Shaohannah's Hope

Maria's Miracle Fund

In memory of Maria Sue Chapman (2003-2008)
Maria Sue Chapman, adopted and youngest daughter to Mary Beth and Steven Curtis Chapman, was killed Wednesday night in a tragic accident in the family driveway. She was LifeFlighted to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital but for only reasons God can explain she went home to Him.
In lieu of flowers, the Chapmans request any gifts be directed to Shaohannahâ€™s Hope. You can donate now to Maria's Miracle Fund in memory of Maria Chapman. For donations by mail, send to Shaohannah's Hope, c/o Maria's Miracle Fund, PO Box 647, Franklin TN, 37065.
If you would simply like to leave a message for the Chapmans, you can do so on this blog in memory of Maria

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Giving a Little Changes a Lot

Show Hope is continuing this summer with their campaign to collect Change for Orphans. Make this summer a summer of change.
Start collecting your loose change this summer to help show hope to waiting orphans around the world!
Learn more

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Watch the Family Testimonies Video!

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Watch the Hidden Treasures Video here

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Make a difference | Join the Movement

The story: At the age of 11, Emily Chapman came back from a trip to Haiti, and her heart was on fire to help the orphans and waiting children around the world. Emily already knew that God wanted her family to adopt, but her parents resisted. So she started praying. We believe miracles happen when you pray.

Now, years later, the Chapmans have adopted not 1 but 3 girls, and they have started an organization called Shaohannahâ€™s Hope (named after their first adopted daughter, Shaohannah Hope Chapman) that mobilizes individuals and communities to care for orphans. Shaohannahâ€™s Hope has helped over 1,000 orphans find a family, and many others have been impacted by their work. Miracles happen when you pray.

The movement: This movement began long before Shaohannah's Hope. It began long before any of us were born. This movement is rooted in the heart of God ( Ps 10:14 ) and began with Godâ€™s infinite love for orphans. This movement will continue long after we are gone, because God loves orphans. This movement consists of broken hearts longing to experience the redemption that is found when we turn our attention off ourselves and love these waiting children.

The forgotten children of the world are some of the most valuable hidden treasures that exist. We seek to serve these orphaned, foster, and waiting children in the name of Christ, regardless of their gender, religion, race, or ethnicity, and we will begin on our knees. Will you join us?

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Your Prayers Can Change an Orphan's World

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The Facts:

What is the need? Over 143 million children have lost one or both parents. 1 At least 16.2 million children worldwide have lost both parents. 2 Every 14 seconds a child loses a parent due to AIDS. 3 Conflict has orphaned or separated 1 million children from their families in the 1990s. 4

Where are they?

43.4 million orphans live in sub-Saharan Africa, 87.6 million orphans live in Asia, and 12.4 million orphans live in Latin America and the Caribbean. 5 1.5 million children live in public care in Central and Eastern Europe alone. 6 At any given point there are over 500,000 children in the U.S. Foster Care system. 7 In some countries, children are abandoned at alarming rates, due to poverty, restrictive population control policies, disabilities or perceived disabilities, and cultural traditions that value boys more than girls. 8

What about AIDS? More than 14 million children under the age of 15 have lost one or both parents to AIDS, the vast majority of them in sub-Saharan Africa. 9 By 2010, the number of children orphaned by AIDS globally is expected to exceed 25 million. 10 AIDS is more likely than other cause of death to result in children losing both parents. 11 As the infection spreads, the number of children who have lost parents to AIDS is beginning to grow in other regions as well, including Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean and Eastern Europe. 12 What happens to the children? Children are profoundly affected as their parents fall sick and die, setting them on a long trail of painful experiences often characterized by: economic hardship, lack of love, attention and affection, withdrawal from school, psychological distress, loss of inheritance, increased physical and sexual abuse and risk of HIV infection, malnutrition and illness, stigma, discrimination, exploitation, trafficking, and isolation. 13 Orphaned children are much more likely than non-orphans to be working in commercial agriculture, as street vendors, in domestic service and in the sex trade. 14 Unaccompanied boys are at high risk of forced or 'voluntary' participation in violence and armed conflict. 15 Orphanages, children's villages, or other group residential facilities generally fail to meet young people's emotional and psychological needs. 16What about foster care? On average, children stay in foster care for 30 months, or 2.5 years. 17 118,000 children were waiting to be adopted on September 30, 2004. 18 On average, those children waiting for adoption have been in foster care for 43.8 months, almost 4 years. 19 Each year, an estimated 20,000 young people “age out” of the U.S. foster care system. Many are only 18 years old and still need support and services. Of those who aged out of foster care: 20
Outcome 21
Earned a high school diploma: 54%
Obtained a Bachelor's degree or higher: 2%
Were unemployed: 51%
Had no health insurance: 30%
Had been homeless: 25% 22
Were receiving public assistance: 30%Is there any hope?
Yes. There is One who infinitely loves each orphan and calls His people to join Him in caring for the fatherless. Each one of us can Show Hope to an orphan. If only 7% of the 2 billion Christians in the world would show hope to a single orphan, looking after the child in their distress, there would effectively be no more orphans. We can each do something.

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Sources:

1 Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, United Nations Children's Fund and the United States Agency for International Development, Children on the Brink 2004: A joint report of new orphan estimates and a framework for action, Population, Health and Nutrition Information Project for USAID, Washington, D.C., July 2004, p. 7. http://www.unicef.org/publications/index_22212.html.

2 Ibid, Children on the Brink 2004, p. 29.

3 UNICEF, Press Release: As G8 leaders discuss global poverty, UNICEF puts spotlight on children in poor countries. http://www.unicef.org/media/media_21421.html

4 UNICEF, Aug 2006. From website, “Child Protection from Violence, Exploitation and Abuse.” http://www.unicef.org/protection/index_orphans.html

5 Ibid, Children on the Brink 2004, p. 3

6 UNICEF, Aug 2006. From website, “Child Protection from Violence, Exploitation and Abuse.” http://www.unicef.org/protection/index_orphans.html

7 Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and reporting System (AFCARS) 11 data submitted for the FY 2004, 0/1/03 through 9/30/04. http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/stats_research/afcars/ tar/report11.htm

8 Human Rights Watch. Easy Targets: Violence against Children Worldwide. New York: Human Rights Watch. 2001, pp. 25-26. http://www.hrw.org/reports/2001/children/

9 Global Partners Forum convened by UNICEF with support from UNAIDS. The Framework for the Protection, Care and Support of Orphans and Vulnerable Children Living in a World with HIV and AIDS, July 2004, p 5. Global Strategic Framework: http://www.ovcsupport.net

10 Global Partners Forum convened by UNICEF with support from UNAIDS. The Framework for the Protection, Care and Support of Orphans and Vulnerable Children Living in a World with HIV and AIDS, July 2004, p 5. Global Strategic Framework: http://www.ovcsupport.net

11 Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, United Nations Children's Fund and the United States Agency for International Development, Children on the Brink 2004: A joint report of new orphan estimates and a framework for action, Population, Health and Nutrition Information Project for USAID, Washington, D.C., July 2004, p. 11. http://www.unicef.org/publications/index_22212.html

12 Global Partners Forum convened by UNICEF with support from UNAIDS. The Framework for the Protection, Care and Support of Orphans and Vulnerable Children Living in a World with HIV and AIDS, July 2004, p 7. Global Strategic Framework: http://www.ovcsupport.net

13 Global Partners Forum convened by UNICEF with support from UNAIDS. The Framework for the Protection, Care and Support of Orphans and Vulnerable Children Living in a World with HIV and AIDS, July 2004, p 9. Global Strategic Framework: http://www.ovcsupport.net

14 United Nations Children's Fund, The State of the World's Children 2006. Dec 2005, p. 50. http://www.unicef.org/publications/index_30398.html

15 Ibid, UNICEF, Aug 2006. From website, “Child Protection from Violence, Exploitation and Abuse.”

16 Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, United Nations Children's Fund and the United States Agency for International Development, Children on the Brink 2004: A joint report of new orphan estimates and a framework for action, Population, Health and Nutrition Information Project for USAID, Washington, D.C., July 2004, p. 20. http://www.unicef.org/publications/index_22212.html.

17 Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and reporting System (AFCARS) 11 data submitted for the FY 2004, 0/1/03 through 9/30/04. http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/stats_research/afcars/ tar/report11.htm

18 Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and reporting System (AFCARS) 11 data submitted for the FY 2004, 0/1/03 through 9/30/04. http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/stats_research/afcars/ tar/report11.htm

19 Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and reporting System (AFCARS) 11 data submitted for the FY 2004, 0/1/03 through 9/30/04. http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/stats_research/afcars/ tar/report11.htm

20 National Foster Care Month, Facts about Children in Foster Care, 2006 Fact Sheet. http://www.fostercaremonth.org/FactsAndStatistics/

21 Young adults ages 18-24 years old 2.5 to 4 years after leaving foster care: Cook, R. (1992). Are we helping foster care youth prepare for the future? Children and Youth Services Review. 16(3/4), 213-229. Cook, R.; Fleishman, E., & Grimes, V. (1989). A National Evaluation of Title IV-E Foster Care Independent Living Programs for Youth (Phase 2 Final Report, Volume 1). Rockville: Westat, Inc.

22 Cook, R. (1991). A national evaluation of title IV-E foster care independent living programs for youth. Rockville, MD: Westat Inc. http://www.cwla.org/programs/fostercare/factsheetafter.htm

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What Now?

Change for Orphans.
Pray.
Spread the word.

"Prayer does not equip us for greater worksâ€” prayer is the greater work."
- Oswald Chambers