Wichita, Kansas (CNN) -- In situations like the dire humanitarian crisis that has followed Tuesday's earthquake in Haiti, we all are forced to witness what is the sometimes painful truth behind the cliché about it taking a village to raise a child. In the tragedy unfolding before us now, it will take a global village. President Obama and former presidents, along with other leaders and representatives of humanitarian organizations, have reminded us of this. We would like to add our own small, humble contribution to the efforts under way around the world to help the people of Haiti. In particular, we would like to draw your attention to the many children who were living in Haitian orphanages when the earthquake hit. As we have heard from professionals devoted to children's issues, children are among the most vulnerable segments of a population subject to natural disasters and humanitarian crises. It is not hard to imagine that orphans living in institutional care might often be even more vulnerable.
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In Haiti crisis, children are most vulnerable and orphans most of all
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Authors are in the process of adopting Alexander, a 17-month-old orphan in Port-au-Prince
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Children in Haitian orphanages need to be evacuated, according to staff of institution
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Priority is saving the life of Alexander and his fellow orphans, the authors say
And although we will never know for sure, especially not after the earthquake, anything about her, we firmly believe that his birth mother loved @placeholder and did what was in her power to ensure that he would have a brighter future than she could provide.