“There is an estimated 160 million children on the streets of this world and 104 million orphans with no mother or father and no one to care for them.”
“There are roughly 37 million Americans, including nearly 13 million children who (still) live in poverty.”
“One in ten children in the State of Connecticut lives in poverty.”
My good friend and founder of Action International Ministries, Doug Nichols, has sent out a request to become Advocates for Children in Crisis. At work, our agency is in the midst of developing a 3 and 10 year strategic plan that has as a component of its foundation the reducing of child poverty in its service delivery area (mid-Fairfield county, CT). And, my state’s legislature passed a law that seeks to reduce child poverty in Connecticut by 50% by 2014.
These are not happy coincidences—at least not to me. I wrote Doug Nichols to tell him to sign me up. It ain’t hard or difficult, we are just being asked to talk about it, mention it, make people aware that children live in crisis, live in poverty. I told him that I’d be glad to be such an advocate. I set aside this page on my blog to highlight and discuss Child Poverty. It is simply unacceptable that in one of the richest countries on earth, among a land with plentiful resources and capacity, within an economic environment that thrives on up-ward mobility, which fought an oppressive empire so everyone would have the right to the pursuit of happiness, and a constitution that guarantees that our government will “promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity” that we allow children to live in poverty. It is simply unacceptable.
I will post stats, demographics, anecdotes, stories, legislation, and of course my comments. When I can I will also post best practices, prayer requests, and other information on child poverty (here in Connecticut, the United States, and throughout the world). I will post links to organizations and agencies that are working on child poverty issues and those actually doing the work—both within the church and non-church.
I hope you will become part of the discussion as well, maybe even the solutions.
Posted by Chip Anderson at 08:09 AM. Filed under: In the Margins • Wasted Evangelism • Child Poverty •
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