We’re talking 1.8 million. That’s the record-breaking number of people who swarmed the US Capitol grounds on January 20, 2009, to watch the inauguration of President Barack Obama. That number—1.8 million—is also the heart-wrenching number of orphans struggling to survive in Uganda, the small country in East Africa where I live.

Daily, I witness some of Uganda’s parentless children striving to make it to “tomorrow.” Some beg. Some are forced into child labor. Some drop out of school to care for dying relatives. Some are placed in orphan homes. Others, sometimes as young as 5 years old, are trafficked and sexually exploited.

Today, make a difference on behalf of the millions of orphans around the world:

Pray that those who intend to prey on children will not succeed. Exodus 22:22-23 says, “You must not exploit a widow or an orphan. If you exploit them in any way and they cry out to Me, then I will certainly hear their cry.”

Pray for God’s people who are seeking justice on behalf of the orphans around the world. Ask God how you can support these little ones. “Give justice to the poor and the orphan; uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute. Rescue the poor and helpless; deliver them from the grasp of evil people” (Psalm 82:3-4).

Ask God how you can help the orphans in your city or region. “Leave [a portion of your crops] for the foreigners, orphans, and widows. Then the Lord your God will bless you in all you do” (Deuteronomy 24:19)

Remember, “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” (James 1:27).