![[ map of Africa ]](../images/maporphan.gif)
Problem
There are 11 million orphans in sub-Saharan Africa, many of whom receive little or no education and have turned to crime and drugs for survival. With their parents dying of AIDS, disease or poverty, many children are left with weak or nonexistent family ties. Children as young as nine are often burdened with the care of younger siblings and their needs are not being met.
Solution
Reach the Children seeks to place African orphans with loving African families. With their needs provided for, children no longer need to turn to the streets. They can learn and grow in a peaceful environment and become productive members of society.
Success
Rita was just a baby when Reach the Children volunteers visited the Sanyu Orphanage in Kampala, Uganda. Rita was brought to the orphanage by the local police two months earlier when she was involved in a car accident that killed her parents. Rita wouldn't eat or suck on a bottle. She wouldn't make any sound but tears would stream down her face. In the two months that volunteers were there, they gave attention and constant care to Rita. She began to eat and grow attached to the volunteers. As soon as she saw them, she would smile and hold out her arms for them to pick her up. As Reach the Children volunteers gave Rita the nurture and care she needed at the time when she needed it the most, she went from a sad, depressed baby to a happy one. Rita was soon adopted by loving family