The Global Oprhan Project in Parkville makes the world a better place for orphans and donors alike

PARKVILLE, Missouri - Kansas City's "The Global Orphan Project "provides people with the means and connections to help orphaned children all over the world.

"Our ministry is a very unique connecting pipe in the world of global orphan care. That's really what we do, we're just a connecting pipe," CEO Joe Knitting explained.

The Global Orphan Project makes it possible for us to send aid and support to helpless children.

"There is a pandemic in our world right now that claims 22,000 lives under the age of 5 in the poorest corners of our world where children are very, very vulnerable. The most vulnerable are those children who have lost their parents..."said Knitting.

It's not all bad news though because people here in Kansas City and all over the country are standing up and offering their help.

That help goes even further thanks to founders Mike and Beth Fox who make sure that 100% of every donation given to the Global Orphan Project makes it to the children.

"People over here can make a difference in the lives of children over there without having to worry about who's paying the light bill at this building," Knitting said.

The main focus at the Global Orphan Project is that people help. No donation is too big or too small, no one is too young or too old to help.

Cara Morrison is an example of this. When she was just seven years old she learned about orphans and immediately felt a need to help.

"She said she wanted to go to the bank and send all of her money to Africa. I could see in her eyes and feel from her heart that she wanted to do something more," Cara's mother Ann Morrison explained.

Cara's mother suggested they hold a charity talent show for the neighborhood. The show has been on for three years now and has raised over $10,000.

"The first year I did it for Zambia, Africa and then the second year I did it for Haiti and then this is my third year and then this year I did it for Haiti again," Cara Morrison said of her shows.

Even the smallest effort can help the orphans.

"Don't take the bait that you have to do something that is perceived as big to make a difference," Joe Knitting said.

What the Global Orphan Fund is looking for is donations, not aid. So a charity talent show like Cara's is preferred over a clothing drive because the Global Orphan Project is looking to set up businesses so that the third world countries can produce their own clothing or other necessities.

"We need to stop sending globs and globs of aids and perpetuity and our hand-me-downs and we need to start sending purchase orders where we can create jobs so that there is more orphan prevention that is being done," Knitting explained.

This planning towards the future has made the Global Orphan Project just another reason we are proud to call it home.

For information on how you give donations or go on a trip to a village go to the Global Orphan Projects website at theglobalorphanproject.org.