A special message from FamilyLife, Focus on the Family, and Shaohannah's Hope

An Orphan's Voice...
What is it like to be 9 years old with no parents, nothing to call your own, and no hope for a better future?

Katya knows. After her parents died from alcohol abuse, she entered a state-run orphanage in Russia in 1998. Suffering from cerebral palsy and needing surgery on both of her legs and back, there was little chance anyone would adopt her. She faced a lifetime of loneliness, pain, and sorrow.

But Katya was blessed. Someone cared. In 2000, Jan in Arkansas discovered Katya's picture on a "waiting child" Internet site, and all she could think was, "Sign me up!" Nine months later, Katya landed in the warm embrace of her new family.

It was an opportunity Katya knew she could not waste. "Mom, do you believe in destiny?" she asked. "Why me out of all the children in Russia? Why did I get to come to Arkansas?" Katya was determined to live her life for other children like her, who faced a life without parents, without love.

Today, Katya is in the 11th grade, has raised over $5000 for the US Waiting Child Fund, and in 2005 was named Youth Humanitarian for the State of Arkansas.

"I'm grateful that I was adopted," Katya says. "Now I have a chance to be happy, and to make my life whatever I want it to be."

"Thinking about all of this is emotional for me ... to know that there are still people out there that feel this sadness and so much more. To know that the people I left behind may never grow to their potential and may never have a home and a family of their own."

"I hope that at the end of my life I will be remembered for doing my best with the second chance that I was given."

The Orphan Crisis
The United Nations counts 143 million kids worldwide as orphans - 143 million children like Katya - waiting for love, waiting for family, waiting for care and support.

What We're Doing
Recognizing that the severity of today's orphan crisis is bigger than any one organization, FamilyLife, Focus on the Family and Shaohannah's Hope have joined together to launch a long-term, nationwide campaign called Voice of the Orphan. This campaign seeks to raise awareness of the orphan crisis and spur fellow Christians to action.

What You Can Do
Together, we are helping to educate concerned Christians worldwide regarding this important crisis, and we offer practical and effective ideas on how every Christian can get involved in caring for the world's orphans.

We invite you to join us - and learn more about God's heart and what you can do for these special children.

. You are the defender of orphans . LORD, you know the hopes of the helpless. Surely you will listen to their cries and comfort them. You will bring justice to the orphans and the oppressed, so people can no longer terrify them.

- Psalm 10:14, 17-18

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