Who Are These Children Who Wait?

Who are these children who wait?

We hear a lot of numbers thrown around about the number of waiting children (or “orphans”) in the world. The most common number you will see is 132 million, which includes both single orphans (a child with only one living parent) and double orphans (a child with no living parent). The vast majority of these children, even the 13 million that are double orphans, are living with extended family or friends. Believe it or not, it is not clear whether the 132 million includes kids living in orphanages (estimated to be in the 7-8 million range).

The 132 million number is misleading if you read it to mean that there are 132 million children waiting to be adopted internationally. Even the majority of the 7 to 8 million kids living in orphanages are not eligible for international adoption. Although we may not know the exact number, we do know that there are many many children that are available for adoption. Most of these children are over the age of 4 and most have some type of special need ranging from minor correctable needs to much more significant needs.

How to Find International Waiting Children?

You must work with an agency in order to adopt internationally and most international adoption agencies list their available waiting kids on their website. You will have to create a login to view the info on these children because most countries do not allow information to be shared on their children unless it is password protected.

To find out more about our waiting children, click here.

Credit: Creating A Family