But How Can I Help? (Guest Post)

Not everybody can afford international adoption. Fact. Adopting from foster care, in most states, is free (or reimbursed upon finalization). Fact. Cost doesn't have to play into you giving a child a family. Fact.

BUT.

Not everybody can or should adopt. Fact. While I wholeheartedly mean this, I do believe that every single person out there can, in a small or large way, help a child who doesn't have the parents they're supposed to standing up for them and advocating for their future.

With that said, this post is hopefully going to open your eyes to a few ways you may be able to help those kids. Some require little time, effort, or money. Some require dedication, funding, and the fortitude to deal with all sorts of emotions. Pray on these and see where God is leading you (and don't be surprised if He calls you to something bigger or smaller than you're ready for). There is absolutely NO reason why YOU can't make a difference.

PRAY. 
Did you know that there's a 40 Days of Prayer for Orphan Care chain out there? Hundreds, if not thousands, of people daily are praying one of these prayers. And since we're told that God is there where two or three gather in His name (Matt 18:20) imagine how much more impact it is for hundreds to be gathering with the same prayer.

Simply praying for these kids is huge. You can pray for individual kids, for example if you know a family that is adopting and want to pray for their process or their child's well-being, or you can join the 40 Days prayer warriors by printing this and praying daily.

PETITION.
All over the world there are children who are stuck due to red tape and a few bad eggs ruining the whole batch. Guatemala, Nepal, and Cambodia are just a few examples. There are children in all these countries who have families waiting for them but can't bring them home. Some have waited for years. And we can join them to fight for their child's right to be home.

Right now, with everything going on in Crimea, there is a petition being signed to present to the White House. There are children over there RIGHT NOW who have families desperately wanting to bring them home and out of harm's way but cannot. The kids who don't have families waiting for them yet are directly in the line of fire and have no one standing up to protect them. Regardless of your politics and views of what's going on with Russia, it's safe to say that these kids didn't do anything to deserve this. You can sign this petition and help bring attention to the fact that these kids are the innocents in this battle and deserve to be rescued and given safety. It will take you all of two minutes but has the potential to save thousands of lives.

SPONSORSHIP.
Orphan care isn't just about helping those who are already without parents. It's also about preventing families from disintegrating. One of the largest, if not THE largest, reason why children are released for adoption is because their families are no longer able to afford to care for them. We can stop this cycle in its tracks so easily that most 1st world countries take advantage of it.

Education.

The simple act of a child being able to go to school can preserve families and change neighborhood economies for generations. You may be thinking, "How does the kid going to school help his parents afford to care for him?"

Let me tell you!

1) Most schools are capable of offering a meal to the children enrolled. For many kids, this is the only meal they'll get throughout the day. By having their kids go to school the parents don't have to worry about whether or not their children will have food to survive. This one meal a day can make a huge difference in whether these kids starve or live, stay with their family or go to an orphanage.

2) The education these kids receive can help them further help the family. Many cultures do not use birth control and continue having children until they hit menopause. Which means Sally could be 17 when Susy is born. If Sally has an education, legit job skills that can help her family afford what they need to survive with this new baby in the mix, than Sally is able to help keep Susy in her own family's arms instead of an institution.

3) Receiving an education breaks the cycle. Those who are educated are more likely to seek out education for their own children. Meaning that the parents, whose job skills are enough to help them earn higher wages, can now provide the money needed for their own children to not only stay in their family but may also be able to give them a better education, obtaining better job training that can provide the kids even higher wages. Within a few generations, this family may be able to get out of the vicious poverty cycle and no longer have to worry about whether they can stay together or not.

A great article about the effects of sponsoring a child to go to school can be found here. The organization that article talks about, Compassion International, is a great place to start if you want to consider sponsoring. You don't have to go in this alone either. If the monthly cost is too much you can partner with your parents, siblings, or prayer buddies to support a child (which, by the way, is a great way to deepen your own relationships as you're now both caring for someone in a deep way...it does things to you, trust me).

Sponsorship doesn't just happen on a student level though. Teachers many times need sponsors as well. Many teachers around the world are actually missionaries working in schools that the governments can't provide staff for. Sometimes these teachers come from abroad, sometimes they are local citizens who want to change their own neighborhood. Often, these are the only people standing between a child and an orphanage. In some countries, they're the only ones able to bring medical attention to an area. When clinics aren't around doctors often travel to schools in the village to dispense medicine. But if there are no teachers, there are no schools. No schools can sometimes mean no doctors. And let's not forget the important work that the teachers are doing to begin with! It doesn't matter where you are, grabbing the attention of 6, 18, 35, 50 children of any age is hard work!! You can sponsor a teacher here, and they even have different commitment levels so you can choose which best fits your giving budget.

USE YOUR TALENTS.
Jen Hatmaker just wrote an awesome blog post about using your gifts for God's kingdom (ahem, which is what I'm trying to do right now by writing this...thanks for the kick in the pants that I certainly needed, Jen!). This is so much easier to do than you think! Need some ideas? Well...

If you know how to sew you can easily whip up a few pillowcase dresses for organizations like Little Dresses for Africa. This is just one of many that will accept dresses, so you can hunt around if you want to find one sending to a country you feel more connected to (there is NOTHING wrong with having your heart in a certain place). These dresses are super simple to make and if you want to sweeten the deal you can get a craft party put together for you and your friends. My church makes dresses monthly, though I'm not sure for which organization, and there are local groups that can be found on sites like Meetup.com that do this sort of thing.

Want to broaden your horizons? Craft Hope changes the type of projects they do every few months. While not strictly crafting for orphans, they have done many projects (the original one being dresses for Africa) to send to orphanages around the world. Again, another good excuse for a craft night party.

Are you good with technology? There may be an orphan care ministry in your area that could use your tech savvy to design their logo, t-shirts, or blog. Some groups out there, like The Archibald Project, need photographers and videographers to help them capture precious moments and important events for families and orphanages. If you're a photographer or videographer but can't afford to go overseas at the moment, consider signing up to volunteer a free session for adoptive parents on Red Thread Sessions. You're helping celebrate the new life these kids have while also helping to tell their story, which could encourage others to jump on board to adopt (true story, I know half a dozen people who heard/saw someone else's story and decided to adopt themselves. LOVE IT!).

Do you like gift giving? Making it all cute, putting together just the perfect thing for someone? They could certainly use you at Project Night Night! These packages help homeless kids feel a little less scared when they come into shelters. Some states accept these packages for kids newly coming into foster care. Reach out to a shelter near you or your local department of child services to find out! Want some examples? This gal put together 9 Project Night Night bags for her local shelter. This crazy awesome girl decided she wanted to "wrap them in love" and provided blankets for kids. How cool is that?

THE BIG ONES.
I saved these for last because I know these are the things that most of you will hesitate on. But I would still heavily encourage you to consider them!

1) DONATE to a family who is adopting. This does NOT just refer to money. You can donate your time helping a family fundraise (do you know how boring it is to sit at a yard sale alone waiting for foot traffic? Soooo much better if friends are there with you!). You can give clothes or toys your own children have grown out of to a friend about to bring home a child that could enjoy them. You can get together with a few other people and make freezer meals so that the woman at church who's bringing home a toddler from Africa doesn't have to worry about dinner prep for a week or two while trying to bond (and get back on the right time zone!). Think: if this family was bringing home a newborn, what would they appreciate friends and family to do? What would they need? Now tailor it to the child's age and how long the family will be from home/how long they'll need to recuperate and odds are you can think of some way to bless them.

2) DONATE directly to an orphanage. This one is a little harder, but if you ask your adoptive friends I bet you they know who can use what. Some orphanages may have an Amazon wishlist (it doesn't hurt to ask if you're not sure) or something similar so you can order online and have it sent directly to them. Bonus points if you use a program like Swagbucks to earn gift cards to purchase the items! A lot of times parents traveling to pick up their child will ask ahead of time what the orphanage may be in need of so they can bring them over. For example, I know a gal who was looking for a certain type of formula and size of baby clothes. Friends got together, purchasing formula and giving clothes they no longer needed, and viola! Orphanage stocked for a few months! Again, not the easiest thing to figure out in the world, but by no means difficult to do. And the staff working there REALLY appreciate what they receive, as it makes caring for the kids easier and provides them with a better life while they wait to go home with their parents.

HOST a child for a few weeks. These kids are often older, school-age children who are still waiting to be adopted. They visit your home for 4-6 weeks and basically you just show them what it's like to be a kid, with a family, having fun. Honestly, this is an AMAZING way to serve in a more right here, right now, both feet jumping in way. You're allowing these kids some exposure to your community, which helps them learn how to live outside of their orphanage and helps your community learn of an amazing child looking for a family. You're helping them learn English, the language they're most likely going to need to learn should they get adopted. You're teaching them what love looks like, what healthy attachments look like, both of which prepares them when it comes time for them to have their own family. You choose the child (or children) you're going to host, meaning if you have teenage daughters you can avoid getting a teenage boy (admit it, that's a legit fear many parents have). You can choose whether they're European or Asian, their age, their gender, you will read biographies of them to make sure you're a good match for them. Mind you, you're responsible for their airfare and all costs of having them with you during their stay. BUT...think of how WORTH IT that is for that child. Instead of sending one of your kids to summer camp you can bring a kid to your home for their own version of summer camp (your kids will feel like it's camp anyway, since they'll have a new playmate to goof around with). This is much cheaper than adoption, much more intense than blindly giving to a cause where you don't know the names and faces.

You can check out New Horizons for Children for more information.

So there you have it. If you want to help kids you have a good amount of ways to do it and a list of excuses that's growing shorter by the hour. ANYONE can do at least one of these. I truly hope this opened your eyes, maybe tugged at your heart a bit, and has got you thinking about how you can start making a difference and leaving a mark in this life.

With ài,
Dani

Danielle and her husband, JT, are adopting a son from Taiwan. You can follow their journey on their blog,  loveinmandarin.blogspot.com/

Thank you Danielle for graciously allowing me to share this post.