IN DEFENSE OF THE FATHERLESS
Redeeming International Adoption & Orphan
Care
By Sara Brinton & Amanda Bennett
Christian Focus. 298 pages. £8.99
ISBN 978 1 781 915 516
Amanda Bennett pulled out of adopting three Rwandan siblings when she realised they had a mother who only needed help to raise them herself. Sara Brinton would have adopted a Ugandan baby, born from the rape of a young woman dying of AIDS, had the child survived long enough. The passion for a Biblical approach to ‘the orphan crisis’ grew from these experiences.
Worldwide there are about 151 million orphans, defined by UNICEF as a child who has lost one or both parents. Of these, 18 million have lost both parents, 8 million live in orphanages and the remainder mostly in fragile families.
How should Western Christians respond? Children do not thrive in orphanages and are prey to exploitation. Short-term mission trips can be self-indulgent and may undermine local efforts. International adoption can breed corruption and the trafficking of healthy babies.
The Bible links orphans and widows firmly together. It is people on the ground, especially local churches who can most effectively (and cheaply) confront the issues destroying families, including violence, injustice and disease. Nor are Bennett and Brinton afraid to highlight the part played by irresponsible fathers – and how only the gospel can change hearts.
In Defense of the Fatherless deals mainly with struggling states like the DRC or Ethiopia, and is written from an American perspective. The UK implements the Hague Inter-country Adoption Convention, which seeks to raise standards – China, for instance, has increased domestic adoption since signing, leaving the adoption of special-needs children to countries better able to help them.
The book’s numerous facts, figures and footnotes, along with chapters on the Christian duty to care for the poor, sometimes get repetitive. However, the inspiring and challenging stories of how the most vulnerable lives can be changed make this book well worth reading.
