Helping the Poor and Needy Through Education: Examining the Similarities Between Poverty Education Research and Orphan Education

God’s care and compassion for the less fortunate is mentioned throughout the Bible. This emphasis reminds the Christian educator that the act of helping the helpless is not a suggestion, but one’s Christian duty. James 1:27 says, “Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you” (NLT). Jeremiah 22:16 reminds us that to “know God” means helping the widow and the orphan. Likewise, Hosea 12:6 tells us to return to God, “Hold fast to love and mercy, to righteousness and justice, and wait [expectantly] for . . . God continually” (AMP). These verses suggest that when we help the helpless, we know the heart of God and become His hands in the process. This paper addresses the needs of orphans throughout the world by attempting to link research by Ruby Payne and others on educating students living in poverty in the United States with research on orphan education in other nations. The objective is to discover educational methods and a biblical perspective for assisting orphan schools around the world. By doing so, Christian educators can assist the poor and needy through the application of biblical principles to the profession of education