ARTICLE: Aid Gives Alternative to African Orphanages, By CELIA W. DUGGER, New York Times, December 5, 2009

A very good thing and something our adoption agency in Ethiopia works very hard to do. Doesn't work for everybody, but does work for some. But yes, it was a prerequisite in terms of the agency we selected: those who can be helped enough need to stay with their extended families and in Ethiopia, but those who can't make that work need to be offered the option of having their kids emigrate to America and better opportunities. The clear goal is to reduce any child's time at an orphanage, because institutional living always creates a tough legacy. In this way, these sorts of direct-aid programs mimic what the Catholic groups have done for years. My family, for example, has helped a number of pre-teen girls in India stay with their families through direct aid. We've been doing that for about two decades.