Jedd Medefind, President of CAFO, urges, “We must always work to see children cared for in ways that are as close as possible to the ideal of permanent, loving family.”
We all agree that the best place for a child is in a home, with a loving family that can provide spiritually, physically, emotionally, and socially all that a child would need. While orphanages may have a time and place where they could be necessary such as transition homes, caring for children with intensive needs, or providing emergency assistance etc., they should not be permanent…they should not be the final answer.
For awhile, there seemed to be a blanket answer for the orphan care epidemic: put the child in an orphanage. But recently, we are seeing a movement stir and spread across the world as people are beginning to see that a child needs more than just food, shelter, and clothing. They need a sense of belonging; they need a place to call their own; they need a family that will always be there for them when they are grown and having kids of their own.[bctt tweet=”Children need more than just food, shelter, & clothing. They need a sense of belonging (via @AustinBibleInst)”]
We need to look for ways to strengthen biological and adoptive families, to strengthen the communities where these orphans are already living. We need to shift resources from treating symptoms to treating the root problem.
Watch this video from experts from around the world who are on the front lines of this new movement to change the way we view and handle orphan care. They dream of a world without orphans…a world where every child has a family.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8UpPh9mYxs
