Jun 6, 2013

Justice for Orphans

As the uncle of two adopted children and friend of many who have and have been adopted, I can say that adoption has changed my life for the better. I've seen the way that adoption has changed lives, and I'm grateful that families have the ability to adopt children who otherwise have no family. Because of what I have seen, it wasn't hard for me to believe that adoption is one of the best ways to keep children from growing up in orphanages. It wasn't until I read Orphan Justice that I realized that adoption wasn't the only way to enact social justice on the behalf of Orphans.

In each chapter, Johnny Carr brings you deeper in the world of orphans. Reading this book opened up my eyes to issues I never would have connected to orphans. In the first few chapters, Carr discusses what can make a child an orphan. One of the first major things that I learned was that not all children in orphanages are without parents. There are single parent orphans who grow up in orphanages because their parents are not able to provide for them. Knowing this, it becomes easier to see that adoption, while a very good option, is not the only way to keep children from beings orphans. There are often deeper issues at work that need to be addressed in order to lower the number of children in orphanages. Issues like human trafficking, HIV, and poverty can often lead to children being put into an orphanage. When we fight these problems, we can help children from becoming orphans. The second half of the book addresses foster care, racism, abortion, and church budgets. These chapters aren't about what creates orphans, but more about dealing with the issues more apparent in the United States. Carr addresses these from the perspective of how the church have a better impact in these areas.

In all areas of the book, Carr most important point is that "God made the family for children." Children should not have to grow up in orphanages, but instead should be able to grow up in a family, be it their own family or an adopted family. He believes that the church needs to make a stand and fight for children. What I really appreciate about this is how he argues for the church to make an impact. He believes that the church needs to have a presence in the communities where there are orphans. That way the church can do its most important work of spreading the gospel while helping to heal what is broken in the community. If we can fight things like poverty, aids, and human trafficking around the world and in our own communities  then we can help children return to their own families instead of having to grow up in an orphanage.

If you're like me, you probably thought adoption was the only way to help an orphan. After reading  Orphan Justice, my eyes have been opened to the problems that create orphans and how we can help children grow up in families. You should read this book. It's a eye opener and a practical book. It doesn't just sound the alarm, but every chapter ends with a section of what you can do. This book will open your eyes to what is going on in the world and how you can help children grow up in a family.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from B&H Publishing Group through netgalley.com. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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