The Global Orphan Crisis and Why We Should Help
There are currently an estimated 150 million children worldwide who have been orphaned from
a variety of tragic circumstances says UNICEF. On top of that, these orphans face the second
injustice of being cast into suffering, overcrowded and under-resourced institutions. Surprisingly
enough, quite a solid chunk of this orphan population does have family nearby that could take care of them. But financial speaking, they cannot simply afford to bring them into their lives.
It is important to realize what the true problem of the Global Orphan Crisis is: It is not orphans- it
is the mishandling of the response by the global community and the negligence of the
commitment to finding real solutions to better serving orphaned children.
One solution that has proven to be effective and maybe even the most sustainable would be the
tactic of Transition to Home. An alternative to the current way things are run, Transitions to
Home would place parentless children in homes of biological family members within their
villages or communities (in cases where orphaned children still have surviving relatives). This
system has proven successful through the hard working, platinum-seal of transparency,
non-profit charity ONEtrack International. ONEtrack has been successfully implementing this
specifically, in West Africa but has also started to incorporate it at a global level.
Transition to Home not only reunites orphans with distant family, but also tackles the apparent
problem of poverty. And as sustainable as always, to defeat poverty long term means a greater
array of benefits, some of which include improving home safety, providing education (for the
whole family), proper healthcare, and case by case solutions for the host families (which are an
average size of six). ONEtracks health initiatives prohibit outbreaks of vaccine-preventable
diseases, promote proper nutrition and hygiene, and we coordinate regular sport and exercise
programs. Studies repeatedly link good nutrition to learning readiness, academic achievement,
and a decrease in emotional problems.
Alleviating problems by a family by family basis is truly a great step forward. But as we’ve seen
before, it doesn't amount to enough. It’s hard for even the best of people to thrive in a “subpar”
community. Seeds cannot thrive if you poison the soil. That's why ONEtrack provides additional
support on a community level by means of providing funding for schools that would otherwise be
unavailable, and creating a future plan for that community that will eliminate widespread
unnecessary strain.
Making the most of what they have, as well as sufficient, consistent support, is the only way
any orphans anywhere are going to make it in this world. And help can unfortunately only be
provided with funding. Moral Obligation is becoming less appealing, society says. But that's just
not the case. Five US dollars is all it takes to save a life. Imagine how many lives we save and
improve if we really tried.
More on the moral obligation of helping
https://www.ted.com/talks/peter_singer_the_why_and_how_of_effective_altruism/transcript?lan
guage=en
ONEtracks International Donation Page
http://onetrackinternational.org/ways-to-give/
UNICEF reports related to poverty
Written by: Moses Taylor
