Ukraine Orphans

On Saturday night I had the privilege of being part of a fundraiser for a young lady called Candice who is traveling to the Ukraine next Friday to minister to the children in six orphanages around the area.  Watching slide after slide of these children who all have big smiles and look happy on the outside, I was reminded once again of the similar faces with big smiles and sad eyes of the lost children who live just around the corner from all of us.  The numbers keep growing in this age where poverty is not the reason for children coming into foster care any more.

When asked why the children in the Ukraine were in foster care, most not eligible for adoption, the answer was the same as in the United States.  Drugs and alcohol, mostly.  These children though, unlike here on our home shores, are still tied to their parents living in limbo, unable to move on, as their parents can keep signing a piece of paper that keeps their parental rights intact.  In these situations where is the hope?  What is becoming of this generation of children who are growing up in the foster care system with not enough caring people to look after them?

The same situation is here in our country.  If you ever have the chance to google children waiting for adoption in America, your eyes will be surely opened.  Unfortunately, the statistics of children who age out of the foster care system without having found their forever home through adoption, are that some 90% will end up on the street or in some form of criminal activity.  The saddest part of all of this is that most people aren't even aware these "lost" children exist.