Exciting Developments Happening!
After months of program development, meetings with the directors of the local and national government welfare offices, dozens of zoom calls with organizations successfully operating around the world...we are launching our reintegration services program!
Why is this a BIG DEAL?
Because 80% of kids living in orphanages have family.
Meaning, the vast majority of kids living in orphanages are there NOT because their parents have passed away or don't want them, but because they simply do not have the financial means to provide for their basic needs such as food, shelter, or education. More often than not, extreme poverty creates an unstable foundation that can lead to the rights of children being violated, resulting in children being removed from their families due to preventable causes. But when we empower families and help them improve their situation, their children can return to their families and have a steady foundation to learn love and build a future.
We get to empower families to be the primary influence in the lives of their children, and that is REALLY exciting!
It is also a BIG DEAL because this support program does not exist in Honduras, although family reunification is the goal for children when separated from their families according to the UN Rights of the Child, agreed upon by 196/197 countries globally, Honduras being one of the 196. (If you want to read an easy version of what the rights are, click here for a fun and educational time)
We are excited to be on the front end of providing support to make it possible for more families to be together!
How does the program work?
Our team provides logistical support to the welfare office, including transportation for our team and the welfare office's technical staff to the home of a family who has a child living in an orphanage and who has filed a request for a reintegration. Evaluations of the family are then done to see if it is in the best interest of the child to return to their family. If there are any reasons rooted in poverty for why the family does not meet the qualifications for the reintegration, our team evaluates how we can work with the family to empower them and make sure their home is a safe and secure environment for the child to return to. Our team evaluates and develops an individualized plan with the family and the child to provide holistic strengthening that will prepare both for a healthy transition. And after the family has worked their plan and improved in the necessary areas, they will have another chance to present their case to the welfare office with a much greater chance of this reintegration being approved. Our team then does follow-up visits and provides temporary support to make sure the transition is going as smoothly as possible and the family is reaching sustainability, where they will no longer need consistent support from our team.
When is it happening?
We are scheduled to begin assisting the welfare office in the fieldwork while developing and implementing family empowerment plans in the middle of August! That means families will officially be entering our program in the coming weeks!
What do we need?
If you have not already joined our team by becoming a monthly donor, now is the time! Your donation of $25, $50, $100, or however much you can give each month means vital support for families that translates into them being empowered and ultimately REUNITED with their kids! We are incredibly excited to share that as an organization, our current operating costs are covered by an amazing team of donors, meaning that your donations go directly to the kids and families that we are serving, not to salaries, office supplies, or zoom subscriptions, but directly to the families that we get the honor of supporting!