Orphan Prevention

It is no secret I have a heart for orphans.  As a board member of A Sea of Hope Orphan Ministry, as a parent of three adopted children, and as an advocate for people standing up and caring for the countless orphans around the world, I am passionate about our role in giving children forever families.

I am also equally passionate about orphan prevention.  There are too many children living without their birth parents ONLY due to poverty.  Does being poor make someone an unfit parent?  Absolutely not.  Am I a better mother because I can offer my child an education?  Absolutely not. 

I see extreme poverty every single day.  I see children who should be in school but they are not because school in is not free in Guatemala.  Without food, housing and education, the cycle of poverty will not end.  These children have families who love them.  The fact remains, too often these families can't feed their children.  Sibling sets are being dropped off at orphanages because they do not have a home to live in.  This is unacceptable.  There should not be orphans because of poverty.

How can this change?

There are three significant ways to keep birth families together:

1.  School sponsorships.  When a child goes to school, it gives them a future.  So cliche, right?  No.  It's fact.  Children who go to school here can get a job.  A job means money.  Money means food and housing.  Schooling keeps future families together.  Orphan prevention.  Done.

2.  Feeding centers like Campos de Suenos.  Programs like this one in Santa Maria de Jesus, are providing meals for children.  If you could not feed your child, if your child was dying of starvation, you would most likely bring them to an orphanage as a last resort.  To keep them alive.  Feeding centers provide food to sustain children.  They help nourish a child and the result is children living at home with their birth families who love them.  Food keeps families together.  Orphan prevention.  Done.

3.  Safe, secure homes and clean water.  This is something we take for granted.  I may have questioned whether extra dance classes for my child was in our budget but I have never, ever had to ask if my child would have a home to live in.  Children are not living with their birth families because they don't have a home and clean water.  When we offer a family a home, we are preventing children from being parent-less.  Safe homes and water filtration systems keep families together.  Orphan prevention.  Done.

Please contact me if you desire to help with orphan prevention in Guatemala.