Orphan Factsheet
- It is very difficult to know how many orphaned and abandoned children are in State care in China because official statistics are not currently available. Previous official and unofficial estimates range from a few thousand to a few million.
- The majority of children in State care are abandoned by their parents rather than orphans; they range in age from days old to around 17 years.
- Poverty, discrimination (against girls and the disabled), and an inability to cope (financially or physically) with congenital disabilities are the main reasons children are abandoned in China.
- Because the funding of homes for children in State care comes primarily from local governments, orphaned and abandoned children in the poorer regions of China are more likely to receive inadequate financial support to meet more than their most basic needs than children in relatively richer areas.
- Traditional beliefs and superstitions about the bad omens associated with orphaned and abandoned children mean Chinese people tend not to get involved in helping them. Also, China’s charitable sector is not yet developed, so the extra funding institutions need to care for their children is insufficient. For these reasons, foreign help to improve the lives of children without their parents is still very much needed.
- China is currently taking steps towards the de-institutionalisation of children in State care. Its target is to reduce by half the number of children in institutions. To do this, the government is promoting community-based initiatives such as adoption, foster care and small-group homes as alternatives.
- Foreign-run and local social organisations have recently been encouraged to manage and improve children's homes. The government's policy is to devolve the provision of services for orphaned and abandoned children to private organisations, with the State playing a more supportive and regulatory role.
- The community of organisations working with orphaned and abandoned children in China includes local social organisations, international NGOs, religious groups and adoption agencies. Click here to find out about the organizations The Great Tea Party 2008 supports.
