The Economics of Orphans

Bailouts. Stimulus Packages. Inaguration price tags. Investment Scams. Executive bonuses. Free agency contracts. Movie stars.

Have you paid attention to the economic numbers lately?

$770 billion to Wall Street with a paperless accountability trail. A $300 billion proposed economic plan which might balloon to $1 trillion. $160 million for a three day party in DC. $50 billion in Bernie Madoff's mattress (or offshore bank accounts). $1.6 billion to bail-out bank executives in year end pay. Mark Teixeira gets $180 million for 8 years. That is $22.5 million per season. But is only slightly higher than what Julia Roberts gets paid per film at $20 million. (By the way, you get bonus points if you can name her last box office smash).

Here are some other numbers that are equally staggering.

143 million - the number of orphans in the world
$5,000 - the cost to build a house for 10 orphans
$400 - the monthly cost to provide food, clothing, shelter, medical care, education and love for these same 10 orphans.

So what would it take mathematically to put these orphans in a home with the essentials of life for one year? Approximatley $150 billion. Think Congress or corporations or athletes or actors (we will ignore the embezzelers and thieves) would be willing to siphon some of their funds to create a Orphan Survival package? Probably not.

So the task is left to you and me. And it begins with one orphan at a time.

My family has decided to start in Malawi. This is an African country of 14 million people with more than 1 million orphans. The life expectancy is approximately 40 years. AIDS and famine have touched if not ravaged most families. It is one of the 5 poorest countries in the world. No natural resources of value. Landlocked and desolate. Desperate for real hope and permanent change.

Working with C3 Missions International, we are engaged in a project to build an orphan village outside Salima called Pothawira. This beautiful word means "Safe Haven" in Chichewa and the village will eventually care for 600 orphans. There are several couples spearheading the efforts to raise $300,000 for 60 homes. Our daughter Libby and some friends have started Mizzou for Malawi to raise $25,000 for a school. Integral Life Foundation and some doctors at St. Luke's hospital are constructing a 22,000 sq. ft. medical facility and birthing center. There will be businesses that eventually help the village become self-sustaining.

What a vision and hope for the future! Can you image an orphan village providing health care, education, spiritual direction and hope to the surrounding communities?

600 may seem like an insignificant number compared to the total. But the journey of a 1,000 miles begins with a single step. And the care for 143 million starts somewhere. For us, the crossroads brought us to Salima.

Where will you begin?