Our project "Distance Adoption" consists of taking on the care of children from needy families. We focus on their standard of living, their education, and their moral and spiritual training.
After we make contact with a needy family, we evaluate their situation, taking into consideration such factors as why the parents are unemployed, if they love and are doing their best to care for their children, if anyone in the household has a substance abuse problem, etc. When a family qualifies for help from our program, we create a file for each child that includes his or her photo, as well as photos of the home and neighborhood.
The next step is finding donors who will pledge a monthly donation to be passed on to the children we link them to. We encourage the donors to stay in touch, either by mail or visitation. On a regular basis we document how the family has used the money for the child’s benefit.
The minimum monthly donation is 20 euros. That may seem very little, but in a poor country like Albania, that goes a long way. Many of these families have more than one child, so in the case of an entire family getting "adopted," some donors give 100 euros each month—roughly the equivalent of the Albanian minimum monthly salary.
We also encourage everyone in the family to receive Jesus, and it’s been very encouraging to see the changes that take place after they do. Not only are they much happier, but often the Lord helps the adults to find work, sometimes for the first time in years. We also organize activities and excursions for the children.
So far over 40 children have been "adopted," we are helping about 60 more as best we can, and this project is rapidly expanding. If you want to know more about the Distance Adoption project and how you can be a part, please e-mail us at: favorfoundation@tiscali.it.
Originally Published in 2006.