Christian Group Pressured to Drop Indonesia Orphanage Plan

An evangelical Christian charity has suspended fund-raising plans to place 50 Muslim children orphaned by the Asian tsunami in a Christian orphanage in Jakarta. World Help stopped the fund-raiser after they have been told by the Indonesian government that Muslim children could not be brought up in a non-Muslim home.

Muslim groups have criticised the effort, saying it would take advantage of those in need, and mixing relief efforts with proselytising is banned by most religious groups.

"We're really not trying to proselytise," said the Rev. Vernon Brewer of World Help. "It's no different than what Mother Theresa did by taking Hindu orphan children and placing them in a Roman Catholic children's home in Calcutta, and she won the Nobel Peace Prize for doing that."

So far, the Virginia-based charity has raised $70,000 which is enough to plan 50 orphans for 3 three years in an orphanage maintained by World Help partners Henry and Roy Lanting. They had originally planned to care for 300 children.

Now that the plans have been dropped, the charity now hopes to find homes for the 50 children. All in all, World Help has raised $200,000 for tsunami relief efforts.

Indonesia has announced a ban on foreign adoptions of orphaned children after reports of possible child-smuggling or exploitation following the Dec. 26 disaster.