Great News!

The number one predictor of a child’s success is their attachment to a parent or primary caregiver. That is what the research shows. As a social worker and a therapist I knew this, but it didn’t necessarily break my heart until November 2005 when I sat in the dirt in a Zimbabwean parking lot with a group of 12 boys, each of which had no connection to a primary caregiver.

Most of you reading this know the story; it became impossible for me to walk away. I could quote dismal statistics of what happens to kids in Zimbabwe when they are orphaned or as they age out of orphanages, but I won’t do that today. Mainly because I know that no matter what the numbers say, there is a solution. It is not an easy one; it is costly—almost beyond measure. But it is totally worth it.

If a child is orphaned, abandoned, or neglected, exposed to alcohol or drugs, their mother had a stressful pregnancy or was malnourished, or they have experienced prolonged dehydration or starvation, they are considered children from hard places. Zimbabwe has 1.6 million orphans and an immeasurable amount of children from hard places.

Many of these children are available for adoption locally. Few were being adopted, but we are seeing that change! With a team of Zimbabweans from The Michael Project, I have spent the past couple of years advocating and raising awareness in local churches and communities and we are seeing the fruit of that. Families are starting to adopt and churches are encouraging family based interventions as opposed to building another orphanage. This is great news!

However, in order to best equip these families to parent children from hard places we need to be able to help them overcome the trauma that results from the grief of losing their first family. This is where you come in.

There is so much that can be done. First of all you can pray, for the children and for their families. Secondly, you can help us provide the resources many of these families need –it is inexpensive to adopt in Zimbabwe, but it is expensive to raise a child. Thirdly, you can help me attend an invaluable training in the States. I am being certified in TBRI, an extremely successful therapeutic intervention for children from hard places. It will cost $9,600 for me to attend this and a couple other trainings in the States, including my travel.

 If you would like to make a tax deductible donation towards these expenses, please see www.rockofafrica.org/regina I appreciate your prayers and support so much.

Without you these last 7 years would have been very different indeed! Every child that I have been able to counsel here is because of the amazing generosity of you, my friends and family.

Love from Zimbabwe,

Regina

"Adoption is a redemptive response to tragedy that takes place in this broken world" Katie Davis