Raised by Wolves?

Even wolves would be better parents. Wolves (as far as I know) don't get AIDS and die and leave thousands upon thousands of their young without homes, love, food, clothes, education, direction, and dignity. Zambian orphans (the ones who were tough enough to survive) are growing up. They are becoming teenagers who are forming gangs that forage for food. We of the western world who don't know what it's like to go hungry for days cannot appreciate the desperation and determination that would drive someone to do anything for a meal. These gangs will probably start to make 'Lord of the Flies' look like a church youth camp. What is going to happen 10 years from now? Who is going to lead the country?
Christians have a monumental task ahead in Zambia (and all of Africa). This is the time for the people of God to step up and take care of the widows, orphans, and the oppressed. Many families in Zambia that are already stretched to the max have taken on an extra child or two. Even if they are taken in, orphans don't always receive the best of care. There is only so much food to go around at dinner time and sometimes the orphans get the short end of the stick.
They tell us that they get mocked at school for not having parents (if they're even lucky enough to have a school), and I hear that some of them have been 'adopted' by people who use them for slave labor. It's no wonder they form gangs to look out for each other.
The thousands of orphaned boys and girls in Africa are going to remember who took care of them - and someday they are going to be running things on the continent. If the church wants to have a witness in Africa 20 years from now, it would do well to consider what it is doing for orphans today. "Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in His holy habitation..."- Psalm 68. Just as God cares for them so must we. More to come...