Children
Children are precious to God, and they are precious to us. Samaritan’s Purse is
called to care for children who are struggling to survive in the face of poverty,
hunger, violence, sickness, and abuse. Across the globe our projects are providing
needy children with shelter, food, medical care, education, and most importantly,
the opportunity to let them know they are precious to God.
- Three million children are orphaned by AIDS every year.
- Millions of children around the world are without primary caregivers.
- Worldwide, an estimated 1.2 million children are trafficked each year.
- Approximately 1 million children are exploited every year in the multibillion-dollar sex industry.
- 300,000 child soldiers, some as young as eight, are exploited in armed conflicts in more than 30 countries around the world.
- Two million children are estimated to have died as a direct result of armed conflict over the last decade. At least 6 million children have been seriously injured or permanently disabled.
- Nearly 10,000 children are killed or maimed by landmines each year.
- War and poverty are major factors disrupting children’s access to education.
- The AIDS pandemic has massively disrupted education, especially for girls.(sources:
UNICEF 2005; Avert, 2005)
“Some children were brought to Jesus so he could lay his hands on them and
pray for them. The disciples told them not to bother him. But Jesus said, “Let
the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to
such as these. And he put his hand on their heads and blessed them before
he left.” (Matthew 19: 13-15, NLT)
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