I’ve been to Africa, I’ve served in orphanages, and held children languishing with AIDS. It’s a life altering experience. I wrestled with coming back to the U.S., knowing how desperate the children are in Africa. Then I learned about the heartbreaking realities of child abuse and neglect in America. In a recent radio interview with Tom Brown’s on FaithTalk 1360, I shared some of what I have learned.
I learned that in Arizona alone, a child is abused every TWO minutes. And that there are almost 17,000 foster children in just the Arizona state foster care system. Of the almost 17,000 children, about two-thirds of them will eventually have their parental rights severed. There are over 3,000 foster children RIGHT NOW who are ORPHANS in Arizona alone – right here in our own backyard. And as much as I love oversees missions work, I can no longer ignore the fact that we have a mandate to care for these vulnerable children. As a matter of fact, the Bible describes true religion as taking care of orphans in distress – “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress…” James 1:27. Believe me, these children are in distress!
Because of this overwhelming need, I founded We Are Their Future. It is a citizen’s initiative to meet the urgent needs of foster children who have been horribly neglected and abused. It’s why I am advocating for foster children, and why I believe everyone can and should do something to help them.
Please take a few moments to listen to the interview. Here is the link: https://soundcloud.com/koinonia-radio/vickie-isaac-foster-care
I firmly believe that once everyday people like you and I find out about how many foster and adoptive children there are, they will step up and help. These children have been horrifically neglected and abused. They need to be safe, loved, and grow up in forever families. Everyone can do something to help – foster, adopt, volunteer, and donate. It costs We Are Their Future only $25 to find a family interested in fostering or adopting. Compare that to the cost to care for a child in a group home – about $4,000 per month! Can you spare $25? If so, CLICK HERE to help find a forever family for an orphaned foster child.
I urge you to look at the ways of getting involved, and embrace the challenge to be a part of changing the future for these children. We cannot sit idly by and believe government can parent these children. It takes homes, families… it takes US. CLICK HERE to look at ways YOU can change a vulnerable foster child’s future. Thank you, and please share this information – because if EVERYONE DOES SOMETHING, we can change the future for foster children.
Standing to change children’s future,
Vickie Isaac, M.Ed.
Founder/CEO, We Are Their Future