Orphan Sunday set to address what can be done for the millions of children suffering loss
Contact: Don Otis, Veritas Communications, 719-275-7775, interviews@
WASHINGTON, Oct. 27, 2013 /Christian Newswire/ -- There are more orphans in the world today than at any other time in history. Ironically, controversy swirls around the global challenge of orphans on every continent. In parts of sub-Saharan Africa, AIDS and conflict has wiped out almost an entire generation of adults, and governments are hard-pressed to meet the growing demands of displaced children in staggering proportions in their nations. It is estimated that in Africa, over 10% of the population are orphaned children.
Jodi Jackson Tucker serves as International Director of Orphan Sunday
with the Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO), a coalition of 150
orphan-serving organizations. "Children who lack parents are the number
one target for human trafficking and every other exploitation and
suffering," explains Tucker. "But churches are stepping up for these
kids in powerful ways across the globe. Orphan Sunday calls more Christians to action."
Throughout
history, Christians have placed special focus on the plight of
orphans. That commitment is reawakening in a big way, from orphan care
ministries to international and indigenous adoption. Tucker and her
husband have adopted five children--one from the U.S. and four from
Uganda.
Worldwide,
it is estimated that millions of children have lost at least one
parent. Meanwhile here at home, more than 100,000 children in our
foster care system have been legally terminated from the hope of
reunification with their biological parents, and are now waiting to be
adopted.
Without
the protection of caring families, children face huge risk of sex
trafficking, famine, extreme poverty and other abuses. One study in
Eastern Europe found that children growing up in orphanages are ten
times more likely to fall prey to sex trafficking than others. Even in
the U.S., research suggests that 75 percent of children exploited
sexually for commercial purposes previously spent time in foster care.
These children age out of the foster care system and have nowhere to go.
Without a support network or family they become easy prey.
Christians are being called to change this crisis, and rescue the next generation. On November 3, 2013, thousands of churches around the world in over 50 nations will celebrate Orphan Sunday (www.orphansunday.org).
This celebration began eleven years ago in Zambia, and has spread to
churches globally that are seeking to respond to the orphan crisis.
Every event is unique and locally organized, from concerts and student
gatherings to sermons and sponsorship drives. These celebrations
highlight the needs of orphans and how ordinary people can make a
difference in the life of one.
Tucker
has seen firsthand both the need and the compelling ways families and
churches like hers are responding worldwide. "The big statistics are
overwhelming," says Tucker. "It just takes one caring adult to transform
the life of a child. One child at a time, we can change the course of
history."
To schedule an interview contact Don Otis at Veritas Communications at interviews@
