UNICEF indicates there are approximately 210 million orhans worldwide.
We all have a view of the world influenced by numerous visual data points; my view of orphans has been shaped by my friends who have adopted beautiful babies from Russia, Guatemala, Korea, China, Eastern Europe, the American heartland and the celebrities adopting precious babies from Sub-Saharan African countries. I envision dimly lit institutions, housing these beautiful innocent infants, products of varied human experiences.
That may very well be the case, but we at People of the Invisible, LLC. have seen an alternate reality and perhaps this reality is playing itself out all over the world today. This is the reality of young people orphans, soon to be adults, who really are not adoptable in that traditional sense but who still have needs. This world is a place housing hundreds of children, many pre-teenagers and teenagers, generally orphaned by an unspeakable disease that has taken father and mother.
In this installment of ‘People of the Invisible – Four Boys,’ we briefly step into the lives of four Malawian orphan boys and get a feel for their story, making that which was invisible, personal. Of course from our six minute video you cannot really “know them” but hopefully the veil on their world is slightly raised and you will be more connected to the world; and your heart, like mine, will be softened and from this softened heart solutions will evolve.
The needs of these and all orphans are, of course, family and love. However offering love and family is an extremely complex concept, especially from thousands of miles away, but their education is a reachable reality we can impact; providing for their education as we would provide for our own children is critical. They need a quality education to take care of the needs in their own communities. In Malawi the cost of sending the high achieving children to good schools can vary considerably but I have seen fees for good private schools in the range of $130 – $150 a trimester; these are the fees of outstanding schools that will allow those who have shown some aptitude and desire to possibly reach their dreams. Basic government schooling is much less and can range from $13 a trimester to $90 a trimester depending on the quality and the living situation.
How can you help? You can help in a multitude of ways; my concern is less how you do it or where you go to do it, just simply find a way to be involved in the solution. Raising our voices for education based solutions is critical. Because People of the Invisible, LLC does not yet have a non-tax deductible status, I am not actively soliciting money for this cause but if you insist, you can make a non-tax deductible contribution to People of the Invisible, LLC. 'four boys' and 100% of your money will go to addressing the needs of the children at Mtendere Village in Malawi, where I have personally visited a few times. People of the Invisible, LLC is determined to bring about change through education and I pledge that every dollar you give as a result of the story of the 'four boys' will go directly to the educational needs of orphan children of Mtendere Village. But let me emphasize, awareness of these problems is the big engine behind change.
For some context, I find the following facts contrasting Malawi and the USA speak volumes, these are all from UNICEF:
Population:
- 14,000,000(Malawi)
- 300,000,000 (USA)
Orphans:
- 1,100,000(Malawi)
- 2,800,000 (USA)
Gross National Income:
- $250 (Malawi)
- $46,040(USA)
Life Expectancy:
- 48 years (Malawi)
- 78 years (USA)
People with HIV:
- 930,000 (Malawi)
- 1,200,000(USA)
Other organizations, all quite unique, with which I am familar, doing good work in the area of orphans or educating children in Malawi and other areas of the world include:
www.americares.org/newsroom/voices-from-the-field/malawi-field-report-09.html
http://www.100xmissions.org/
Peace and Love
Kevin
