Those AWARE of the need of orphans around the world, RESPONDING to God's love for us and call to care for orphans, SHOWING HOPE to waiting children.
Influences
We believe no child should be left as an orphan.
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blog excerpt: Show Hope: A God Idea
"Without faith it is impossible to please God," and the very definition of faith is "the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen."
In other words… Faith is hope shown! Showing Hope is a God idea and has been in His mind before the foundations of the world. God calls His children to reveal the authenticity of their faith through obedient and loving actions to a needy world...
By selling lemonade and writing letters for support, Jordan raised over $1,000 dollars for orphans! What can you do?
Show Hope is continuing this summer with their campaign to collect Change for Orphans. People have been collecting change in all kinds of ways. Take a minute and see how they've been showing hope in their communities for orphans! Find out more! >
Maria Sue Chapman, adopted and youngest daughter to Mary Beth and Steven Curtis Chapman, was killed Wednesday night in a tragic accident in the family driveway. She was LifeFlighted to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital but for only reasons God can explain she went home to Him.
In lieu of flowers, the Chapmans request any gifts be directed to Shaohannah’s Hope. You can donate now to Maria's Miracle Fund in memory of Maria Chapman. For donations by mail, send to Shaohannah's Hope, c/o Maria's Miracle Fund, PO Box 647, Franklin TN, 37065.
If you would simply like to leave a message for the Chapmans, you can do so on this blog in memory of Maria
The story: At the age of 11, Emily Chapman came back from a trip to Haiti, and her heart was on fire to help the orphans and waiting children around the world. Emily already knew that God wanted her family to adopt, but her parents resisted. So she started praying. We believe miracles happen when you pray.
Now, years later, the Chapmans have adopted not 1 but 3 girls, and they have started an organization called Shaohannah’s Hope (named after their first adopted daughter, Shaohannah Hope Chapman) that mobilizes individuals and communities to care for orphans. Shaohannah’s Hope has helped over 1,000 orphans find a family, and many others have been impacted by their work. Miracles happen when you pray.
The movement: This movement began long before Shaohannah's Hope. It began long before any of us were born. This movement is rooted in the heart of God (Ps 10:14) and began with God’s infinite love for orphans. This movement will continue long after we are gone, because God loves orphans. This movement consists of broken hearts longing to experience the redemption that is found when we turn our attention off ourselves and love these waiting children.
The forgotten children of the world are some of the most valuable hidden treasures that exist. We seek to serve these orphaned, foster, and waiting children in the name of Christ, regardless of their gender, religion, race, or ethnicity, and we will begin on our knees. Will you join us?
Over 143 million children have lost one or both parents. 1
At least 16.2 million children worldwide have lost both parents. 2
Every 14 seconds a child loses a parent due to AIDS. 3
Conflict has orphaned or separated 1 million children from their families in the 1990s. 4
Where are they?
43.4 million orphans live in sub-Saharan Africa, 87.6 million orphans live in Asia, and 12.4 million orphans live in Latin America and the Caribbean. 5
1.5 million children live in public care in Central and Eastern Europe alone. 6
At any given point there are over 500,000 children in the U.S. Foster Care system. 7
In some countries, children are abandoned at alarming rates, due to poverty, restrictive population control policies, disabilities or perceived disabilities, and cultural traditions that value boys more than girls. 8
What about AIDS?
More than 14 million children under the age of 15 have lost one or both parents to AIDS, the vast majority of them in sub-Saharan Africa. 9
By 2010, the number of children orphaned by AIDS globally is expected to exceed 25 million. 10
AIDS is more likely than other cause of death to result in children losing both parents. 11
As the infection spreads, the number of children who have lost parents to AIDS is beginning to grow in other regions as well, including Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean and Eastern Europe. 12
What happens to the children?
Children are profoundly affected as their parents fall sick and die, setting them on a long trail of painful experiences often characterized by: economic hardship, lack of love, attention and affection, withdrawal from school, psychological distress, loss of inheritance, increased physical and sexual abuse and risk of HIV infection, malnutrition and illness, stigma, discrimination, exploitation, trafficking, and isolation. 13
Orphaned children are much more likely than non-orphans to be working in commercial agriculture, as street vendors, in domestic service and in the sex trade. 14
Unaccompanied boys are at high risk of forced or 'voluntary' participation in violence and armed conflict. 15
Orphanages, children's villages, or other group residential facilities generally fail to meet young people's emotional and psychological needs. 16
What about foster care?
On average, children stay in foster care for 30 months, or 2.5 years. 17
118,000 children were waiting to be adopted on September 30, 2004. 18
On average, those children waiting for adoption have been in foster care for 43.8 months, almost 4 years. 19
Each year, an estimated 20,000 young people “age out” of the U.S. foster care system. Many are only 18 years old and still need support and services. Of those who aged out of foster care: 20
Outcome 21
Earned a high school diploma: 54%
Obtained a Bachelor's degree or higher: 2%
Were unemployed: 51%
Had no health insurance: 30%
Had been homeless: 25% 22
Were receiving public assistance: 30%
Is there any hope?
Yes. There is One who infinitely loves each orphan and calls His people to join Him in caring for the fatherless. Each one of us can Show Hope to an orphan.
If only 7% of the 2 billion Christians in the world would show hope to a single orphan, looking after the child in their distress, there would effectively be no more orphans. We can each do something.
1 Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, United Nations Children's Fund and the United States Agency for International Development, Children on the Brink 2004: A joint report of new orphan estimates and a framework for action, Population, Health and Nutrition Information Project for USAID, Washington, D.C., July 2004, p. 7. http://www.unicef.org/publications/index_22212.html.
2 Ibid, Children on the Brink 2004, p. 29.
3 UNICEF, Press Release: As G8 leaders discuss global poverty, UNICEF puts spotlight on children in poor countries. http://www.unicef.org/media/media_21421.html
4 UNICEF, Aug 2006. From website, “Child Protection from Violence, Exploitation and Abuse.” http://www.unicef.org/protection/index_orphans.html
5 Ibid, Children on the Brink 2004, p. 3
6 UNICEF, Aug 2006. From website, “Child Protection from Violence, Exploitation and Abuse.” http://www.unicef.org/protection/index_orphans.html
7 Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and reporting System (AFCARS) 11 data submitted for the FY 2004, 0/1/03 through 9/30/04. http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/stats_research/afcars/ tar/report11.htm
8 Human Rights Watch. Easy Targets: Violence against Children Worldwide. New York: Human Rights Watch. 2001, pp. 25-26. http://www.hrw.org/reports/2001/children/
9 Global Partners Forum convened by UNICEF with support from UNAIDS. The Framework for the Protection, Care and Support of Orphans and Vulnerable Children Living in a World with HIV and AIDS, July 2004, p 5. Global Strategic Framework: http://www.ovcsupport.net
10 Global Partners Forum convened by UNICEF with support from UNAIDS. The Framework for the Protection, Care and Support of Orphans and Vulnerable Children Living in a World with HIV and AIDS, July 2004, p 5. Global Strategic Framework: http://www.ovcsupport.net
11 Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, United Nations Children's Fund and the United States Agency for International Development, Children on the Brink 2004: A joint report of new orphan estimates and a framework for action, Population, Health and Nutrition Information Project for USAID, Washington, D.C., July 2004, p. 11. http://www.unicef.org/publications/index_22212.html
12 Global Partners Forum convened by UNICEF with support from UNAIDS. The Framework for the Protection, Care and Support of Orphans and Vulnerable Children Living in a World with HIV and AIDS, July 2004, p 7. Global Strategic Framework: http://www.ovcsupport.net
13 Global Partners Forum convened by UNICEF with support from UNAIDS. The Framework for the Protection, Care and Support of Orphans and Vulnerable Children Living in a World with HIV and AIDS, July 2004, p 9. Global Strategic Framework: http://www.ovcsupport.net
14 United Nations Children's Fund, The State of the World's Children 2006. Dec 2005, p. 50. http://www.unicef.org/publications/index_30398.html
15 Ibid, UNICEF, Aug 2006. From website, “Child Protection from Violence, Exploitation and Abuse.”
16 Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, United Nations Children's Fund and the United States Agency for International Development, Children on the Brink 2004: A joint report of new orphan estimates and a framework for action, Population, Health and Nutrition Information Project for USAID, Washington, D.C., July 2004, p. 20. http://www.unicef.org/publications/index_22212.html.
17 Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and reporting System (AFCARS) 11 data submitted for the FY 2004, 0/1/03 through 9/30/04. http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/stats_research/afcars/ tar/report11.htm
18 Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and reporting System (AFCARS) 11 data submitted for the FY 2004, 0/1/03 through 9/30/04. http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/stats_research/afcars/ tar/report11.htm
19 Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and reporting System (AFCARS) 11 data submitted for the FY 2004, 0/1/03 through 9/30/04. http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/stats_research/afcars/ tar/report11.htm
20 National Foster Care Month, Facts about Children in Foster Care, 2006 Fact Sheet. http://www.fostercaremonth.org/FactsAndStatistics/
21 Young adults ages 18-24 years old 2.5 to 4 years after leaving foster care: Cook, R. (1992). Are we helping foster care youth prepare for the future? Children and Youth Services Review. 16(3/4), 213-229. Cook, R.; Fleishman, E., & Grimes, V. (1989). A National Evaluation of Title IV-E Foster Care Independent Living Programs for Youth (Phase 2 Final Report, Volume 1). Rockville: Westat, Inc.
22 Cook, R. (1991). A national evaluation of title IV-E foster care independent living programs for youth. Rockville, MD: Westat Inc. http://www.cwla.org/programs/fostercare/factsheetafter.htm
Hello my new friend, thanks for adding me. It is very good to meet you. May life bless you with an abundance of happiness, love and peace.
Let me introduce myself properly...I am a healer, a mystic, and a writer. My goal is healing the planet. I love connecting with other light workers.
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James 1:27 Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.
Hi !! I just wanted to stop by and let you know that I keep you and your cause in prayer constantly. What more can we want in life but the beauty of a child that God gives us for awhile to nurture and tend in growth through life! God bless you! Diana
hi, i was just going to tell you all that i am come from a family of 12and there all adoped they and my mom and dad could not have any chrildren and thy are a love family and was just going to tell you about this in christ amy anna hall
Thanks for the add.. Thanks for everything that you do for orphaned children.. They need the love... I am deeply sorry about the tragic accident that happened and you are in my prays..
Just have to say how much I love & appreciate Shaohannah's Hope!!! Thanks to a grant & many prayers I have the world's best 4-yr-old sister from China =D THANK YOU, YOU GUYS ARE MADE OF AWESOME! GOD BLESS!
Hi, thanks for the Add, and for your heart on these matters for the orphan. I have an 11 year old, she's the center of my world it seems. God First, always, Family second. God blessed me when He answered my prayers and gave us Rachel for our very own. What a reality having children became that day we picked her up. I'm so glad to hear of your ministry in helping childless couples adopt parentless children. I didn't know about you back then, but very glad you're there for the homeless children. Aunt Mom.
Thanks for the add! I'm going to try to support you guys fincially on a regular basis. I just donated some money and I got a letter and pic of an orphan saying she was adopted because of my donation. Well, I'm sure it was because of me and others but when I got that pic of that cute little girl it just melted my heart. You're guys are doing a good job and I'm supporting a very good cause! You and the Chapman family will be in my prayers. That is how I found out about your organization because of the tradegy of Maria being killed. Anyways, be blessed!!!
