Back in April, I shared in this post about ways you can learn more about the DRC and specifically how you can help the 5 million orphans there. I shared particularly about an organization called Mercy's Mission and how through them, you can do a monthly sponsorship for an orphan, providing food, clothing, housing, education, etc. I was doing some reading on their website and the founder's blog yesterday and saw an amazing financial statistic. In the DRC, it only costs $6/month to educate a child. That's cheaper than a McDonald's value meal!
I know that sometimes I see the vast needs of the poor all around me (I only have to walk around the corner to see a slum) and I feel overwhelmed at where to begin and how God would have me respond with generosity and yet with wisdom. I want the gifts that I give, to be effective in helping people and not just giving a hand-out. From what I've seen living in S. Asia and am reading about in various books on helping the poor, investing in someone's education is a true hand-up rather than a hand-out. Without an education, children born into poverty have no hope of escaping the cycle that has trapped their family for generations. And part of the trap of poverty is that the poorest people in this world, without financial help, can not obtain a real education. I see children daily, as young as two, standing alone and half naked in the middle of a busy intersection begging for change. Do those parents or guardians love their kids less than I love mine? I don't know how they feel about it, but I can't imagine they do that to their own children out of anything but necessity of survival. Not only can they not afford the fees and books/uniforms to send their kids to public school, but they can't afford to feed them without the whole family working together.
Now S. Asia has all sorts of complexities that factor into the majority living in poverty--like the Caste System of Hinduism. But DRC is one of the poorest countries in the world b/c of war, disease, political turmoil, genocide, and a bunch of other factors I'm forgetting. Unlike the democratic country I live in, which is progressing, DRC is light years behind the western world. They are "Third World" to a T. And the innocent ones suffering the most are the 5 million who have been orphaned by war, disease, and by loved ones trying to give their children a better future then they can provide.
So as we're seeking to adopt a child from DRC, my heart is still burdened for the rest who won't be adopted. What kind of future will they have? What hope do they have without their basic physical needs being met and without an education that provides opportunity? I'm challenged to do more and I know I can give up $6 a month to provide hope to a child. Can you?
To find out more, visit Mercy's Mission. You can even view photos of the precious children available for sponsorship or just make a one time donation.
I know that sometimes I see the vast needs of the poor all around me (I only have to walk around the corner to see a slum) and I feel overwhelmed at where to begin and how God would have me respond with generosity and yet with wisdom. I want the gifts that I give, to be effective in helping people and not just giving a hand-out. From what I've seen living in S. Asia and am reading about in various books on helping the poor, investing in someone's education is a true hand-up rather than a hand-out. Without an education, children born into poverty have no hope of escaping the cycle that has trapped their family for generations. And part of the trap of poverty is that the poorest people in this world, without financial help, can not obtain a real education. I see children daily, as young as two, standing alone and half naked in the middle of a busy intersection begging for change. Do those parents or guardians love their kids less than I love mine? I don't know how they feel about it, but I can't imagine they do that to their own children out of anything but necessity of survival. Not only can they not afford the fees and books/uniforms to send their kids to public school, but they can't afford to feed them without the whole family working together.
Now S. Asia has all sorts of complexities that factor into the majority living in poverty--like the Caste System of Hinduism. But DRC is one of the poorest countries in the world b/c of war, disease, political turmoil, genocide, and a bunch of other factors I'm forgetting. Unlike the democratic country I live in, which is progressing, DRC is light years behind the western world. They are "Third World" to a T. And the innocent ones suffering the most are the 5 million who have been orphaned by war, disease, and by loved ones trying to give their children a better future then they can provide.
So as we're seeking to adopt a child from DRC, my heart is still burdened for the rest who won't be adopted. What kind of future will they have? What hope do they have without their basic physical needs being met and without an education that provides opportunity? I'm challenged to do more and I know I can give up $6 a month to provide hope to a child. Can you?
To find out more, visit Mercy's Mission. You can even view photos of the precious children available for sponsorship or just make a one time donation.
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