Indian Orphans: Understanding Their Plight and Finding Ways to Help
India is home to tens of millions of orphans without a family, living in poverty and highly vulnerable. With the right support and hope, however, some of these children can still have a bright future. Learn how you can make a difference by providing Indian orphans with much-needed help.
Who Are the Orphans of India?
There are two types of Indian orphans. There are “true orphans,” children with no living parents, and “social orphans.” Social orphans are children who loses their parents due to poverty, mental illness, alcoholism, drugs or some other hard reality. For a social orphan, one or both of their parents are still alive, but they are unable to care for their children.
The numbers of both true and social orphans in India dramatically increased in recent years as a result of the COVID pandemic. Both of these groups of children are vulnerable and need outside help in order to thrive.
Understand the Issues Facing Indian Orphans
There are over 30 million Indian orphans. Less than half a million of these children are in institutionalized care, so the remaining 29.5 million are left to wander the streets. This is a dangerous prospect for Indian orphans.
In addition to the everyday struggles of homelessness, poverty and lack of education, Indian orphans are vulnerable to malnutrition, waterborne and vaccine preventable diseases.
But, one of the biggest dangers facing Indian orphans is the threat of exploitation. Exploitations often take the form of child trafficking, transactional sex (sex for food or other necessities) or child labor. Girls are often sold as child brides. In fact, according to UNICEF, India is home to the largest number of child brides in the world. Orphaned Indian boys, don’t fare any better however. Living on the streets, they are exposed to the risk of being captured and sold to extremist militant groups to serve as child soldiers.
What About Adoption for Indian Orphans?
With millions of orphaned children in India, many people wonder if they can adopt an child from India. However, for a variety of reasons, it is very difficult to adopt Indian orphans. In fact, despite the large number of orphaned children, only a tiny percentage of the tens of millions of orphans in India are eligible for adoption.
According to the Hindu, nearly 28,000 prospective parents are registered to adopt a child in India, but only a small percentage of those institutionalized orphans are legally free for adoption. In fact, in 2020-21, according to data from the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA), only 3,559 children were eligible for adoption with families living in India and overseas. This means that millions of children in India are left to fend for themselves without family and support.
How to Help Orphans in India
With major reforms needed in the adoption system for orphans in India, child sponsorship programs are a way to provide much needed support to Indian orphans.
What is a Child Sponsorship Program?
Sponsor a child programs pair an orphaned child with a caring individual who regularly contributes to meet the needs of their sponsored child. Sponsor a child programs vary in the amounts and types of care they provide as well as the amount of contact you can have with your sponsored child. For this reason, it is important to research and find the best one for your values and for the children you want to help. If you would like to help orphans in India, but are unable to adopt a child, sponsoring a child in India might be the best option for you!
Our Sponsor an Child Program for Indian Orphans
Motivated by compassion, Cornerstone World Missions is actively providing care for orphans and fatherless children through our sponsor a child program. Our orphanage in India is home to 25 children. We provide the children at our Indian orphanage with hope – hope for today, hope for the future and hope for eternity – by meeting their physical, spiritual and educational needs.
Read on to learn more about how we are helping orphans in India at our Indian orphanage.
Hope for Today: Care for the Basic Needs of Indian Orphans
Orphans and fatherless children in our sponsor a child program in India receive clean water and nutritious food to support their physical well-being. Children at our Indian orphanage live in a safe environment with access to urgent medical care.
Hope for Tomorrow: Basic and College Education for Orphans in India
Education is a critical component in helping Indian orphans get the skills and knowledge they need to lead successful lives. At Cornerstone World Missions, we provide Indian orphans with resources to attend schools, including uniforms and school books. After they complete their basic education, we offer eligible orphans the opportunity to receive a college education. This higher education will enable them to break free from the cycle of poverty and establish a means of supporting themselves and their family.
Hope for Eternity: Access to the Good News of Jesus for Indian Orphans
Indian orphans in our child sponsorship program have an opportunity to hear the gospel. They also experience the love of Christ daily at our Christ-centered Indian orphanage. Each day the children meet to pray for their sponsors and on Sunday they gather for worship at a local church.
Would You Like to Help Orphans in India?
Our Sponsor a Child program is a great way to help Indian orphans. Our program helps orphans in India by meeting their daily needs. It also gives them the opportunity to break free from the cycle of poverty through education. Learn more about our Sponsor a Child Program or give to support the work of Cornerstone World Missions.
