International (MNN) — One of the biggest fears of many ministries, following the tragic Haiti earthquake, was for children in school. Many were anxious to get the year going again, to ensure that children stick with their schooling and get back to normal.
At least some schooling has become a regular part of a child's life in nearly every place around the world. Education is what brings hope for children who are well-off around the globe but especially for children who suffer from poverty. Education is their way out of that lifestyle.
"What we have found across the world with orphans and vulnerable children is that education is truly the key to making a difference in their lives," confirms Tiffany Taylor Wines with Orphan Outreach.
Decent education is virtually impossible in the absence of basic supplies. Children need paper and writing utensils to learn literacy. They need some sort of bag in which to carry their things, especially when they're walking miles to and from school. Many of these basic needs could be the deciding factor of whether or not a child attends school and whether or not they succeed.
These things we know, yet so many children still go to school every year without access to even these basic supplies. Orphan Outreach has provided thousands of backpacks and supplies to children in the past and just recently sent 5,000 backpacks to children in Haiti. Unfortunately, the need is growing faster than people are giving, and Orphan Outreach has had to turn down other children in need.
Wines pleads, "We are really out there right now letting people know about this need and asking people to consider going to their schools, going to their churches, and collecting backpacks for us."
Orphan Outreach's Mission Backpack needs your help. Mission Backpack recruits believers to start drives and collections of backpacks filled with school supplies to send overseas. When the backpacks are all in, Orphan Outreach will fill them with Bibles and ship them to children in any of the countries they work with. Children will then have the opportunity to gain knowledge through education, as well as understanding the Truth through the Gospel.
Drives can be done at churches, schools, ministries, or workplaces. To host one, visit MissionBackpack.org. If you can't host a drive, there is still room for your hands to help! At that same Web site, you can donate $20 which will cover the cost of a backpack, a year's worth of supplies to fill it, and the money to ship it.
If you want to get even more hands on, consider hand-delivering the backpacks to children in Guatemala and Honduras this coming year. For more information on helping Orphan Outreach in mission, click here.
