A World Without Orphans

Imagine a world without orphans, a world where every child belongs to a family who loves and nurtures them. That sounds like Heaven right? But how could such a world this side of Heaven come about? A World Without Orphans highlights how this can happen. Through real-life stories, the film shows that if we all do our part, whatever part that may be, it is possible.

I was first introduced to A World Without Orphans at the Christian Alliance For Orphans (CAFO) 2016 Summit in Orlando. (Orphans First is a member organization of CAFO.) Since we, like other likeminded organizations, strive hard to get children into families, this film really caught my eye. And my heart!

In fact, I would go as far as to say that producers Dianne Becker and Brittany DeVries together with Steve Saint from ITEC have captured God’s heart and shown a glimpse of it through this heart-touching film.

Experience and statistics prove that children thrive best in families. For those of us who have kids or grandkids, we can’t imagine what it would be like if they didn’t have us. Right? The key, therefore, is to find families for orphans and foster children. And the best place to find them is within the church community which can also provide a concrete support system for those who take children in. (We’re talking about spiritual, emotional and physical support—not just a paycheck.)

In Africa, for example—and I know this firsthand—most children have at least an extended family relative who could take them in if there was a solid support system to help them. Where there is no extended family, there may be neighbors who genuinely care for the children. And when the local church wraps around them to provide physical, spiritual and emotional support, there is a recipe for success. (Not that it is easy. Life with kids is always messy. But it can be done and, as depicted in A World Without Orphans, children can live wholesome, happy lives.)

A World Without Orphans is both inspiring and challenging. It calls us to consider the biblical mandate to take care of orphans and to seriously probe our hearts as to what we can do to make this happen. Not everyone can take an orphan into their home, but everyone can do something to help someone do this—beginning with prayer.

I believe in the message this film propagates. Our Orphans First children’s homes in India are “homes” not institutions—and they function as Christ-centered families. I’ve seen the difference in the lives of our kids as they grow up and know they are loved by house-parents and the local church. Many have gone on to serve Jesus and have families of their own. In Mexico, we support some extended families who have taken in children whose parents have been killed through bad drug-deals. In Siberia, through our local church partners, we try to bring children in to foster homes. Local churches and their families provide hope and stability to orphans.

Imagine what could happen if every church showed a screening of A World Without Orphans. It could become a reality. If you would like to host a screening at your church, contact A World Without Orphans via their Facebook page. Please be sure to "like" and follow them on Facebook to create more buzz and to receive notices of upcoming grassroots or festival screenings. You will also find great articles of interest related to the cause.

Check out the trailer here.

If your church has an orphan ministry, this is a great place to hold a grassroots screening to start a conversation and spark interest within the congregation. (If your church does not have an orphan ministry and you sense God wants you to start one, find all the materials and help you need here: https://cafo.org.

The movie can also be purchased and downloaded here at www.christiancinema.com. And keep checking the website. There will soon be subtitled versions available in both Spanish and French.

This article will also appear in Assist News Service.

As a P.S. to this article, let us not stop praying for Lexi who was ripped from the loving family she had thrived in for some 4 years. Let us pray for God to bring Lexi home. 

Janey DeMeo M.A.

Copyright © July 2016

www.orphansfirst.org

www.JaneyDeMeo.com

www.twitter.com/JaneyDeMeo

http://janey-demeo.blogspot.com

Child Abuse in a Different Form - save Lexi

Imagine seeing your six-year-old child ripped away from you sobbing, “Don’t let them take me. I’m scared!" And you could do nothing to save her! This is precisely what Rusty and Summer Page experienced on Monday when six-year-old Lexi was removed from their loving home in Santa Clarita, California—all because of misuse, even abuse, of the Indian Child Welfare Act, (ICWA)—a federal law that seeks to keep American Indian children with American Indian families.

Lexi is 1/64th Choctaw. It doesn’t matter that the Pages and their three biological children are the only family she has known for years, and that she was thriving in their home. Nor does it matter that the ICWA was originally created for the benefit of the child. Nope. None of that seems to count. Not in this case.

According to an article in PEOPLE, Rusty spoke through streams of tears saying, "She was screaming and she said, 'Don't let them take me.' I told her, 'We're your mommy and daddy and we will fight for you and not give up.' Then they just drove away."

On Monday, with the Page children and their mother weeping in horror as they watched, Rusty Page held his daughter Lexi as she clung to him sobbing and crying, “I’m scared! Don’t let them take me away." Rusty told ABC 7, “At the end of the day, if I can't understand why they would take her, I can't explain it to my kids. We'll fight until I die."

And who can understand? Who can explain such cruelty?

Moving Lexi from her home is, in my opinion as a mother and grandmother, the worse decision that could be made for her. It could traumatize her for life. Most people get this. Thus it was amidst outrage and protests from supporters that the Los Angeles County Department of Children, Family Services officials and Lexi’s court-appointed attorney took this precious, scared little girl from the only people who had been parents to her since she was a toddler.

The Pages love Lexi—so much so that when she became attached, they decided to pursue adoption because they believed it was in her best interests. But that’s where it got sticky. With 1/64 Choctaw DNA, the ICWA makes it harder for Lexi to be adopted to non-Indian parents. Harder - but not impossible. And in this case, the Pages had every right to adopt Lexi. The judge could have granted it—even under ICWA. After all, the ICWA was created by Congress to "protect the best interests of Indian children and to promote the stability and security of Indian tribes and families" (25 U.S.C. § 1902).

Choctaw Nation also claims to want what is the “best for this Choctaw child.” But a look at the tragic scene as heartbroken Lexi is ripped away from her family—those who have nurtured and loved her most of her wee life—contradicts that statement. Looks more like child abuse than watching out for the child’s best interest.

The top ICWA attorney in the USA, Mark Fiddler, claims that the ICWA was horribly abused in this case. It would seem that the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and the Children’s Law Center (CLC) played very large roles in creating this heartbreaking situation.

Johnston Moore is an advocate for cases involving ICWA abuse. He is also a foster father with seven adopted children, two of which also have some Native-American DNA (four times more than Lexi). I asked Johnston some questions regarding Lexi’s case.

JD—Johnston, you and your beautiful family have seen several cases similar to Lexi’s. Have you seen success in getting them back to their loving foster-adopt families?

JM— I’ve seen success in many ways. The outpouring of support ensures the Pages that they are not alone in this. The growing outrage ensures that ICWA as applied is going to be under much closer scrutiny for some time to come. Washington has to take note. I think another success is that the Los Angeles County child welfare system is being exposed to a degree to be a terribly dysfunctional machine in which children’s best interests all too often take a back seat to politics or personal agendas. Hopefully that will lead to reform. Of course, the biggest success of all will be when Lexi is reunited with her family in California, and that is the main focus of my prayers through all of this.

JD—Aside of signing the petition on Change.org, what else can we do to help get Lexi back home?

JM— People can continue to put pressure on those that made this happen. DCFS and CLC cannot simply hide behind the court ruling and act as if they are innocent bystanders. They played very large roles in this saga and in my belief, worked together to orchestrate the ruling they wanted. People can also write or call their elected officials and demand that they take a fresh look at ICWA and the way it is being applied today. This must be fixed before it harms any other children. And, please visit www.Goldwaterinstitute.org and learn more about ICWA and how it is being misused to the detriment of innocent children, many of whom were never intended to be subject to the Act in the first place.

JD—Any more guidance or relevant tidbits of wisdom you can share with us that might help us grab hold of hope for Lexi and the Pages?

JM— Pray. We were told there was no way we could adopt our two sons when we had a similar ICWA battle in Los Angeles County back in 2001-2002. At one point, it looked like all hope was lost. Still, we believed we were supposed to continue to speak up for our sons, who seemingly had no voice (Proverbs 31:8). We did, people prayed, and miraculously, we won. Our sons are 21 and 20 now, and in spite of the doom that some ICWA proponents would argue most certainly should have come upon them, they have turned out quite well in our home. One even traveled to Minnesota with me last May to testify in front of the BIA in opposition to its new ICWA guidelines. It was a proud moment for me when he said that Congress did not have a right to dictate to him what his best interests were when it passed ICWA in 1978.

To help Lexi, please go to Change.org and sign the petition. And use social media to get others to sign. You can also go to Facebook , or Twitter. And to help the family with a donation, please click here. Also, visit Home Forever for more info and resources. 


Here’s a tweet you can steal: URGENT. Little girl heartbroken — ripped away from home. Sign petition to keep Lexi home: https://www.lexipetition.com.  @Change #keeplexihome

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves;ensure justice for those being crushed. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice” (Proverbs 31:8 & 9, NLT).

Your voice counts. Please pray--and sign the petition for Lexi here. 

This article also appears in Assist News. 

Janey DeMeo M.A.

Copyright © March 2016

www.orphansfirst.org

www.JaneyDeMeo.com

www.twitter.com/JaneyDeMeo

http://janey-demeo.blogspot.com