Originally published Thursday, 26 June 2014.
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. - James 1:27
Everyone of us wants to be wanted. We all want to belong. But all around the world, there are children left to fend for themselves––orphans. Over 147 million of them, not to mention countless others who live on the street.
My family and I have been in the process of adopting from Ethiopia for close to four years now. The process has been an incredible one, but it's been long and difficult for numerous reasons that I won't get into here (for the sake of brevity). What I will say, however, is that our difficulties have largely been due to bureaucracy that could be streamlined and resolved if our lawmakers were informed of the current issues. Our world need leadership in the area of orphan care, and there is currently a bill proposed to do just that called Children in Families First (CHIFF).
All children everywhere deserve to have a family, and I believe it is time to stand as advocates for these children through supporting this bill. The problem is that most lawmakers will not take notice of the bill unless they know it's important to their constituents. So, I'm asking for your help.
What is the CHIFF bill?
CHIFF––Children in Families First calls for the redirection of a modest portion of the $2 billion the United States currently spends on children living abroad toward ensuring that all children grow up in a family. What’s more, it calls for programs funded with US tax dollars to focus on reducing the number of children living without families and increasing the capacity of other governments to better protect their own children. The best protection for a child is a family. The CHIFF bill will protect children by preserving families, reunifying families, or creating families through adoption (both domestic and international).
For more information, visit Children in Families First Frequently Asked Questions. And be sure to watch the video below.
Children Need Families - Support CHIFF from Videos for AGCI on Vimeo.
If you're having trouble viewing the video, click here.
How you can help!
Problems this large can seem hopeless, but together, we can make a difference. Below, you'll find five easy (and quick!) suggestions on how you can help advocate for these children. For additional ways to support CHIFF and examples of social media posts, view the Action Plan PDF. To access the petition and receive convenient (and quick!) ways to contact your congress person, click here.
These children need a voice. Please, let that voice be you!
Any thoughts? Share in the comments.
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