Decades ago, International Children’s Day  was developed to be celebrated on June 1st annully to draw awareness to children’s issues, including safety, education, human rights, and health care. With more than 144 million children worldwide having lost one or both parents, and with the continued rise in incidents of human trafficking around the world, drawing awareness to the plight of the world’s children has never been more important.

Children in every country, including the United States, are in danger of being trafficked. Those most at risk are the vulnerable children – those living without the love of a forever family. For without the love and nurturing of a forever family, children often times are left to fend for themselves – falling prey to unscrupulous adults whose only concern is capitalizing on the misfortunes of others.

Fortunately, initiatives protecting the most innocent are being implemented in countries across the globe. Over the past several years, Bethany Christian Services has had the honor to work closely with a number of governments and NGOs to introduce and strengthen child welfare services so that children are able to remain with their biological parents or be placed in loving homes in their home country. Such efforts are critical to improving the variety of issues for which International Children’s Day was founded.

So what can you do to support the most vulnerable on International Children’s Day? Familiarizing yourself with the issues at hand certainly is a step in the right direction. Becoming educated in the challenges children face will allow you to take action to assist them, and will enable you to bring further attention to these matters through conversations with others in your network. For it is through such conversation and resulting action that real change will occur.

Opening your home to a child in crisis – whether as an adoptive or foster parent – is another way in which you can assist vulnerable children. The love and stability you provide will have a life-changing impact.

So if you’re seeking to make a difference this International Children’s Day or any day for that matter, consider what steps you can initiate in your own life that will have an impact on the lives of the innocent.

Learn more about Bethany’s child welfare initiatives here in the United States and around the world at bethany.org.