How Did We Get Here?

Описание: Presented at World Without Orphans global forum in Chiang Mai, Thailand and the YWAM Together 2024 event in Manila, Philippines, this original animation by WWO conveys many of the problems and solutions for responding to neglected and abandoned children.
Script:
Imagine a river. It's no ordinary river. The river is full of young lives. Lives like mine. But how did we get here? I had a family, and when my dad got sick, my mom had to make some hard decisions. She went to a different village to work, and I went to the orphanage with my brother. Could someone have helped my mother keep us at home? My father was using drugs and drinking a lot. I ran away and ended up finding other kids on the streets. Could a safe family have helped? My mother had me when she was really young. She doesn't know how to be my mom. We're often left alone. Could someone teach my mom?

Now we remain caught in the river's flow. Estimates show there are between 2 and 8 million children like me caught in the river of institutional care. Violence and abuse have pulled hundreds of millions more into the river, but further downstream a frightful waterfall rumbles. Without help, we may drown.

You start feeling life preservers out one by one, trying to get us to safety. People are trying hard to rescue us from the river in different ways. I hear the grown-ups use a word called intervention. It means kids get out of the river, and I'm happy when that happens. But I've also seen kids go around the bend, and we don't know where they end up. They couldn't be reached in time.

I hear another word from adults—prevention. It means finding ways to keep us from falling in the river. Someone's gotta try. Lots of people can come to help. It seems the more they work together, the faster they'll get us out of the river. It will keep other kids from falling in, too. I think it's possible because I already see it happening. By working together in collaboration, we will see churches engaged, families strong, and children thriving. We will see a world without orphans.