Episode 27: John McCollum
In a world where there are thousands of orphaned and at-risk children, it can sometimes seem that institutional orphan care is the only practical solution available in less wealthy nations, but for John McCollum, there seemed to be a better way.
Somewhere on the journey of adoption (they adopted their first child from Vietnam) and navigating his own start-up business enterprise, John and Kori stumbled into what seemed like a much healthier option of family based orphan care. That family model of orphan care (including children that are at-risk to be trafficked) became it’s own non-profit organization called Asia’s Hope…now serving children in Cambodia, Thailand, and India. At Asia’s Hope, every site is established with indigenous leaders (they employ more than 200 full-time indigenous workers)…hosting a full-time mom and dad who stay in the home every day, all day.
Today on the podcast, I share a conversation with John where he shares his personal faith journey and the unexpected path to running an international non-profit organization. John’s story is an equally amazing and surprisingly practical journey that emerged when hearts that are open to seeing the reality of people around them take one step at a time to love their neighbor.
Here are a couple of excerpts describing Asia’s Hope from their website:
These homes provide stable, long-term care for kids who can’t be safely reunited with extended family. Kids who are admitted to Asia’s Hope don’t get bounced around from home to home, family member to family member. Once they’re placed in an Asia’s Hope home, they can stay until they’ve finished high school. And after they graduate or complete their highest achievable grade level, Asia’s Hope pays for their university education or vocational training.
Asia’s Hope kids are achieving at an extraordinary level. Asia’s Hope kids are graduating high school, passing college placement tests and continuing on to university at a much higher rate than other kids in their country. In Cambodia, for instance, fewer than 20% of the general population can expect to graduate high school — but 90% of Asia’s Hope Cambodia kids are on track to complete grade 12. And nearly 90% of those graduates go on to higher education or further training, funded by Asia’s Hope.
I hope you enjoy getting to know John and the beautiful work being done through Asia’s Hope!
(John McCollum, co-founder and Executive Director of Asia’s Hope, lives in Columbus, Ohio with his wife, Kori, and three kids, Chien, Pak and Xiu Dan.)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
About Jeff Blackburn
Jeff Blackburn is a Spiritual Coach and passionate Truth-Seeker. An alumnus of Oxford University, Jeff is someone who advocates for Freedom and Fullness of Life for All. He believes Jesus offers good news for people everywhere today…not just eternity. Jeff is the Executive Director of Fearless Questions, Inc. and has spent the past 20 years working with people searching for God.