Due in large part to the consequences of poverty, 150 million children around the world are considered orphans. Institutionalized care such as orphanages have been found to be anywhere from 20 times to 100 times more expensive than community-provided care. This community-provided care is available for some children who are taken in by extended family members, but these family members do not always have the resources to care properly for the children due the poverty rampant in their communities. This makes institutionalized care the usual and sometimes only option. In addition, children raised in orphanages are not likely to receive the individual care that children with families receive.
As the number of orphans has only increased with time, Bethany Christian Services Global has made it a priority to place children with foster families around the world. By partnering with organizations in vulnerable countries, Bethany Christian Services Global helped 100,761 children—including the potentially disenfranchised such as children with special needs— find loving and nurturing environments last year. Starting in 1944 for finding homes for U.S. orphans, the organization expanded their reach to up to 14 countries in 1980. They have even introduced the concept of adoption to countries where adoption was not originally considered an option due to their culture and traditions.
Bethany Christian Services Global advocates for the welfare of children in multiple ways by providing culturally-sensitive education and financial assistance to families willing to take care of an orphaned child in their community. They are one of the few (if not the only) U.S.-based adoption organizations that are allowed to bring together families internationally. From Albania to Uganda, the organization believes that a child can truly prosper when given a structured and loving family environment.
Not only is community-based care considered a better option fiscally and for a child’s welfare, Bethany Christian Services Global follows through by providing services for a family post-adoption, giving support to the families and adopted children for years to come. Every child deserves not just to have their basic needs met, but also a group of people who love and care for them. When a child is given this love and care, he or she can benefit them for a lifetime.
– Melissa Binns
Sources:Bethany Global, Better Care Network
Photo: Our Quiet Hope