Russia (MNN) — Most orphans in Eastern Europe and Central Asia will age out of the system without a family — and without a support system. That reality is driving Slavic Gospel Association’s program, Orphans Reborn.
Only 15% of orphans in the region are adopted. About 70% of orphaned children are unadoptable because they still technically have a living parent who is unable to care for them. For the rest who are eligible for adoption, only about half will ultimately find a family.
Eric Mock with SGA says, “So where a lot of people are focusing on adopting these children out, what do you do with the other 85% of these kids?
“Well, what SGA is doing [is] we help the local churches put their loving arms around these children and minister to them with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So these children with no hope are finding hope.”
Orphans Reborn in Russia (Photo courtesy of SGA)
Orphans Reborn partners with local churches to walk alongside orphaned and vulnerable children with the love of Christ. That presence becomes critical as children approach adulthood.
Without guidance, Mock says many young people leaving orphanages face devastating outcomes.
“A lot of the young girls end up in prostitution. A lot of the young men end up selling drugs, or they’re in destructive behavior,” Mock says. “So these churches are the ones locally who will not only minister to the kids, but bring them into the family of God, the family of the local church.”
That long-term investment was on display during a recent Christmas outreach in Russia.
An Orphans Reborn coordinator named Olga had spent years visiting an orphanage serving about 45 children. When that orphanage closed, God opened another ministry door at an orphanage for children with special needs. It was the first time believers had ever been allowed on the premises.
More than 130 children attended the Christmas celebration. A puppet theater presented a Christmas message, followed by a brief talk about the birth of Christ. Each child and staff member also received a gift.
Mock says, “To these kids, it’s more than what they get. It’s the fact that they aren’t forgotten, that they get something, and they know that someone is thinking about them. So through Orphans Reborn, they get the gift of family, the gift of the Gospel, the gift of Christmas.”
Orphans Reborn in Russia (Photo courtesy of SGA)
Orphanage administrators expressed gratitude and invited Olga to come back at the end of January!
Across the region, SGA supports ministry to orphaned children in more than 285 orphanages and Christian family homes in seven countries, including Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Poland, Kazakhstan, and parts of Central Asia.
“So more than 17,000 children that don’t have the love of a family experience the love of the family of God and the hope of the Gospel,” says Mock. “This opens amazing doors.”
It just costs $60 to reach one orphan with SGA Orphans Reborn for the year. Click here to support Orphans Reborn with SGA.
Header photo: Orphans Reborn in Russia (Photo courtesy of SGA)
