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When will Russia begin protecting Russia's orphans?

There's a new agreement between the U.S. and Russia about adoption of Russian orphans, but the real answer to reducing the number of Russian orphans is for more Russian families to bring children into their families.
Svetlana Smetanina writes about this problem on "Russia beyond the headlines".
She reports:  "The Russian government has said that the number of children in orphanages must be reduced; five years ago then-President Vladimir Putin published a decree on the subject.  But in reality nothing has changed."
Is the problem that there is not enough money to support foster families for Russian orphans?  Svetlana concludes that there is enough money, but regional governments do not support orphans going into families because of their concern for losing funds designated for orphanages and care of orphans.
Read Svetlana's article on Russia beyond the headlines.
Children enjoy Christmas celebration at a Russian orphanage.  Thanks, Big Family Mission!


Consider helping Russian orphans come into families.  To learn how, visit this page about the Russia with No Orphans project.

Orphans in India need sponsors

We seek sponsors for 85 children at the New Hope for Children orphanage in Bangalore, India.
Sponsoring a child at the New Hope orphanage provides the unique opportunity to correspond directly with your sponsored child.  Sponsors can send letters and packages directly to a child at the orphanage.  The children will also write to you directly, rather than through an organization.
 Most of the children either speak English or are learning English.  The $29 sponsorship fee covers the cost of food, clothing, shelter, education, and a loving family environment.
May we introduce one of the children at New Hope?
This is Swetha.  She is 8 years old, and her favorite color is red. She loves dancing and hopes to be a teacher. Her brother Ruben also lives at NHCH. Swetha's mother is a domestic worker. Her father abandoned her mother and got remarried. At present Swetha's mother can't take care of her children, so they came to live at New Hope for Children Home.
 To learn more about sponsoring a child at New Hope for Children Home in India, please visit this information page about child sponsorship in India.


Get involved: help a Russian orphan

Learn about Russian orphans and get involved.  Here's how:


Sponsor an entire orphanage in Russia

Instead of sponsoring just one child at an orphanage, why not help sponsor the entire orphanage?

With child sponsorship programs in Russia, some children invariably end up without sponsors, so why not help sponsor an entire orphanage?

Maybe pray and write to one child at the orphanage, but help minister to all of the children.

How many Russian orphans need families?  We are not certain, but we are sure that it is too many.

Get involved and help by sponsoring a Russian orphan!

Cambodian government moves to protect orphans and children at risk

The Cambodian government recently introduced guidelines aiming to better protect orphans and children at risk after childcare experts voiced alarm over an unregulated boom in orphanages.


The new standards emphasize that placing children in institutions should be "a last resort", after UNICEF said earlier this year that three quarters of the 12,000 children in Cambodia’s orphanages had at least one living parent.


"At all times, efforts should be made to keep children in families or community-based care, with residential care as a last resort and a temporary arrangement," the newly adopted Standards and Guidelines document states.

Cambodian Social Affairs Minister Ith Sam Heng said the guidelines, drafted with the help of UNICEF and other children’s rights groups, were "very important" in helping to keep families together.


"We hope that these standards will improve the situation of our at-risk children," he said.

Read more about these guidelines here.

Go here to learn more about adopting an older orphan from Latvia or Ukraine.

Read any good books about orphan adoption?

At the top of the list, recommended by Jedd Medefind on Christianity Today:  Adopted for Life.  Author Russell D. Moore points out the good news that through Jesus we have been adopted as sons and daughters into God's family.  And, since we are adopted by God, Christians ought to be at the forefront of the adoption of orphans in North America and around the world.
Russell D. Moore does not shy away from this call in Adopted for Life, a popular-level, practical manifesto for Christians to adopt children and to help equip other Christian families to do the same. He shows that adoption is not just about couples who want children— or who want more children. It is about an entire culture within the church, a culture that sees adoption as part of the Great Commission mandate and as a sign of the gospel itself.
Moore, who adopted two boys from Russia and has spoken widely on the subject, writes for couples considering adoption, families who have adopted children, and pastors who wish to encourage adoption.  There are millions of orphans in Russia who have little or no chance for adoption.  Pray for that situation to change!

Check out Christianity Today's top five books on adoption.

Thinking of adopting an older orphan?  Learn about opportunity to host a Latvian or Ukrainian orphan this Christmas... and perhaps adopt the child.
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