Daphna Ziman

Daphna Ziman has been an advocate for children everywhere. She is aware of the crisis that faces millions of children around the world without parents. Her mission is to educate the public on the need to become involved as mentors, foster parents and adoptive parents. She lobbies for social services for young people all over the world. In 1996 Daphna Ziman established Children Uniting Nations ("CUN")an organization based in Los Angeles, California that is devoted to the rights of children everywhere.

The state of California is one of the worlds largest economic centers. Its annual earnings combined make it one of the richest places in the world. Yet with all of the affluence, there is still a large population of children who do not have a basic support system. According to California's Governor Davis there are over 100,000 children in the foster care program in California who require assistance. One hundred times a day, some place in California, a child is placed into foster care. A shortage of foster care homes means that many children are placed into residential group homes where they are cared for by a paid staff. The high turn over in staff and foster home makes it very difficult for these children to find an anchor of support, a long term friend or advocate.

Each night over 11,000 children will sleep on the streets of Los Angeles. The reality is that without the guidance and supervision of a caring adult, children often become lost and alienated. Seventy five percent of all inmates in penitentiaries in the United States came by way of the child welfare system. It is understood by all of those working in the field that volunteer mentors can really make a difference in the lives of these children.

For the last four years, Children Uniting Nations has organized celebrations to bring the public's attention to the needs of children. On Nov. 11, 2001 over 2500 foster care and children without parents attended the International Day of the Child extravaganza at the Santa Monica Pier in California. This day at the amusement park brought together foster children and volunteer families to share rides and music. A coalition of organizations and celebrities attended to help inform the public about the many ways each one of us can help to make a difference in the life of a child.

Individuals can mentor, become a big brother or sister, and adults are desperately needed to provide foster care and to adopt children of all ages who need the love and support of a family.

According to Children Uniting Nations statistics, the rewards for mentoring are great, the results inspiring.

98% of all children that are mentored stay in school
50% less pregnancies occur in mentored children
45% less children turn to drugs

 

The cycle of abandonment and neglect must be addressed by the community at large. These children need guides to help them on their way to successful independence. Recent California legislation has expanded the "Independent living program" to provide support to youths who, because of their age (16-20), have become emancipated from the social service system. These new laws provide teenagers in transition with much needed stipends for housing, textbooks and employment searches. Those children coming of age in the welfare system traditionally have been left to their own resources. With no family to guide them, many teenagers become homeless and find their way back into the system by way of prison for committing crimes that insure their return to a state run system.

Teenagers require shelter and medical attention. Yet as these young people graduate from foster care and residential group homes they soon discover that they are truly alone. Those children who want to attend college need advocates to help them find a way to work and stay in school.

The mission of Children Uniting Nations is a global one. Daphna Ziman has been the moral conscience of the nation, publicly reminding us that there are over 10 million Aids orphans in Africa that need our support. The events of Sept. 11th have left thousands of children in the United States without parents. The war in Afghanistan has caused more pain and suffering to a population that already had experienced an orphan rate of one in four children.

In a world that sometimes seems so complex and full of issues that cannot easily be resolved, one thing is perfectly clear. One person can make a tremendous difference in the life of a child who has no parent to guide them. Please pass the word along to your friends and to your family. Make room in your hearts for children who need your attention and your hearts will be full.