How many orphans are there in the world today?  That's a hard question to answer.  Depending on the source, the numbers vary greatly from country to country.  But most people agree on one fact: India has a major orphan crisis!  According to Operation World:

"No country can rival India's staggering need.  Of India's 400 million children under 15 years old, possibly up to 35 million are orphans.  Eleven million are abandoned (90% girls); three million live on the street.  There are 20 million child labourers (including many instances of bond slavery to pay family debts)--some estimates claim 50 million.  Up to two-thirds of children suffer physical abuse, and one-half some kind of sexual harassment or abuse.  Over 1.2 million children are involved in prostitution; many of these are Napali or Bangladeshi."(1)

With those broad statistics in mind, listen to the heart of Kevin White on today's Footsteps.  Then, pray for God to use the body of Christ to reach out to the millions of orphans and hurting children in India.

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(Photo of Kevin White, Founder and Executive Director of Global Hope India)

1. Jason Mandryk, Operation World, Seventh Edition (Colorado Springs: Biblica Publishing, 2010), 410.