and their lives, through adoption, foster care, men- torship, guardianship, and other forms of family based care. ▶▶ Training and other opportunities for pro- fessional development. ▶▶ Information-sharing among all the world’s orphan advocacy networks to encourage and inspire each nation as it moves toward the vision to see and live in a world without orphans. Connection with the 4/14 Window and Transform World Movements A significant development in the vision for a World Without Orphans came at the 4–14 Window Global Summit in Singapore in the fall of 2011. The 4–14 Window Move- ment is calling the Global Church to radically change the way we view children and to re- spond to their strategic importance and right- ful place in His Kingdom. A thousand Christian leaders from one hundred countries at- tend- ed this event. A number of these were orphan care leaders from the US, Ukraine, Russia and several other countries who considered how a global movement for orphans could work in tandem with the 4–14 Window Movement. During discussions with Luis Bush, a servant leader of the 4–14 Window Movement, the need to support the Global Church in address- ing the orphan challenge was confirmed. The group recognized that a global orphan care movement must not operate independently, but rather as an integral part of the Body of Christ, with the responsibility to learn from, work with and serve the Church. Luis Bush is also a servant leader for the Trans- form World Movement, which was birthed out of a prayer movement in Indonesia. At his recommendation, the Transform World Movement recognized orphans as one of sev- en global challenges that were addressed at the Transform World Global Challenges Sum- mit in Bali, Indonesia, November 5–9, 2012. Ruslan Maliuta was invited to facilitate the Orphan Challenge with a view of launching the World Without Orphans movement.
- 7. WORLD WITHOUT ORPHANS 1312 Transform World Global Challenges Summit 2012, Indonesia Over 400 Christian leaders from fifty two countries attended the Transform World Global Challenges summit, and each partici- pated in a working group to address one of the seven challenges. Forty-five delegates representing fifteen countries from almost all continents met to work on developing the World Without Orphans global orphan care initiative. Four days of intense work resulted in a re- fined vision, five expected outcomes, and a seven-year action plan for the World With- out Orphans effort to promote the place- ment of children in families within their lo- cal con- texts. When many Christians hear the word “orphan,” what quickly comes to mind is either international adoption or or- phanages. International adoption allows a small percentage of orphans to be placed in families, but the number of children needing families is much greater. Research shows that orphanages and other forms of insti- tutional care are not the best solutions for the healthy development of children. A sig- nificant change in mindset is needed for many Christians to shift to a family-based approach in caring for orphans and vulner- able children. This includes families who are opening their home to care for the father- less, but it may also mean biological fami- lies or kinship care- givers who need to be encouraged and strengthened to prevent children from being put at risk in the first place. Orphan Challenge delegates also worked in groups divided by spheres, such as business, church, media, government etc, and had an opportunity to explore both opportunities and difficulties with- in these arenas as they relate to the cause of the fatherless. WWO Expected Outcomes for 2020 ■■ NATIONAL MOVEMENTS – Thirty na- tional orphan care movements are ini- tiated through cooperation of church- es and NGO’s in agreement with common biblically-based values, as evidenced by an active team of several groups representing multiple regions in the country. ■■ CHURCH MOBILIZATION – 50% of Christian churches around the world are aware of the orphan crisis in their community, nation, region, and around the world. 75% of churches in countries with national movements are motivated to action and equipped with the most effective strategies and resources to respond to t he need. ■■ PERMANENCY FOR CHILDREN – Per- manency of children in families is per- ceived and promoted globally as a pri- mary goal in caring for orphans and vulnerable children. A paradigm shift from institutional to family-based strategies has occurred in churches, NGO’s and governments in countries with national movement. ■■ PREVENTION – Parents know and understand the steps to creating a healthy, safe and strong family unit where children are living with and be- ing nurtured by loving parents. ■■ CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT – There is a comprehensive best-practice, evi- denced based collection of resources available for distribution and training for those persons working with or for orphans. Capacity is evident in the or- phan nation, and demonstrated by a competent, confident and committed group of volunteers, workers, parents, and leaders who are working together for a World Without Orphans. The Orphan Assessment The first step in resolving any problem is to understand it. There is an urgent need to complete comprehensive assessments of the presence and location of orphans in every country in the world so we fully understand the scope of the problem and the needs of the children, and develop the best possible solutions. These assessments should include accu- rate and up-to-date information about the number of children that need perma- nent placement with a new family, num- bers of children living in orphan- ages and other institutions, children living on the streets, and children in other imperma- nent forms of care. We also need data about children who suffer from abuse, ne- glect, or exploitation and who have been removed from their parents, either tem- porarily or permanently, to ensure their safety. An example of the findings of one such assessment, done in Ukraine, is present- ed below. Armed with accurate information, orphan care networks can begin recruiting and mobilizing advocates to de- sign nation- specific strategies to begin to address this problem.
- 8. WORLD WITHOUT ORPHANS 1514 Action Steps Once each country understands the scope of the Orphan Challenge in their nation, it can develop constructive strategies to address it. The following guiding principles will under- pin our work. ■■ Not all orphans need a new family. Many of them already live in families who can be strengthened to ensure permanence and safety for these children. We must support these families and the communi- ties that care for them. ■■ There is a spectrum of models of care for orphaned children: ▶▶ strengthening their own immediate and extended families; ▶▶ reuniting children in care with their own families; ▶▶ adoption; ▶▶ guardianship; ▶▶ foster care. We need to build all of these options con- currently, to produce a range of family care options for a nation’s children. We also need to encourage absent fathers and their ex- tended families as placement options for or- phaned children. ■■ Orphanages and child care institutions are the least effective and often the most detrimental forms of care for orphans. We understand the use of these facili- ties as emergency placement options for some children, but we should not consid- er them an adequate permanent place- ment for any child. ■■ If children have lost their own families and there is no hope of reuniting them, then adoption or guardianship should be the aim of our efforts. ■■ Careful and thoughtful planning should go into any nation’s program model on behalf of orphans. Prevention programs at all levels is critical. Following the Lord’s favor, we are deter- mined to creatively use all means possible to motivate the global Body of Christ to a place of faith and obedience where caring for or- phans and adoption will become so normal that many will think it’s synonymous with following Christ. How to get involved The World Without Orphans Facilitation Team, an international group of orphan care leaders, advocates, and experts, recogniz- es that we are in the initial steps of devel- oping a global movement for orphans. This is a huge task and no single organization, church, or even network would be able to do it on its own. It will require the input and service of many dedicated believers who are passionate to see children without families be placed in healthy homes. Together with our current national part- ner networks and alliances and national leaders from many other countries, we warm- ly welcome oth- ers to join this movement and would like to offer a variety of next steps for those who want to get involved. ▶▶ Receive updates about the development of a global orphan care movement; ▶▶ Get involved with WWO Facilitation Team; ▶▶ Help to initiative an orphan care move- ment in your nation or region. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR WOULD LIKE TO BE PART OF THIS MOVEMENT, PLEASE CONTACT US AT: info@worldwithoutorphans.org www.worldwithoutorphans.org Acknowledgment This paper is being developed with contributions from a number of great experts and I would like to specifically thank Anita Deyneka, Karmen Fri- esen, Judy Rycus, Steve Weber, Lori Drexler, Peter Billingham and Luis Bush for their insights, ideas, and any other support they provided in creating of this document. Ruslan Maliuta, International Facilitator, World Without Orphans Total number of children in Ukraine 8,000,000(17,8% of the country population) 1,500,000 children are being raised by a single parent 250,000 children experience abuse, brutal treatment and exploitation In addition to orphans, there are over 40,000 children living in institutions who do not have official orphan status Children who have the legal status of an orphan: 96,000Out of those children: 63,000 live with guardians are in foster care and family type orphanages 11,000 22,000 live in institutions/ orphanages for children up to 17,000 children become orphans Every year are available for adoption, 90% of them are either over 5 years old, have illnesses or disabilities or are part of a sibling group 27,000 12,000 orphans turn 18-year's old, the age of legal independence Every year 35,000have been adopted since Ukraine’s independence Lutsk Rivne Ternopil Khmelnitskyi Vinnytsia Kirovohrad Mykolaiv Odesa Zhytomyr Chernihiv Sumy Kharkiv Poltava Dnipropetrivsk Donetsk Luhansk Zaporizhia Kherson Simferopol Cherkasy Lviv Ivano-Frankivsk Chernivtsi Uzhgorod KyivBest areas in Ukraine (0.5% of children are orphans) Average areas in Ukraine (1.2% of children are orphans) Worst areas in Ukraine (1.9% of children are orphans) E-mail: bezsyrit@gmail.com www.ukrainabezsyrit.com Tel.: +380934940403 03055, Кyiv, P.b. 185, Ukraine Map of Orphanhood in Ukraine: a key to understanding the numbers The path towards a Ukraine without orphans consists of concrete daily actions direct- ed to help every child have the opportunity to be raised in a loving family. Join us in this movement, so that at least one life of an orphan would be changed for the better! LET’S OPEN OUR HEARTS AND HOMES TO THE CHILDREN WHO HAVE BEEN DEPRIVED OF PARENTAL LOVE AND CARE!
- 9. World Without Orphans National Christian Foundation 11625 Rainwater Drive, Suite 500 Alpharetta, GA 30009 717-461-2273 www.worldwithoutorphans.org info@worldwithoutorphans.org