How Kids Feel About Being Reunified With Their Families
A few weeks ago, we were giving fifteen-year-old Rosalie a ride back to the orphanage where she was living after a supervised visit with her grandma at the child welfare office. During this short car ride, Rosalie said to the child welfare psychologist, “Me and the other girls at the orphanage talk about how much we want to go home to our families, and how lucky I am that I’ll hopefully get to leave soon to be with my grandma.”
The orphanage where Rosalie had been living is one of the most well-funded orphanages in Honduras. Her biological family doesn’t have much in terms of wealth, typically living week-to-week and working hard to earn everything they have. Rosalie and the other girls in this orphanage know they will never have to worry about their food, shelter, clothing, or education while living in the orphanage. Yet despite this type of security provided by this institution, these kids long for the day when they’ll get to return home to their families.
This isn’t uncommon.
In our experience, the overwhelming majority of kids we have met who live in orphanages want nothing more than to be home with their families.
Kids crave relationships over material things. Attention and affection from a secure adult who loves and will care for them is worth far more than anything money can buy.
We’re excited to share that because of your support, we have been able to invest in Rosalie’s family to ensure they have a house, an education scholarship, and the physical and economic conditions necessary to bring her home. Not only have you been supporting Rosalie’s amazing family, (read more about how we supported Rosalie’s family) but your support has also helped us build a team in the Honduran child welfare office that evaluates families and, when they are a safe option, makes sure their paperwork is moving along so that legal processes are not the obstacles keeping kids and families separated.
All of that investment paid off when Rosalie was reunited with her grandma this week.
She couldn't stop smiling the whole drive from the child welfare office to her grandma’s home. Rosalie couldn't contain her excitement as she shared with us how long she had been hoping for this day. She was thrilled to know that her day to be with her family was FINALLY here.
When we got to her grandma’s house, her aunts and cousins could hardly wait for her to get out of the car to celebrate, embrace her, and show her to her new room in her forever home.
We’ll let these pictures of Rosalie and her grandma tell the rest of the story.
