Benson’s eyes were opened about the plight of orphans during their recent visit to see Ivan, who lives in an orphanage with 120 other children.
“It was the darkest place I have ever been,” he said. “Those kids didn’t chose the life they were born into. They each have something special to offer this world, but were abandoned by their families.
“It was just an eye-opening experience for us.”
The Need
According to Thompson, of the more than 4 million orphaned children in Russia, 20 percent of those are adopted or are able to survive when they are turned out from the orphanages at 16.
“About 80 percent of them end up involved in drugs or prostitution, and about 10 percent of those commit suicide,” she said. “They are considered the bottom of the bottom, so for most of them, adoption means life or death.