By Ken Smitherman, President ACSI (retired 2009)
Her image is burned vividly in my mind. This nine-month-old child was irresistible in her gorgeous red velvet dress with the white lace collar that framed her adorable round face and big brown eyes. Her winning smile, playful cooing, and cute babylike attempts at conversation belied the real story dictating her future.
She sat on the floor in the nursery in Lusaka, Zambia. As a parent of four daughters and grandparent of five granddaughters and one grandson, I had to know her story. It was heartbreaking to see this beautiful child living in an orphanage. What was she doing there?
Carefully and clearly, the director of the small orphanage began to tell Ruthie’s story. She was an AIDS orphan. She had been robbed of her parents by a disease that is rampant beyond imagination in her country. Destined to be institutionally parented, Ruthie had begun adapting to a rotation of caretakers who had too little time to provide the essentials that are the normal fare in a traditional home, such as being cuddled in a rocking chair and soothed by stories and lullabies.
Then I learned the rest of her story. As a beautiful baby, Ruthie had been adopted by a family in western Europe. She had been flown with her new family to Europe from Zambia, a tiny country in the southern cone of Africa. The family was excited about their new baby and began addressing her needs. The resulting medical examinations re vealed the frightening truth. Ruthie was HIV positive. The new s was a staggering blow to her new family, who concluded that this beautiful but flawed child must be returned.
Basic literacy, math skills, and health education, coupled with the hope found in Jesus Christ, offer abundant opportunity to needy children in some of the most depressing and seemingly hopeless places.
It is not my role to condemn or judge, but I could hardly bear this revelation. In contracting the HIV virus, Ruthie received, for no crime of her own, what was most likely to be a death sentence. Then she faced what could be described as the ultimate rejection.
This is only one of the multiplied thousands of heartrending stories of the innocent victims of AIDS. However, physical disease is not the only plight of many children around the world. Rampant poverty, desperate living conditions, lack of education and marketable skills, and overall hopelessness compound the distress of millions of children.
We at ACSI are convinced that Christian schooling offers a phenomenal hope to this and future generations as it lifts the veil of ignorance and brings light. Basic literacy, math skills, and health education, coupled with the hope found in Jesus Christ, offer abundant opportunity to needy children in some of the most depressing and seemingly hopeless places.
The Association of Christian Schools International provides Christian school sponsorship for children in more than 15 countries. The poorest of the poor receive Christian school scholarships through the ACSI Student Sponsorship Program. Begun in 1992 with 199 students, ACSI sponsorship now serves more than 800 children who access Christian schooling because of the generosity of many. Sponsoring a child is an opportunity beyond mere goodwill or a handout. It is a chance to furnish a Christ-centered education; children learn how to live today, be responsible for tomorrow, and win the prize for eternity.
You and your family can sponsor a needy child through this program. You will receive a packet of information on a student who could receive a Christian school education if he or she had a sponsor. The packet includes a picture of the student and information about the school and the student’s family. You will receive regular correspondence from your sponsored student.
The King will reply, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” Matthew 25:40, NIV
Return to Sender 33.7