OUR PRIORITIES
Mwana Villages sets forth a holistic model of ethical orphan care.
ORPHANHOOD PREVENTION
The global orphan crisis is nuanced and complex. Many vulnerable children have a family unit that is fragile. These children are at risk of becoming orphans due to poverty, illness or cultural realities.
REUNIFICATION FIRST
The cyclical nature of the orphan crisis will be broken only when we prioritize family preservation and reunification. We then support vulnerable families toward self-sufficiency as a means for orphanhood prevention.
ADOPTION WHEN NEEDED
Only when family reunification is not possible or safe, we pursue loving adoptive families for the children in need.
We invite you to become learners and advocates as you partner in transformational work.
RESOURCES + READINGS
for group discussion
MWANA Podcasts
The 411 on Planned Charitable Giving
Ethics + Advocacy: What you may not know about traditional orphan care
recommended + guest podcasts
The Bridgers' Journey through an Unethical Adoption
Holistic Orphan Care and Mwana’s Model
Articles
"My time with an ethical orphanage"
"Beauty. Resilience. Poverty. Marginalization"
“Healthcare and the Orphan Crisis”
Questions for orphan care organizations
Questions for adoption agencies
Intercountry Adoption and Poverty: A Human Rights Analysis
Of Orphans and Adoption, Parents and the Poor, Exploitation and Rescue
recommended websites
Essays
"Orphan Care and the Christian Response"
"The 'Un-Ethics' of International Adoption"
"Give Refuge Campaign: A journey through a few months at the Mwana Refuge"
“Africa Calls Me” a chapter from On the Move
Recommended books
In Defense of the Fatherless by Sara Brinton
Child Catchers by Kathryn Joyce
Children Belong in Families by Mick Pease
When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert
The Color of Love by Michelle Madrid-Branch
White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
Dead Aid by Dambisa Moyo
Bridges out of Poverty by Ruby Payne
Poor Economics by Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo