Ukrainian Foster Family Shares Their Story EEO’s UK Director, Peter Wooding, was recently highlighted on the Christian Broadcasting Network. His video and interview with an EEO sponsored Foster Family (Gedz Family) gives you an unique look into the lives of Ukrainian couples who are making a difference by taking in orphaned and at-risk children with the help of faithful sponsors from all over the world.
Click here to read the...
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Mercy Projects |
New Report on Benefits of Adoption "The Family Research Council recently released a new report exploring outcomes and benefits of adoption. Most of the findings will not come as a major surprise to adoptive families. And, some of the chosen wording and emphasis found in the report may spur a bit of legitimate debate among advocates. But ultimately, this thoughtful paper provide further evidence that...
International Adoption Simplification Act Passed Read this update from America World Adoption about the newly passed Adoption Simplification Act:
"We are excited to share that the International Adoption Simplification Act has officially passed. This bill affects immunization and sibling age exemptions for children adopted by US citizens under the Hague process. For families adopting under the Hague process the current requirement for...
Christmas Party Ideas Want ideas for how to use your Christmas party to help orphans? Look no further!
http://www.viva.org/Our-Party/
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Viva Network |
Ukraine without Orphans Conference Update The Alliance for Ukraine witout Orphans held its first national conference in November 2010 and over 500 individuals (primarily Ukrainians) attended. For a conference summary and photos from one of our partners, go to:
http://dandjschooler.blogspot.com/2010/11/hope-for-orphans-ukraine-without.html
Helping Teens to Serve Orphans Are you a teen looking for ways to serve orphans?
Do you know a teen who'd like ideas on how to serve orphans?
If you fit either of these categories, then here are some great ideas that you could use to enable to teens around you to make a real difference in the lives of orphans: http://www.joshcousineau.com/orphan-sunday-and-teens/
Compassion for the Fatherless This article by Christian Alliance for Orphan's Jedd Medefind discuses the truths about God's heart for the orphan that are found in the book of Hosea:
http://www.christianallianceblog.org/?p=932
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Christian Alliance for Orphans |
Guidelines for Beginning a Street Children Ministry Recently Jeff Anderson, ACTION street children missionary in the Philippines, gave some guideline suggestions to a ministry in the Ukraine regarding beginning a ministry to street children. We thought these seven points might be applicable to share with others in ministry to street and underprivileged children...
Statistics about Women and Children
Statistics About Women and Children
Here is a link to startling statistics about the terrible situations that women and children face worldwide. These are arraigned by topic for your information, prayer concern and possible action for the Gospel and compassionate concern.
The Good News of Adoptive Sonship This article by Together for Adoption's Dan Cruver discusses God's adoption of the nation of Israel in the Old Testament, and examines the relevance that has for our lives and ministries today:
http://www.togetherforadoption.org/?p=9027
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Together for Adoption |
Lausanne Congress Update The Lausanne Congress took place in South Africa in October, 2010 and hosted over 4000 Christian leaders from around the globe. For a summary of some important lessons from the congress, click here:
http://chrisitianallianceblog.org/?p=900
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Christian Alliance for Orphans |
Justice and Evangelism This article by Dr. Russell Moore addresses what some view as the dichotemy between focusing on justice and social issues or focusing on evangelism:
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2010/10/20/asks-moore-justice-evangelism/
Ain't No Mountain High Enough This great article by Lisa Qualls shares the difficulties of adoption, as well as God's power to meet us in the middle of those difficulties: http://empoweredtoconnect.org/aint-no-mountain-high-enough/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+EmpoweredToConnect+(Empowered+To+Connect)
Adoptions in Ethiopia Rise, Bucking Global Trend In the past six years, Ethiopia has become one of the main countries open to international adoptions by Americans. As international adoptions have decreased around the globe, they have been on the rise in Ethiopia: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101012/ap_on_re_us/us_ethiopia_s_orphans
Adoption Season for Evangelicals This article from the Wall Street Journal discusses the recent rise of an orphan care (and adoption and foster care) movement among Evangelical Christians in the US:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703743504575494263102089970.html
Orphan Care: A Lifeline for Over 80% of Orphaned Children This article shares a couple of practical ways (other than adoption) that believers can care for orphans:
http://www.aaronklein.com/2010/09/orphan-care-a-lifeline-for-over-80-of-orphaned-children/
The U.S. Sex Trade Flourishes: How Adolescent Girls Become Slaves As many as 300,000 minors are being trafficked for sex in the United States each year, but what brings them to this ultimate fate? More than that, what keeps them from getting out? This article addresses both of these important questions:
http://mnnonline.org/article/14722
Small Churches and Adoption According to this article small churches often assume that due to limited resources, they have little to offer when it comes to tasks that seem as daunting as orphan care. But as Dan Cruver of Together for Adoption explains, this is an area in which all churches, regardless of size, can engage missionally:
http://www.edstetzer.com/2010/08/thursday-is-for-thinkers-dan-c.html
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Together for Adoption |
Tension, Mercy and Orphans In this article, Christian Alliance for Orphan's Jedd Medefind tackles head-on the deeply mistaken perception that churches must choose between orphan ministry and rock-solid commitment to discipleship and the Gospel:
ttp://chrisitianallianceblog.org/?p=859
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Christian Alliance for Orphans |
Is the Orphan My Neighbor? This article by Dr. Russell Moore discusses the call on believers to care for orphans: http://www.qideas.org/blog/is-the-orphan-my-neighbor.aspx
30,000 Orphans Sent Back to Russian Orphanages This article, by Christian Alliance for Orphan's Jedd Medefind, discusses the disturbing news of 30,000 orphans returned to orphanages by Russian adoptive and foster parents.
http://chrisitianallianceblog.org/?p=848
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Christian Alliance for Orphans |
US Foster Care Statistics The New York Times recently reported on a study following the fate of foster children in the US who have aged out of the foster system. The findings are quite sobering: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/07/us/07foster.html
For additional info on foster care statistics from Saddleback Church, click here:...
The Heroin Epidemic Advancing on Russia Since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001, opium production in Afghanistan has risen dramatically. Russia's geographic proximity to the region has made it a huge consumer- sending thousands of Russians to an early grave every year:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/8600847.stm
Twenty Ways to Become an Adoption-Friendly Church While Christians commonly praise adoption, most American churches do not have a single family that adopted a child during the past year. Churches can and should play a crucial role in encouraging members to "look after orphans in their distress" (James 1:27). Here are some specific ideas on how to become an adoption-friendly church:
http://www.worldmag.com/articles/16304
Sex Trafficking More Common for Michigan Teens Than Car Fatalities This article shares the sobering increase in sex trafficking of teens in Michigan:
http://humantrafficking.change.org/blog/view/sex_trafficking_more_common_for_michigan_teens_than_car_fatalities
Walking Humbly This article by adoptive mother Lisa Qualls offers helpdul advice for other adoptive families:
http://empoweredtoconnect.org/walking-humbly/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+EmpoweredToConnect+(Empowered+To+Connect)
International adoption: From a broken bond to an instant bond Mike Gerson, former chief speechwriter to President Bush, has a tremendous column on international adoption in the Washington Post. Mike has a reputation even among critics as not just a master communicator, but also both an incisive analyst of international issues and a devout Christian. During work-related travel in Zambia, we visited homes of AIDS victims together, and I saw...
International and National Adoption Grows in Ethiopia This article addresses the huge orphan care need in Ethiopia, as well as the rise in both international adoption and national adoption: http://mnnonline.org/article/14648
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Bethany Christian Services |
How to Talk to Teachers about Adoption "Children who have experienced less than optimal care in the beginning of their life (orphanage care, abusive and/or neglectful birth home, extended or multiple foster care
placements, etc) often have challenges (attachment issues, behavioral or learning issues, developmental delays, sensory integration needs, etc) that impact their school experience. And all adoptees (even those adopted at...
Convention on the Rights of the Child Adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by General Assembly resolution 44/25 of 20 November 1989
Entry into force 2 September 1990, in accordance with article 49
Preamble
The States Parties to the present Convention,
Considering that, in accordance with the principles proclaimed in the Charter of the United Nations, recognition of the inherent dignity and of the...
Answering Other Kids' Adoption Questions This article from parenting.com gives advice to parents on how to help your adopted child handle questions about adoption from other children:
http://www.parenting.com/article/Fertility/Development/Answering-Other-Kids-Adoption-Questions
A Skeptic's View on Child Sponsorship "Do you ever wonder what happens to that $35 you donate every month to a child sponsorship organization? Are you a little skeptical that the money you give is actually going to sponsoring a child instead of a mismanaged nonprofit? If that’s you, I’m with you. A couple years ago, I had convinced myself the money I was giving each month wasn’t actually reaching the child whose...
5 Steps to put Action to Compassion This article by Children's HopeChest's Tom Davis shares 5 practical steps for putting your compassion into action:
http://www.relevantmagazine.com/worldview/features/21521-whats-in-your
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Children's HopeChest |
Is Adoption the Answer? This article addresses adoption and it's strengths and limitations in solving the global orphan crisis. To read the article, click here: http://www.aaronklein.com/2010/08/is-adoption-the-answer/
Stopping sexual abuse of Russian kids This article addresses the recent rise in child abuse and child prostitution and pornography in Russia: http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/eo20070911cc.html
Whittling Compassion: Honing a "Concern" In this article, Christian Alliance for Orphan's Jedd Medefind addresses ways in which believers can take their general, overall compassion for the world and hone it into specific, focused action.
To read the full article, click here: http://www.cardus.ca/comment/article/2102/
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Christian Alliance for Orphans |
The Theology of Adoption Prior to implementing an orphan care strategy, it is important for us to reflect on why we care for orphans. Clearly Scripture calls us to do so, but our obediance is only part of the story. By God's grace and sovereignty, He has adopted us into His family, making it possible for us to engage and sustain orphan care initiatives. The following reflection on our spiritual adoption...
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Together for Adoption |
Global Orphans: The Numbers This great blog article by Christian Alliance for Orphan's Jedd Medefind helps make sense of often-varying global orphan statistics and how they relate to a biblical response:
http://chrisitianallianceblog.org/?p=790
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Christian Alliance for Orphans |
Adoption's Assurance This article by Together for Adoption's Dan Cruver discusses our adoption in Christ, and the impact it has when we truly grasp that we are God's sons and daughters. Click below to read the articles:
Part one: http://www.togetherforadoption.org/?p=78
Part two: http://www.togetherforadoption.org/?p=82
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Together for Adoption |
The Forgotten Part of James 1:27 This great article by Together for Adoption's Dan Cruver breaks down James 1:27 to provide fresh insights for those caring for orphans. Click the links below to read the article:
Part One: http://www.togetherforadoption.org/?p=1155
Part Two: http://www.togetherforadoption.org/?p=1472
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Together for Adoption |
The Quest to Reclaim Adoption This great article by Together for Adoption's Dan Cruver talks about the importance of understanding our vertical adoption (by God) before we think about horizontal adoption:
http://www.togetherforadoption.org/?p=8122
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Together for Adoption |
Churches Adopt Adoption This Christianity Today article shares about the growing trend in churches across the US to both get real about the challenges in adoption, as well as to provide support for families who have brought children home.
Click here to read the article: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/july/11.23.html?start=1
Preparing Kids in Your Home for Fostering Click below to read a helpful article/tip sheet about preparing kids in your home to foster:
http://www.wifostercareandadoption.org/library/1047/preparingyourkids.pdf
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Adoption Resources of Wisconsin |
Trafficking in Persons Report 2010 "The 10th annual Trafficking in Persons Report outlines the continuing challenges across the globe, including in the United States. The Report, for the first time, includes a ranking of the United States based on the same standards to which we hold other countries. The United States takes its first-ever ranking not as a reprieve but as a responsibility to strengthen global efforts against...
Making Orphan Ministry a Family Affair Click the link below to read a great blog post by Christian Alliance for Orphan's Jedd Medefind about how you can get your family involved in ministry to orphans:
http://chrisitianallianceblog.org/?p=718
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Christian Alliance for Orphans |
July Christianity Today Article Sounds the Call to Serve Orphans The July cover of Christianity Today should excite every orphan advocate-- on the cover, there is a picture of a small child with the title "Abba Changes Everything: Why Every Christian is Called to Rescue Orphans".
Click here to read more about the article: http://chrisitianallianceblog.org/?p=736
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Christian Alliance for Orphans |
The Freedom and Confidence of Our Adoption by God This article from Together for Adoption's Dan Cruver talks through an important aspect of the theology of adoption:
http://www.togetherforadoption.org/?p=7009
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Together for Adoption |
Surprised by Grief This article tells the true story of musician Steven Curtis Chapman and his family's journey through grief over the past two years since the death of their adopted daughter:
http://strang.imirus.com/Mpowered/imirus.jsp?volume=str10&issue=6&page=80
Compelling Washington Post Op-Ed on Orphans in Russia The following is an excerpt from a Christian Alliance for Orphans blog by Jedd Medefind:
"Following the controversy over the American woman who sent her adopted son back to Russia last month, the Washington Post ran a compelling op-ed on the plight of orphans in Russia (Adopted boy's return highlights problems in Russian orphanages.) The author, chief of pediatric cardiology at the...
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Christian Alliance for Orphans |
Do we really have time for theology when orphans need our help now? By Dan Cruver
Published Jun 10, 2010
Occasionally, when people hear about Together for Adoption’s emphasis and stress upon theology, they sincerely ask, “Do we really have time to study the theology of adoption when there is so much to be done for orphans now? Isn’t it enough that Scripture commands us to care for orphans? Shouldn’t we just do it?”
Read the rest of...
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Together for Adoption |
Crossing the Sahara This excellent article by the director of the Christian Alliance for Orphans, Jedd Medefind, addresses the hard question that so many of us have wrestled with: Given the struggle and sorrow that mark so many attempts at bringing justice and mercy, is there really any motivation that can keep us in this work for the long haul?
http://www.cardus.ca/comment/article/2031/
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Christian Alliance for Orphans |
US Foster Care Adoption: Facts & Myths Check out these fact sheets from National Adoption Day on Foster Care Adoption:
Debunking the Myths: The Facts about Foster Care Adoption
Foster Care Adoption: Facts and Figures
The Last Babylift: Adopting a Child in Haiti This article, which appeared in the New Yorker in early May, 2010 tells the true story of a family whose adoption of a Haitian girl through Holt International was processed in the aftermath of the January earthquake. While specifically a story about Haiti, this thought-provoking article contains many important themes about international adoption.
To read the full article, click here:...
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Holt International |
Updated Global Orphan Numbers -- 2010 Dr. Susan Hillis of the CDC is one of the world’s top researchers on the relationship between HIV/AIDS and a host of issues facing orphans. Recently, Dr. Hillis shared with us the just-released U.S. government assessment on orphans and vulnerability children, which was delivered to Congress in December, 2009.
The report delivers highly-important data and analysis of the global...
Understanding Post-Adoption Depression This helpful article in the New York Times discusses the topic of post-adoption depression, and how it can effect families. To read the article, click here: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/31/understanding-post-adoption-depression/?src=tptw
US Adoption in a 40% Decline "With 150 million orphans in the world, we should be seeing a dramatic increase in the number of orphans who are adopted every year in the United States. But sadly, the opposite is true. Adoptions have been decreasing every year since 2004.
A new article in the May edition of Christianity Today says this, "Since 2004, these and other restrictions have resulted in a 40 percent decline...
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Children's HopeChest |
Positive Parenting This articles strives to:
• Discuss the concept of “positive” parenting.
• Explain the developmental stages children experience to achieve self-confidence.
• Identify twelve common behavorial problems and offer a positive response to each.
• Provide an action plan of positive parenting strategies.
• List resources — including books and websites...
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Adoption Resources of Wisconsin |
Team Building – Family, School, Therapists and Healthcare Workers OBJECTIVES:
This article seeks to assist families involved in adoption and foster care to develop advocacy and team building skills by:
• Defining and identifying family management styles when a child has special medical, physical, or emotional needs.
• Identifying necessary elements of professional team involvement.
• Providing information for choosing therapists, counselors...
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Adoption Resources of Wisconsin |
Me, My Child and the Teachers: Teaming Up at School Many children, including adopted and foster children, have exceptional education needs. These children will also have emotional challenges and turmoil that can seem overwhelming in almost any household, where caretakers are often balancing the needs of other children, homework help, daily chores and extra-curricular involvement.
When parents or caretakers face raising and schooling children with...
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Adoption Resources of Wisconsin |
The Adopted Child Goes To School When the child enters school, it may be the first time he is confronted with adoption issues. He may realize for the first time that there are different ways of forming a family, and that he is different from other kids as he has joined his family through adoption. Questions of “real family”, “birth parent” and identity may confuse him, especially if there has not been an...
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Adoption Resources of Wisconsin |
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) involves a pattern of behaviors demonstrated by a person who has experienced extreme trauma. Although we usually think of PTSD affecting war veterans (also known as “shell shock”), PTSD can affect anyone who has lived through a terrifying, overwhelming trauma. As family therapist Valerie Jensen explains, “Trauma is the mental result of one...
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Adoption Resources of Wisconsin |
Parenting the Traumatized Child This article:
• Identifies behaviors in children who have been traumatized.
• Identifies behaviors that make parenting a challenge when traumatized children act out.
• Identify the stages of recovery from trauma.
• Develop positive strategies, including storytelling, for family interaction and growth.
To read the full article, click here:...
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Adoption Resources of Wisconsin |
Oppositional Defiant Disorder ODD is a persistent pattern of negative, hostile, disobedient and defiant behaviors in a child or adolescent that have not yet reached the point of seriously violating the basic rights of others. It is a disorder of childhood and adolescence that usually begins by age 8.
This article strives to:
• Review data and characteristics of ODD.
• Discuss ODD in relation to other...
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Adoption Resources of Wisconsin |
Childhood Depression, Dysthymia and Bipolar Illness This helpful article seeks to assist pre-adoptive and post-adoptive families involved in the adoption of children with developmental delays and disabilities by:
• Understanding the nature of depression in children.
• Differentiating between depression and dysthymia disorder (a lesser degree of similar symptoms).
• Understanding bi-polar illness ( also known as manic-depressive...
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Adoption Resources of Wisconsin |
Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) involves a persistent pattern of behavior which begins before age 7. Children with ADHD demonstrate difficulty in two major areas: attention and hyperactivity-impulsivity. They have short attention spans, are easily distracted and have difficulty focusing on, planning and completing routine tasks. They tend to be very active (hyperactivity) and to...
Attachment in Adopted Children
Attachment is the emotional connection that infants and children develop toward their parents and others who care for them. Attachment is often seen as an ongoing process. It is through attachment that children begin to develop a sense of who they are and what their place in the world will be. Mary Nervig, a counselor at Adoption Therapy Associates, adds that attachment “is the basis for...
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Adoption Resources of Wisconsin |
The Adoption Process and Children with Medical Needs This article helps pre-adoptive and post-adoptive families involved in the adoption of children with significant medical needs. It strives to:
• Introduce an empowerment model to help families manage all aspects of care.
• Help families determine what level of care they can handle.
• Encourage families to identify their strengths.
• Identify resources and form...
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Adoption Resources of Wisconsin |
The Adoption Process & Children With Cognitive Needs This article strives to assist pre-adoptive and post-adoptive families involved in the adoption of children with developmental delays and disabilities by:
• Helping them to determine what level of need they can handle.
• Encouraging families to identify family and individual strengths.
• Identifying resources and forming links to them.
• Facilitating family...
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Adoption Resources of Wisconsin |
Acquired Substance Abuse Disorders This article strives to:
• Discuss the nature and scope of children affected by maternal substance abuse.
• Provide data on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) in comparison to Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE).
• Present the often complex nature of cocaine abuse and its effect on children who were exposed to cocaine in utero.
• Consider frequently asked questions regarding maternal...
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Adoption Resources of Wisconsin |
Abuse and Neglect in Children Children who have been victims of neglect usually have unmet dependency needs such as inadequate or sporadic attention and physical care. These children may have gone without basic necessities such as food and shelter, or they may have received minimal amounts of food, attention and shelter. At early ages, many of these children suffer from “failure to thrive.” They may have low weight...
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Adoption Resources of Wisconsin |
Adoption Issues In Late Adolescence And Young Adulthood This article straives to assist families involved in adoption to deal with issues of late adolescence and young adulthood by:
• Identifying the psychosocial tasks necessary to development.
• Identifying barriers to healthy development of these tasks.
• Facilitating family involvement to develop independence, self-esteem and identity.
• Providing families with information...
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Adoption Resources of Wisconsin |
Child Development Personality development occurs in a neurologically programmed sequence. Given a reasonably responsive environment, a child will develop the capacity to love and trust, express emotions, use symbols, think logically, develop self-control and a conscience, all occurring in that predictable sequence.
An abusive or neglectful environment can greatly effect a child's developmental process. This...
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Adoption Resources of Wisconsin |
The Adoption Process and Children with Life-Threatening Ilnesses Children with life-threatening illnesses bring complex psychological, physical and medical challenges to families. These children might suffer from cancer, heart disease, HIV or AIDS, or a myriad of congenital degenerative conditions. They need families who can deal with the psychological aspects of death and dying while acting as medical advocates to make decisions on care and treatment that...
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Adoption Resources of Wisconsin |
Difficulty with Bonding—Developing Family Bonds through Adoption While adoptive families often develop strong ties and secure attachments, members of the adoption triad come to the adoption experience through loss. These issues remain in family relationships even when children are adopted at birth. Whether the adoption was an open adoption, a closed adoption, or multi-cultural or international adoption, issues surrounding this loss can be significant.
This...
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Adoption Resources of Wisconsin |
How Adoption and Foster Care Affect the Family System Just as in birth families, adoptive and foster families usually consist of a parent or parents, sometimes a sibling, and other times many siblings. If grandparents live nearby or are involved in the family, they may become an integral part of the acceptance process. The more involved grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins are with the children, the more impact their response to adoption or foster...
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Adoption Resources of Wisconsin |
The Safety Net: Building Support Before You Need It Families who are considering adoption of children with special needs need to be aware of the intensively demanding challenges they may encounter. Coping strategies and safety nets need
to be established by caregivers before the children enter the new family. They need to feel that they can handle the demands, yet they need to know when to ask for help. Having “safety nets” in place...
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Adoption Resources of Wisconsin |
Single Parent Adoption Resource This article on single parent adoptions exists to assist single parents to:
• Learn more about single parent adoption.
• Learn techniques and skills related to the adoption process.
• Understand the challenges of being a single parent.
• Become an advocate for single parent adoptions.
• By providing them with a framework to acknowledge the impact on the entire
family...
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Adoption Resources of Wisconsin |
At Front Lines, AIDS War Is Falling Apart This New York Times article shares the sobering news about the decline in the global fight against AIDS. Due to the economic crisis, donors that were once giving to support AIDS meds in third world countries are no longer giving, or if they're giving, they're giving significantly less. This means that individuals with AIDS around the world are not getting the meds they need to fight...
Updated Orphan Care Resources and Events in Russian With many recent additions to our Russian directory of orphan care resources and events, we now have a great database full of key books, videos, articles, conferences, etc. We encourage you to send these links to your Russian partners as well:
Upcoming Events
http://risknetwork.ru/events/#doctitle
Adoption/Foster Care...
Russian Orphanage Offers Love, but Not Families This article from the New York Times brings a lot of clarity to the complexity of the modern Russian orphanage system and the need children have for families:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/04/world/europe/04adopt.html
Update on International Adoption Situation in Russia US adoptions from Russia have not yet been banned, but Russia is seeking additional protections in the adoption process, and meetings with the US will continue on May 12. The following articles are helpful for more detailed information:
May 5 - Official Says US Adoptions Have Not Been Halted
April 30 - Russia Wants Right to Prosecute Parents Who Abuse Adopted Russian Kids
Dangerous Adoption This article by Paul and Robin Pennington shares both warnings and encouragement for potential adoptive parents:
"By now you no doubt have heard about the Russian 8-year-old adoptee sent by his American adoptive mom….alone…back to Russia with a note. The repercussions of this decision on hundreds of Russian children waiting for families are devastating to be sure. What many...
Embracing the Grief of Adoption This article by Michael Monroe shares both the joy and the grief of adoption:
"I was reminded last night of something I already knew, though I often try to forget it. It is one of the more sobering realities of adoption – the fact that there is no adoption without loss and pain . . . and grief.
As an adoptive dad, like all adoptive parents, my tendency is to focus on the miracle,...
Kay Warren Questions Christianity of Persons who Neglect Orphans Kay Warren had some strong words at the Catalyst West conference for those not involved in orphan care:
"Don't call yourself a believer if you're not caring for orphans, said Kay Warren.
"If we are doing little to nothing, how dare we, how dare we claim to be followers of Jesus Christ," she said Friday. "Followers of Jesus Christ care about widows and orphans and...
Adoption law Change Aids Foster Parents Great article from the Washington Post shares new hope for US foster families:
"The D.C. Council passed emergency legislation on Tuesday intended to make it easier for foster families to provide permanent homes for children, especially older ones, who often languish in the child welfare system.
For years, some foster parents who wanted to adopt or to become legal guardians have opted not to...
Ten Questions to Consider As You Explore Adoption These questions from Tapestry adoption ministry are designed to help people who are exploring adoption think through some important considerations and ideas relating to the adoption decision process. Please keep in mind that there are no right or wrong answers to these questions.
After you have thought through your answers you are encouraged to discuss these questions and your thoughts with your...
Adapting Life Rhythms for Compassionate Justice This convicting article by Charles Lee discusses difficult issues in our society today, and gives practical advice on how to address them in our own lives:
"Words like "compassion" and "justice" are becoming commonplace in our cultural landscape. Whether you're an individual, organization, school or business, embedding this kind of language has proven to be beneficial for...
Adoption Flap Not Expected to Last Long This is a great article from the Moscow Times which gives an update on the current adoption scandal in Russia:
"A U.S. government delegation will arrive in Moscow next week to discuss rules for American parents who want to adopt Russian children, setting the stage for a resolution of a years-long irritant in U.S.-Russian relations.
Adoptions, a hot-button issue after several Russian...
Resources from the National Foundation for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children The National Foundation for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NFPCC) unites the leading Russian specialists with experience working with children at risk of being abandoned and families in crisis since the late 1980s. The NFPCC was born out of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, which began working in the child welfare field in 1996.
This website has many helpful...
United Nations Global Report on Human Trafficking Click the link below to read the UN's very informative 2009 report on global trafficking. This is a report that anyone who works against trafficking should read:
http://www.unodc.org/documents/human-trafficking/Executive_summary_english.pdf
Ukraine Makes Progress in Placing Children in Homes This article shares about Ukraine's successful push for national adoption and fostercare. Learn more about the progress being made in this Eastern European country:
http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/51172
Haiti's Orphan Crisis Follow the link below to read two articles from Together for Adoption about Haiti's Orphan Crisis. Though these articles are geared towards Haiti, they have themes that are applicable to orphancare around the world.
http://www.togetherforadoption.org/?p=5761
International Adoption: The Human Rights Position Great paper on UNICEF & International Adoption from Dr. Elizabeth Bartholet, Harvard Law Professor. Read her abstract here, or click the link below to read her entire paper.
"Abstract
International adoption is under siege, with the number of children placed dropping each of the last several years, and many countries imposing severe new restrictions. Key forces mounting the attack...
40 Day Prayer Guide for Orphan Care Check out this GREAT 40 day prayer guide for orphan care. Will you commit to praying with us for the next 40 days?
Click here to download the prayer guide: http://www.pearpod.com/oc/downloads/40DaysofPrayer.pdf
Basic Orphan Statistics for Russia
According to data from the Health and Social Development Ministry, more than 730,000 children in Russia either have no parents or have been abandoned by their parents. Of this number about 200,000 of them live in orphanages and internats.
In 2007, 123,000 new orphans were registered by the state with 120,000 of them being placed with extended family members, adopted or placed in...
Ten Ways Every Christian Can Care for Orphans Rate:
(1)
143 million orphans and waiting children. Yes, it's a BIG number. And it can be difficult to know how one person can make a dent in a reality so daunting. However, one Christian -- every Christian -- can make a difference. There are many things believers can do on behalf of the orphan and waiting child. This full color brochure from FamilyLife's Hope for Orphans...
A Helper to the Fatherless: Orphan Summit Tackles Orphans and Adoption Issue Even on paper the statistics look appalling-- 103,000 orphans in Ukraine, 1,200 babies are abandoned at birth and left in maternity homes and 6,000-6,500 parental rights cases make their way to court each year.
Between the ages of 16-18, orphans in Ukraine graduate from state-run orphanages. Lacking the ability to find employment or to keep a job, these teenagers often live on the...
Russia's Growing HIV Epidemic The HIV epidemic in Russia is increasing more rapidly than in any other country in Europe. Read this article to learn the history of HIV in Russia, as well as the explanation for it's rapid growth.
"The terms HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) and AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome), typically first call to mind Africa. But increasingly the public is coming to realize that HIV...
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Mission Specialties, Inc. (MSi) |
AIDS Experts Say Russia Needs New HIV Strategy By DOUGLAS BIRCH (AP)
MOSCOW — AIDS experts urged Russian officials on Wednesday to scrap their abstinence-based strategy for curbing the spread of HIV, saying the country's fast-growing epidemic could be entering a dangerous new phase.
AIDS specialists meeting here urged Russia to adopt successful strategies such as needle exchange programs and heroin substitutes such as methadone for...
Aggressive-Defiant Child: a tutorial for Teachers and Foster Parents Do parents, or teachers always like their child’s behaviour? Few kids are the model of perfection ( I haven’t met any yet, but there may be one or two!) and kids do things that disappoint or displease us. Sometimes they can behave in ways that really annoy us; the angry, defiant child is a good example. How do you change an angry, aggressive child into a cooperative child?
Firstly,...
Child Abuse in Russia Thousands of Russian children die each year at the hands of their own parents
April 9, 2009
In January 2009 under a bridge outside of Moscow, the body of three-year-old Daniel Boiko was found. The boy was first starved, and then thrown alive into the river with a car battery tied to his neck. The child was killed by his foster parents. These same parents were accused of the...
Eastern European Summit for Children at Risk challenges Christians to step out of their comfort zones -- ANS News Story Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Eastern European Summit for Children at Risk challenges Christians to step out of their comfort zones
By Peter Wooding
Special to ASSIST News Service
DONETSK, UKRAINE (ANS) -- With 160 delegates gathered for the Eastern European Summit on Orphans and the Church March 17-19, Mikhail Kozitsky an NGO of Christian Foster Families in St Petersburg, Russia...
Recommended Mission News Subscriptions Want to keep up with what's going on in world missions? Here are ten of the top mission news sources that are recommended by Missions Catalyst:
Missions Catalyst News Briefs - The news digest from Missions Catalyst; focused on missions-related stories. Stories are all previously published material from a variety of sources. Comes out twice a month. Web and email, no RSS...
In a Fairy-Tale Village, Russian Orphans Thrive Kitezh is an experimental orphan community about 190 miles southwest of Moscow that combines features of an orphanage with those of foster care. With its colorful wooden cottages, Kitezh appears as distant from the cruelty of the children’s frequently alcoholic and abusive parents as it is from the stale, often crowded government institutions where many Russian orphans still live.
Read the...
Centre for Children with Disabilities Opens in St Petersburg Families are benefiting from a new service in St Petersburg which is providing care for children with disabilities for up to three hours a day. The Day Care Centre which has just opened its doors in St Petersburg provides a safe and welcoming place for children, and allows parents to take care of daily chores with the knowledge that their child is being well looked after.
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: EveryChild |
Ways the Faith Community Can Begin to Address HIV/AIDS The Children's AIDS Fund (CAF) believes there are two main areas of involvement for the faith community in the HIV/AIDS epidemic: education and outreach. Education programs can provide needed information, which will both help prevent the spread of HIV disease and foster an understanding of the epidemic and its effects, which will lay the groundwork for compassionate outreach.
USAID Project Profiles: Children Affected by HIV/AIDS No generation is spared the catastrophic consequences of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. From newborn babies of HIV-positive mothers to elderly caregivers, the disease does not discriminate. One of the most tragic consequences is the toll on children. In 2003, more than 15 million children under age 18 had lost one or both parents to AIDS. Along with grief and abandonment, children in affected...
Russia: Mothers With HIV and Their Children Face Stigma and Discrimination As Russia's HIV/AIDS epidemic spreads, thousands of HIV-positive mothers and their children face pervasive discrimination and abuse, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.
"Russian law protects all HIV-positive people from discrimination, but the government has turned a blind eye to the very real discrimination these women and their children face. The stigma of HIV/AIDS is with...
Life Doesn’t Wait: Romania’s Failure to Protect and Support Children and Youth Living with HIV "More than 7,200 Romanian children and youth between age fifteen and nineteen are living with HIV—the largest such group in any European country. They are Romania’s miracle children, the survivors among the more than 10,000 children infected with HIV between 1986 and 1991 in hospitals and orphanages as a direct result of government policies that resulted in large numbers of...
HIV/AIDS A Church-Sized Problem HIV/AIDS A Church-Sized Problem Tom Correll Wooddale Church, Eden Prairie, MN Author’s Note: HIV/AIDS is an issue of great complexity. For example, you cannot separate AIDS from poverty. Should emphasis be put on prevention or care? How should scarce resources be allocated? Preventing mother to child transmission seems obvious, but the reality is that the child will become an orphan and the...
UNICEF's "Fighting HIV/AIDS: Strategies for Success 2002-2005 " Fighting HIV/AIDS: Strategies for Sucess 2002-2005As HIV/AIDS spreads through nations, it disproportionately affects the world's most vulnerable: women, adolescents and children. Those affected are routinely denied their rights to education, economic opportunity and health care, and to protection from exploitation and harm.
This publication looks at the global development challenge posed by...
Up to 1 Million Russians May Be HIV-Positive UP TO 1 MILLION RUSSIANS MAY BE HIV-POSITIVE Between 600,000 and 1 million residents of the Russian Federation are infected with HIV, according to Vadim Pokrovskii, head of the Federal AIDS Center. Speaking to the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly's subcommittee on health, which held a session in Moscow on 23 September, Pokrovskii said more than 330,000 cases of HIV have been registered,...
UNAIDS 2006 Global AIDS Report The 2006 Report on the global AIDS epidemic contains the most comprehensive set of data on the country response to the AIDS epidemic ever compiled. Not only did 126 countries submit full reports, but, for the first time, civil society was actively engaged in the collection, review and analysis of these country data. In addition, UNAIDS received more than 30 separate reports from civil society,...
Russia Battles to Protect Children from HIV/AIDS "Government clinics and orphanages do their best, providing treatment and a caring environment but the one thing the toddlers really need - which government institutions can't provide - is a loving family."Please read the entire article here.
President Bush's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief PEPFAR is an HIV/AIDS plan that focuses on 15 countries with the highest HIV/AIDS rates. Please see the link below on more information for PEPFAR's work with orphans and children at risk.
"The Emergency Plan expects to support treatment for 2 million HIV-infected people, prevent seven million new infections, and support care for 10 million individuals, including orphans,...
Limited Knowledge of HIV Risk And Prevention In Armenia A joint study by the National Centre for AIDS Prevention, UNICEF and UNAIDS indicates that adolescents and young people aged 10-24 from vulnerable and higher risk groups in Armenia have insufficient levels of knowledge to protect themselves against the spread of HIV infection, according to a study launched today.
To read this article click here.
HIV/AIDS, Law and Human Rights: A Handbook For Russian Legislators HIV/AIDS, LAW AND HUMAN RIGHTS: A HANDBOOK FOR RUSSIAN LEGISLATORS -developed and published collaboratively by TPAA and UNAIDS in the Russian Federation, Moscow 2005This edition of the Handbook, which is based on Handbook for Legislators on HIV/AIDS, Law and Human Rights (1999) published by Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and Inter-Parliamentary Union, has become the...
AIDS: Christian Action and Compassion How should Christians respond to AIDS?
Dr. Patrick Dixon, founder of ACET, shares in this article how Christians should respond to the AIDS crisis. As he states, "So often as Christians reacting to AIDS we do nothing or find ourselves rushing to open our Bibles, to declare to ourselves and to others that something is wrong. Yet in our sudden response we can loose sight of God's mercy,...
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: ACET Russia |
Abandoned Children Born to HIV-positive Women: Analysis of the Situation in Russia "Abandoned Children Born to HIV-positive Women: Analysis of the Situation in Russia" aims to provide Russian political leaders, as well as all concerned, with information on issues related to HIV transmission from mother to child and abandonment of children born by HIV infected women. The Report discusses reasons for such abandonment and formulates suggestions related to the...
A Survey of Russian Doctors on HIV/AIDS Synopsis: Russian doctors are on the front line of the struggle against HIV/AIDS in their country, where the epidemic has surged in recent years. As those responsible for diagnosing, treating, and counseling patients with HIV and AIDS, they have unique insight into the trajectory of the epidemic, the adequacy of current government policies designed to fight HIV/AIDS, unmet needs, and priorities....
Taking Aim at HIV/AIDS Conference Summary The Taking Aim at HIV/AIDS--Conference challenges Christians to confront the HIV/AIDS crisis. On November 15-17, 2006, Tearfund (UK) and Peter Deyneka Russian Ministries (US) hosted the "HIV & AIDS Forum of Good Practice and Networking." This forum took place at the Second Baptist Church in Moscow, Russia, and attracted 153 participants from 15 countries, representing 92...
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Peter Deyneka Russian Ministries/Association for Spiritual Renewal |
Buckner Foster Parent Takes National Award in Latvia "Biruta Stepina earned the award by opening her home to deaf-mute Latvian children. She is the only foster parent in the country who knows sign language. According to Buckner, the children under her foster care are Dima, Ivo and Inga. All of them are between 7 and 8 years old, and two are deaf-mute. (Biruta has become Dima's guardian.) "Please read this article in its entirety here.
Running a Hotel in Montenegro : Real Jobs for Young People "...There are five youth care institutions, often dealing with mildly or severely disabled youngsters. Bijela boasts one large children’s home, Dom ‘Mladost’, with a whopping 170 children that we would call “normally abled children” between the ages of 0 and 18 years old. ....The main worry is that virtually all these children will have to remain in the...
Aid at the Beginning and End of Life: Russia's Baptist Medical Personnel Have High Hopes M o s c o w – Abortion was the prominent form of contraception in the former Soviet Union. One therefore finds older women in Russia who have had as many as 20 abortions. Russian Baptists want to do something about this on a number of levels, for the issue involves more than simply convincing a pregnant woman that she should give birth to her child. Their programme combating abortion is...
HIV Seroprevalence in Street Youth, St. Petersburg, Russia Reliable data on HIV infection among Russian street youth are unavailable. This study assessed HIV seroprevalence among street youth in St. Petersburg and described social, sexual and behavioral characteristics associated with HIV infection.
Please see the report in its entirety here.
Children: The Missing Face of AIDS in Russia UNICEF CEE/CIS
Moscow, 14 November 2005 – Every day more than 100 new HIV infections are registered in the Russian Federation, with children and young people affected as never before. “The epidemic in Russia has a young face and is fuelled by stigma and discrimination,” said Maria Calivis, UNICEF Regional Director for Central and Eastern Europe and Commonwealth of Independent...
Orphanages Stunt Growth, Families are Better The following is an excerpt from an article written by St. Louis (Reuters) By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent."Children raised in orphanages are stunted physically, emotionally and intellectually but good foster care can help orphans start to grow again, researchers said on Friday. An experiment in which foster homes were set up in Romania showed that children taken out of the...
Russia: Drug Addiction Treatment Requires Reform (Moscow, November 8, 2007) – Russian health policies are failing to adequately treat drug addiction, compounding the country’s serious illicit drug use and drug dependence problem and further putting drug users at increased risk for other serious diseases, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. ...Please read this entire article in English or Russian.
More Children than Ever Affected by HIV/AIDS A three-day conference on HIV/AIDS in Eastern Europe and Central Asia was held in Moscow in May 2006. Among the topics discussed were the rising numbers of children orphaned or abandoned because of the diseases. This article by Claire Bigg with RFE/RL reports from Russia's only clinic for abandoned children living with HIV, near the city of St Petersburg.Please read the article here.
The Cold War Is Over, but the War Against HIV Has Yet to Begin "In 2005, Russia unveiled a plan that would provide prevention services to at least 80 percent of those populations deemed high risk by 2010.Yet, as of 2007, prevention services are falling short of what was promised. International health consultant Cesar Chelala has assessed the prevention services in Russia and has concluded that they are "non-existent". He did note that a program...
Russia's Abandoned HIV Children This article by Emma Simpson of BBC News Moscow addresses the high rate of child abandonment by HIV positive mothers and the discrimination endured by these children.Please read this article here.
Russia Losing Battle Against HIV/AIDS
Russia has recorded 402,000 HIV/AIDS cases, but more accurate estimates place the number between 1.2 million and 1.3 million.
Approximately 17,000 people out of the 402,000 recorded cases have died from AIDS-related causes.
The number of new cases reported in the first quarter of 2007 increased by 8% to 10% compared with the same period last year....
Orphanage Graduates Mentor Younger Orphans The Friends of Russian Orphans, a non-profit organization in Yaroslavl, Russia, has encouraged orphan graduates who have successfully participated in their Post-Orphanage Support Program to form the Graduates' Council. The members of the Graduates' Council serve as role models and invest in the lives of those still in the orphanage through various activities.
To view this...
Abandonment Prevention Programs During the past five years, successful programs to prevent the abandonment of newborns in birthing centers have sprung up in several regions of Russia, including Sverdlovsk region (“Aistenok”), St. Petersburg (“From Despair to Hope”), Khabarovsk (programs in City Hospital #11 and Children’s Hospital #9), and Gatchina (organized by “Warm Home” and other...
Modernizing Child Welfare in Russia with Early Intervention With funding from the United States Agency for International Development, Firefly developed a three-year intensive training that combines research, coursework and supervision to instill modern practices within the Russian professional community. At the same time, government officials receive briefings so they will align government funding and regulations to support newly trained providers.To read...
Abandoned to the State 1998 - It is seven years since the declining Soviet Union released the last of its most renowned political dissidents, and closed a chapter of notorious human rights abuse in psychiatric hospitals and GULAG prisons. Yet today, in another archipelago of grim state institutions, the authorities of the Russian Federation are violating the fundamental rights of tens of thousands of innocent citizens:...
Foster Care in the U.S. and Russia, the Same but Different A brief, general explanation of foster care as it is in the U.S. and in Russia.Read the article here.
Changing Russia's Approach to Orphans This RIA Novosti article makes the point that the state's efforts alone are not enough to help orphans transition successfully into life after the orphanage and that the public needs to help. Unfortunately, the article also points out that there is a sense of apathy among most Russians towards orphans.See the entire article here.
Moldovan Children Struggle to Cope with their Parents' Economic Migration As parents leave their children in the care of relatives or neighbors, the children struggle to adapt to life without their parents. "The ones who suffer most, with or without money, are the children,” says UNICEF Project Officer for Child Rights Radu Danii. “Though many of them have better toys and clothes because their parents are working abroad, consumer goods cannot...
Get Well or Else- Forced Drug Treatment "The bill would allow Russia's schools to send pupils under the age of 16 to treatment centers without their consent through a special judicial procedure involving a trial. Parents’ consent would be required, but the fate of orphans and children whose parents are absent for long periods or seriously ill would be left to school administrators."Read the full article by Galina...
The Moldovan Orthodox Church Gets Actively Involved in UNICEF Social Campaigns “We want these resources to help the Church accomplish the important mission it has in each community: the one of supporting families in need, helping and protecting children at risk, and promoting the family as the best environment to bring up and educate children,” - UNICEF Representative Ray Virgilio Torres
Uzbekistan: Childhood Under Threat This UNICEF article highlights several issues that threaten the well-being of children in Uzbekistan and makes suggestions on ways to protect them.
The Ministry of Justice has Proposed Restricting Missionary Outreach Four proposed amendments may pose the most serious threat to missionary outreach since the creation of the 1997 Religion Law.This article by A. Verkhovsky for Sova details the four amendments and the possible implications if they are passed.
Russia: A Change to Religion Law? "In what seems the most serious proposal in recent years to tighten up Russia's 1997 religion law, parliament's religion committee has begun to consider four draft amendments, Forum 18 News Service has learnt. These would make it impossible for unregistered religious organisations to hold large-scale religious meetings and allow only centralised religious organisations to invite foreigners...
Russia: Sharing Faith in Public - a Fundamental Right "Recently, local officials have given Forum 18 News Service contrasting reactions to public preaching. This appears to indicate growing disagreement over whether or not the "free dissemination of religious convictions" - as upheld by the 1993 Russian Constitution - is a right subject to state permission."See here to read this Forum 18 News article in its entirety.
Romania's Segregation and Abuse of Infants and Children with Disabilities This report is the result of an 18 month investigation by Mental Disability Rights International (MDRI) into the human rights abuses of children with disabilities in Romania. This report documents a broad range of atrocious conditions for children with disabilities inside Romania’s institutions. While Romania has reduced its orphanage population and created foster care placements for many...
Romania's Blighted Street Children This BBC article discusses the growing problem of street children in Romania and the increasing dangers they face.
Project Hope: Aiding Disabled Children in Russia This article describes in part the situation for physically disabled orphans and illustrates how one group made a difference. Project Hope is an initiative of International Guardian Angels Outreach.
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: International Guardian Angels Outreach |
Ending Child Abandonment in Romania This article highlights the joint effort of UNICEF and local child protection agencies in Romania to break strong cultural and rooted patterns that encourage child abandonment.
Breaking the Cycle of Child Abandonment in Tbilisi, Georgia This UNICEF article highlights the success of Mother and Infant Shelters in helping mothers in need keep their children. The shelters are funded by UNICEF in partnership with World Vision and help keep families intact.
300,000 Children in Serbia Live in Poverty and Exclusion This UNICEF article highlights the findings of The State of Children in Serbia 2006. The report finds that over 155,000 children in Serbia are poor and that an additional 155,000 are at risk of falling below the poverty line. It additionally points out the extreme exclusion of Roma children, children deprived of parental care in residential institutions, children living with...
European Baptist Federation Forms Workgroup to Fight Human Trafficking The European Baptist Federation has formed a workgroup to combat human trafficking. The EBF believes no other group is better prepared to assist the victims of human trafficking than the Church. Find out why here.
Human Trafficking Epidemic in Bulgaria and Romania This article from The Sofia Echo highlights the problems of human and drug trafficking in Bulgaria and Romania.
2006 US State Department Report of Trafficking In 2006, the US State Department published a report on human trafficking around the world. The report designates each country as a country of orgin, transit or destination. Each country also recieves a rating based on the level of trafficking in the country and what the government is doing to combat human trafficking.
Russia was rated one of the worst countries in terms of...
Crisis of Children Trafficked in Moscow This Angel Coalition resource highlights the crisis of children trafficked into Moscow for prostitution. The city currently has no shelters to address the needs of minors who have been trafficked into Moscow and responds by either detaining or deporting them. This resource also highlights several shelters for victims of human trafficking in other areas of...
Combating Trafficking in Women and Children for Sexual Exploitation This protocal serves as in introduction to the problem of human trafficking in Russia and presents a plan of ways to combat it. The Angel Coalition is focused on combatting human trafficking and has several other resources available here.
UNICEF Program In Chechnya Helps Children Heal Psychologically A UNICEF psychosocial recovery program is helping children heal from the physical and psychological trauma experienced during the war in Chechnya.
To read this article click here.
Chernobyl Disaster Continues To Affect The Health Of Children Twenty Later UNICEF hopes to remind the world that children in areas affected by Chernobyl continue to suffer even though they were born years after the event. High rates of childhood thyroid cancer and iodine deficiency disorders continue to plague children born and growing up in these areas.
To read this article click here.
Children on the Brink 2004 Children on the Brink 2004: A joint report of new orphan estimates and a framework for action
Author: UNAIDS, UNICEF and USAID Price: Free No. of pages: 42 Publication date: July 2004 Publisher: USAID Languages: English - available as a PDF only. Also available in French and Spanish.
Please go here for your free copy of Children on the Brink.
Millions of children are growing up without...
Papers on Russian Youth Visit Mark Harris' site to read any of his informative papers on Russian youth. The papers available on the site are:
1. Ignorance and Apathy: Background Beliefs, Attitudes and Practices of Evangelical Youth (an ethnographic approach) 2. Filling the Vacuum: Factors in Coming to an Understanding and Appreciation of the Gospel 3. The Experience of Conversion as Reported by Young...
Let Your Heart Be Broken
To read more about the Bates' work in Bucharest, Romania, please go to:http://comission.org/organizations/?id=345
STREET KIDS: One young man who had his leg amputated because of gangrene died this week in a Bucharest hospital. We were so saddened because he died so young--had no one. His only possessions were a New Testament and Bible Course that we had given him. The hospital had burned...
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Inasmuch Romanian Children's Home |
Sampling of Internet Resources on Children at Risk Editor's Note: For valuable lists of links to organizations and reports dealing with post-Soviet orphans and street children, visit the following Web sites: Beeson Divinity School Global Center:http://www.samford.edu/groups/global/links/childrenatrisk-ee
Rainbows of Hope:http://www.wec-int.org/rainbows/resources/links/index.phpEastern European Adoption...
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: East-West Church and Ministry Report |
Street Children In The Former Soviet Union A very informative article by Kelsey Hoppe.
http://www.comissionforchildren.com/articles/files/Street_Children_Paper.pdf
From Trajectories of Despair to Trajectories of Hope I would like to say a few words of introduction about myself and the organization with which I work, Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW). All I ever say about myself is that I am a nurse and a social scientist by intention and a baroness by astonishment. It is God's sense of humor, because I have to confess I do not like politics. When I received a summons to Number Ten Downing Street by the then...
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Christian Solidarity Worldwide |
A Theme Issue on Children at Risk The theme of this issue of the East-West Church & Ministry Report, children at risk in post-Soviet societies, draws heavily upon presentations given at the National Summit of the CoMission for Children at Risk, held in Atlanta, GA, 9-11 November 2000. At that meeting more than 200 participants representing over 120 church and parachurch agencies gave concentrated focus to practical questions...
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: East-West Church and Ministry Report |
Bless the Children The Biblical Mandate
Children at risk in Russia and the former Soviet Union are coming over the hill. Do we see them? They cry to us. They are running to us with hope in their hearts that we will hear their cries, that our arms will be open for them, that we are eager to touch their lives in blessing. Children in crisis draw from us a new commitment to see to it that they receive the blessing...
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Salvation Army |
Networking to Address the Need No doubt we all want to make a difference. What can we learn from the experience of Nehemiah in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem in terms of making a difference? And how is Nehemiah's experience in Jerusalem like our experience with children in Russia and Eastern Europe? Let me suggest several parallels. First, Israel's Babylonian captivity parallels the plight of families in the former Soviet...
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Mission Specialties, Inc. (MSi) |
An Epidemic of Hopelessness Among Children at Risk in Eastern Europe Russian children fill my life. They are my family, my ministry, and my professional work. I work for the Centers for Disease Control and I want to share about an emerging epidemic of hopelessness in Eastern Europe. I want to share with you first how the Lord gave me a concern in this area; second, evidence of an emerging epidemic; and third, what we as believers can do to put an end to...
U.S. Ambassador to Russia Remarks on International Adoption #17 - JRL 9106 - JRL HomeRemarks - International Adoption Round TableAlexander Vershbow, U.S. Ambassador to RussiaMoscow, March 28, 2005
I would first like to thank Ambassador Lukin and the organizers of this round table for providing me the opportunity to express my views on the very important topic of the rights of a child to a family. For most of us, there is nothing more important in life...
Meeting the Needs of Russia's Children in Crisis I am simply one who has been called by God to do something I enjoy a lot: serve people I love. In late 1994 I left the International Bible Society and made the decision that I would start Children's HopeChest with the help of Katya Celinina and Jenya Polonskaya [Haps]. My heart was deeply moved by the needs of kids coming out of orphanages in transition to independent living. There was no...
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Children's HopeChest |
Orphanage Assistance I was not a Christian when a U.S. CoMission team of the Mission Society for United Methodists came to Khabarovsk, Siberia, and asked me to teach Russian. God just showed me Christ through all the people in this group. I made a commitment to Christ and I asked Rev. Jack Stevenson from the CoMission team to baptize me. Since then I have worked with this team in Khabarovsk.
Mutual...
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: The Mission Society |
Foster Care for Russian Orphans Buckner International Adoption and Maternity Services was founded in Dallas, Texas, in 1879 to provide help to post-Civil War orphans. It now has some 1,000 employees working across Texas in childcare programs, residential and foster care, counseling, and both domestic and international adoption. Buckner Orphan Care International provides services to children in Romania, Russia, China, and...
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Buckner International |
Microenterprise Development for Children at Risk Mission Specialties has a small project in St. Petersburg that we started in 1998. It is a byproduct of another project that allowed the Easter story to be shared in hundreds of Russian orphanages. Children competed in a crafts and essay contest on the theme of Easter. We received many hundreds of entries from orphans all over Russia. A committee in Moscow selected ten winners whose grand prize...
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Mission Specialties, Inc. (MSi) |
Transition Centers for Orphanage Graduates In 1994 Children's HopeChest was founded to provide practical help and God's hope to Russian orphans. We started in the Vladimir Region and expanded to the Kostroma Region in 1999. Currently in the two regions we are ministering to 2,500 children from ages four to eighteen. We have developed a holistic approach to address the physical, medical, emotional, educational, and spiritual needs of the...
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Children's HopeChest |
Reaching Out to Street Children Rainbows of Hope has the privilege of working in 16 countries across Asia, Latin America, Africa, and Eastern Europe. We work with abused and battered children with deep psychological traumas. This, of course, includes children who are living on the streets. We praise the Lord that we are able to reach out and touch these children. I think this is one of the most exciting developments in missions...
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Crisis Care Training International |
How Well Do Children Adopted from Eastern Europe Fare? Prospective adoptive families frequently ask how well adopted children adjust. The myriad of adoption stories families hear by word of mouth, on the Internet, or in other media run the range from wonderful to nightmarish. Anyone who is considering adoption wants to know that they are doing the right thing and that adopted children are doing well in their new families.
Rainbow House...
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Holt International |
Appropriate Giving Editor's Note: The National Summit on Children at Risk held in Atlanta, GA, 9-11 November 2000, included many valuable discussion periods. Below are excerpts of insightful comments from participants on "appropriate giving."
Vic Jackopson, Hope Now, Southampton, England
Hope Now works with ten orphanages and two rescue shelters as well as seven of our own cottage homes. These homes are...
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: East-West Church and Ministry Report |
Paying Taxes in Ukraine - A Testimony to God's Blessing Dear fellow workers,
When Hope Now registered as a Ukrainian charity we were, for the first time, faced with the issue of paying local taxes. Believing the Scriptures, as we do, this presented no moral dilemma. We did have some difficulty explaining to our own donors that although we were looking after orphans and homeless children who would otherwise be wards of the state, we were charged...
| Type: Article | | Related Organization: Hope Now |
