Best Charities for Orphans: Support and Empower 2023
Interested in donating to orphan charities? Searching for the best charities for orphans?
Orphans are the world’s responsibility, and we cannot let them down.
– Desmond Tutu
While the circumstances surrounding orphaned children can be complicated and distressing, there are numerous charities and organizations that help orphans and are committed to enhancing these children’s lives.
Whether you’re considering a donation, volunteering your time, raising funds for orphans and orphan care, or seeking other methods of involvement, there are numerous commendable charities for orphans making a difference.
In this post, we’ll delve deeper into some of the leading orphan care charities you can support in 2023.
Some key facts related to orphans
- As of July 2022, there were approximately 147 million orphans in the world (UNICEF)
- Approximately 5700 children become orphans every day (Adoption.org)
- In the USA, there are approximately 113,000 children waiting to be adopted (AFCARS report)
Best Charities for Orphans and Orphan Causes
1. Orphan’s Promise
Orphan’s Promise is one of the best charities for orphans as it focuses on meeting the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of orphaned and at-risk children. They collaborate with local partners to provide holistic care and support that empowers orphans and children in distress to find safe, loving, family environments.
The organization helps over 50,000 kids every month and operates in 65 countries including India, Vietnam, Israel, Egypt, Argentina, USA etc. They operate over 350 projects and have fed more than 1 million nutritious meals and snacks.
Orphan’s Promise has been helping orphans and vulnerable children for many decades now. They provide access to education, healthcare, nutrition, and safe shelter. Their initiatives also focus on trauma healing, vocational training, and mentorship programs.
2. World Orphans
World Orphans partners with churches and community organizations to provide holistic care for orphaned and vulnerable children. They emphasize family preservation, community-based care, and long-term solutions that empower local communities to support and care for their own children.
World Orphans operates in various countries including war-struck countries like Iraq and works closely with local partners. They provide family-based care, education, healthcare, and vocational training to orphaned children. Last year itself, World Orphans collaborated with 70+ churches and institutions, 570+ families and helped thousands of children in their home-based care program.
They also invest in community development initiatives to create a sustainable support system.
Supporting World Orphans allows you to contribute to a model that prioritizes family and community integration for orphaned children. Your support helps create loving and stable environments, facilitates access to education and healthcare, and empowers communities to care for their vulnerable children, fostering long-lasting change.
3. Hope and Homes for Children
Hope and Homes for Children works to prevent family breakdown and ensure that children grow up in a loving and stable family environment. They advocate for family-based care and work with governments and communities to reform child welfare systems, close orphanages, and support family preservation.
Since its inception in 1994 in Bosnia, Hope and Homes for Children has helped transform the lives of thousands of children across multiple countries in East Europe, South Asia, and Africa. They have closed numerous orphanages and provided family-based care solutions. Their efforts have led to significant reductions in the number of children living in institutional care.
Supporting Hope and Homes for Children means supporting a cause that prioritizes family-based care for orphaned children. By contributing, you help dismantle harmful institutional systems, reunite children with families, and provide the necessary support to ensure that children can grow up in a nurturing and loving environment.
Donate to Hope and Homes for Children
4. SOS Children’s Villages
Unlike charities for foster care, charities for orphans like SOS Children’s Villages aim to provide long-term care and support to orphaned and abandoned children.
They create stable, loving homes where children can grow up, and receive education, healthcare, and emotional support. They work towards ensuring that siblings are not separated and that they are moved to permanenet family establishments where they enjoy long-term stability.
Their goal is to help these children become self-reliant adults and break the cycle of poverty. They have established more than 570 Children’s Villages and run various programs such as family strengthening, education, vocational training, and healthcare.
SOS Children’s Villages operates in over 130 countries, benefiting millions of children worldwide. They have done impressive work for orphans in war-struck areas like Ukraine, Syria, etc.
By supporting SOS Children’s Villages, you contribute to creating a nurturing environment where orphaned children receive the love, care, and resources they need to thrive. Your support helps provide them with stability, education, and a chance at a better future.
Donate to SOS Children’s Villages
Related: Best charities for school supply donations | How to raise funds for foster care
5. Save the Children
Save the Children is an outstanding charity working towards the cause of children. We had mentioned it even in our article on children health charities. It is dedicated to improving the lives of vulnerable children, including orphans, by providing them with access to education, healthcare, nutrition, and protection. They work to ensure that every child has the opportunity to grow up healthy, safe, and educated.
Even though Save the Children works towards a broader cause and not just the cause of orphans, it deserves a mention in this list for its wide impact area. Through its work in more than 100 countries, it has reached millions of children, including thousands of orphans, annually. They have implemented numerous programs, including emergency response, healthcare provision, education support, child protection, prevention of child labor, advocacy.
Supporting Save the Children enables you to make a significant impact on the lives of orphaned children. Your contribution helps provide life-saving interventions, quality education, healthcare services, and protection from harm, giving these children a chance to overcome adversity and build a brighter future.
6. Miracle Foundation
The Miracle Foundation is dedicated to empowering orphaned and vulnerable children by providing them with quality care, education, and support. They work towards ensuring that every child grows up in a loving, nurturing family-like environment where they can thrive and reach their full potential. Just like Hope and Homes mentioned above, Miracle foundation is also an active advocate of non-institutional care for orphans.
The Miracle Foundation has transformed the lives of thousands of orphaned children in India and other countries. They have improved the lives of 170,000+ children and supported over 32,000 family members. Their approach is to determine which individual a child in the orphanage feels safe with and then relocating the child to that individual’s family home. For a smooth relocation, the organization relies on the Thrive metric and supports the relocation financially as well.
By supporting the Miracle Foundation, you directly impact the lives of orphaned children, enabling them to break the cycle of poverty. Your contribution helps provide vital resources, educational opportunities, and a loving home environment. Additionally, the Miracle Foundation emphasizes long-term sustainability, ensuring that your support creates lasting change in the lives of these children.
7. Orphans International Worldwide
Orphans International Worldwide (OIWW) was started in 1999 and grew into a notable charity for orphan care following the Tsunami in 2004. It is to providing care, education, and support to orphaned and abandoned children globally. They strive towards the relocation of orphaned children to the homes of extended family members, neighbours and friends homes and arrange necessary financial support.
It is focused on empowering children through family-based care, educational programs, and vocational training, equipping them with the skills they need to become self-sufficient and contributing members of society. Its work and impact are also the cause of a movement resulting in the establishment of over 100 Orphans International centers across the world.
Supporting Orphans International Worldwide allows you to contribute to the transformation of the lives of orphaned children. Your support helps provide them relocate smoothly without financial or emotional harships to a family care home. By investing in their future, you enable them to break free from the cycle of poverty and build successful lives.
Donate to Orphans International Worldwide
8. Kids Alive International
Kids Alive International is a Christian charity started in 1916 in China. It is grown into a worldwide organization and stays committed to providing holistic care to orphaned and vulnerable children. They focus on meeting their physical, emotional, educational, and spiritual needs through residential care, education programs, healthcare services, and community development initiatives.
Kids Alive International has done substantial work for children in Dominican Republic, Zambia, Taiwan, Peru, Lebanon, Kenya, Haiti and Guatemala. Through various ministry, it has given orphans and abandoned children access to clothing, medical facilities, nutritious food.
By supporting Kids Alive International, you contribute to a comprehensive approach that addresses the diverse needs of orphaned children. Furthermore, the organization’s emphasis on community development ensures a sustainable impact on the lives of orphaned children and their surrounding communities.
Donate to Kids Alive International
9. Kinship United
Kinship United is dedicated to rescuing and caring for orphaned and abandoned children worldwide. They focus on providing loving, family-style homes within kinship care, where children are placed with extended family or other community members who can provide them with a stable and nurturing environment.
Kinship United has established kinship care homes in multiple countries, rescuing and providing care to thousands of orphaned children. They ensure that children are placed within their own cultural and familial contexts, preserving their identity and connections.
Kinship United also lets you donate for a specific cause associated with bettering the lives of orphans. You can donate for the cause of rescuing orphaned children, or children in abusive situations and providing a caring home or you could donate for provision of nourishing meals, clean water, education or introducing kids to the gospel.
How to choose the best charity for orphan care? Which charity should you donate to?
We, at Charity Fund Zone, believe that no amount spent out of generosity for a good cause every goes waste. So no matter which charity from the above list you choose, be assured that it would make a positive difference.
Some factors that you could consider though to align your donation to the cause that matters most to you are
The area of operation of the charity and respect towards local customs
Some charities work on a city, town or state level. If you want your money to be used for the orphans of a particular region, study the geographical outreach of the charity in question.
For example, Miracle foundation focuses primarily on India while Orphan’s Promise has a global outreach.
But if you want to support a charity working in a specific region or country, read its reviews and ways of operation to make sure its way of working respects the local culture, customs and traditions. Check if it employs local staff to ensure that orphans are supported in a culturally sensitive manner.
Efficiency and Accountability
Perhaps one of the most critical aspects to consider when choosing a charity is its efficiency and accountability. Look for organizations that spend a high percentage of their budget directly on their programs, rather than on overhead or fundraising costs. You can typically find this information on their websites or via charity evaluation platforms like Charity Navigator or GiveWell. Go through the financial statements of these non profit organizations.
Child Protection Policies
Lastly, but critically important, is the organization’s commitment to child safety. The charity should have robust child protection policies in place and staff should be adequately trained in child protection.
In some unfortunate cases, orphanages have been linked to child exploitation or trafficking. Reputable organizations should have measures in place to prevent these issues, ensuring the children’s safety and wellbeing at all times. Before making a donation, search for news associated with the charity and see if any negative news comes up. This will protect your money from falling into the wrong hands.
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