China (MNN) — China's one-child policy has its orphanages bursting with abandoned and orphaned children. Of the orphans in China, 70% are considered special needs, according to Adoption Associates. For orphaned children with special needs, Bethany Christian Services is seeking adoptive parents with special hearts for these kids.
Currently, the China Team is working with Bethany Christian Services Henan Camp referrals to find adoptive families for the orphans there. Most of these orphans have cerebral palsy. Henan province is located in the eastern-central region of China and has thousands of orphans due to AIDs, the one-child policy, or disabilities.
So far, they have been able to match up ten orphans with loving families. Bethany Christian Services is hoping to find more families for special needs children waiting for a home.
As special needs children are placed in loving, Christian families, they are able to enter into an environment where they are told they have value because there is a God who loves them. This is a very different message from the society that rejected them.
Adoption of special needs children from China is not simply adding a member to the family. It is also a precious opportunity to reach out with the loving hands of Christ and change the life of a child who may have otherwise grown up believing they have little value.
China's one-child policy has led to a rise in the number of orphans since it was applied in 1979. This policy restricts the number of children a married couple is allowed to have — to one. There are a few exceptions with rural couples. However, because of this rule, most orphans in China are either girls or children with disabilities. Boys are preferred since a son carries on the family name.
Since 2000, Bethany Christian Services has conducted conferences entitled "Every Child Deserves a Family." These conferences encourage and support foster-care workers and orphanage directors who move orphans to family-based care. They truly have a heart for abandoned orphans in China and believe that even children who have disabilities still have the right to find a loving family.
In all of their work with Chinese orphans, this adoption service as found homes for more than 2,200 orphans through international adoption. They also have 20 children with special needs in foster homes with their foster care program.
Please pray for Bethany Christian Services as they continue in their efforts to match special needs orphans with adoptive families. Pray also that as these kids join loving, Christian families, they would grow in the knowledge and acceptance of Jesus Christ as their Savior.
If you would like to learn more about the Chinese orphans with disabilities and the adoption process, you can click here.
