Welcome Home Project
Right now, there are kids currently living in orphanages who have a family that wants them home. Our reintegration program is making it possible for these kids to get back home!
These families have been petitioning to get their children, grandchildren, and nieces and nephews back home. They have been through psychological evaluations and home studies. The welfare office has thoroughly reviewed each family's case, including the reasons for the initial separation and the long-term benefits and risks of reunification. After all of this, the welfare office has determined that it is in the child's best interest to go home to family and not to continue spending their childhood in the orphanage where they currently reside...
BUT... each one of these families has a few areas that need improvement before the welfare office officially approves the reintegration.
In some cases, it's just a bed so that the child can have their own sleeping space or access to wifi and a tablet so they can continue to study virtually. These are easy and fast fixes, and we support these families along with training and preparation for the reintegration.
But other times, and in the cases of the families that we are advocating for this month, their physical conditions need some pretty drastic improvement.
That's why this month, we are raising $10,000 and we are excited to share that we are just $1,100 from reaching our goal!
Meet The Families!
Family #1
Our team went to do the home study to see what support this family needed in order to have their five-year-old son reunited with them.
While their family was displaced from their home after being impacted by two hurricanes, their youngest son was separated from the family. When he was turned into the authorities, they found he was not registered (with a birth certificate on file), and he was therefore placed in an orphanage.
Before going to the house, we knew that their living situation had been impacted by the flooding caused by the back-to-back hurricanes last year. Still, when we arrived, it was clear that the family had lost absolutely everything. The house needed major repairs before the family of six could move back in from the one-bedroom 10x10 studio apartment they are living in and before the welfare office would approve a reintegration.
Our team interviewed the family seated on old paint buckets, the only things in the home after the damage from the flooding, to assess the family's needs and how we could partner with them.
This family has taken huge strides to do their part to make things right for the return of their son and for their whole family!
They have taken quick action to:
Get their youngest son legally registered!
Get their three other kids registered back in school, and they have begun online classes!
They cleaned their empty home as a family, removing the rest of the mud from the walls and getting it prepared for the construction!
They have received the materials that we sent for the construction and repairs and began the work on the house!
They have painted the rooms of the house that are repaired.
They have begun to receive trainings and therapy from members of our team!
We are hoping in the next week that the construction will be completed and we will be able to send furniture, and in the coming weeks, the welfare office will be able to complete a home study to approve and begin the legal process of their son's return home!
Family #2
We introduced you to this dad at the beginning of the month!
He manages multiple farm properties and has always done everything possible to care for his son. After his son was born, his wife left him alone with their twenty-two-day-old son. He decided to take care of him no matter what, not wanting to repeat the same struggles he had to endure, growing up without his parents.
But as a growing toddler, his son's physical development fell behind, and although he tried to get his weight back on track, a neighbor reported him as looking malnourished. The boy's weight wasn't in the range that was normal for his age, so the authorities took the child to an orphanage that focused on nutrition to get his weight back on track.
If you read our newsletter last month, you might remember that when we first met him, he RAN (like literally ran) miles to introduce us to family members that he was hoping would be able to take in his son, knowing that where he lived did not meet the physical requirements to take him back in.
After thinking that we found an aunt that would take in his son, she contacted the welfare office the next week to share that her and her husband's health truly wasn't in the condition to take such a young kid in.
This brought our team back to the drawing board to help find a solution for this family...
Knowing that this dad is one of the most hardworking and sacrificial fathers we have ever had the privilege of knowing, our team traveled to meet with the dad again. We began a plan with him that he would purchase a piece of land in his community and that we could support him with the materials so that he could build a home where his son could return to.
This dad is DEVOTED to raising his son and providing the best possible life for him, and we could not be more excited to partner with him!
In the past few weeks, he has moved super quickly to:
Find a small piece of land to purchase with the money from his harvest!
Worked on getting all of the land's legal paperwork in order and applied for a permit for the construction of their home!
Recruit members from his church and family to help with the construction!
Travel (4 hours round trip) weekly to visit his son at the orphanage where he currently lives.
With your support, we will be sending the first set of materials to begin the construction of his home in the next few weeks so that his son can have a home to return to! They are hoping to finish the construction of the home in the next few months so that the welfare office can do a home study and approve the reintegration before the end of the year!
Family #3
This grandma is very impressive and extremely dedicated to taking care of herself and those she loves! She works selling spices. She buys them in bulk, packages them in serving sizes, and then walks MILES every day selling them to the small home storefronts in areas around the city. She is so hardworking and moves quicker than we can keep up with! She is hilarious and is quick to share her lifetime of experiences, and she is a fierce protector of her grandchildren.
One of her pre-teen grandaughters was placed in an orphanage after suffering abuse. She legally cannot return to her mom's home because of the risk that exists if she returns.
The welfare office and judges determined that the best option for her is if an extended family member would take her in, and if not, she would spend the next seven years in an orphanage.
Her grandmother was the most obvious choice because since she was removed from her home, her grandmother has traveled consistently to the orphanage to spend time with her on visitation days. Her granddaughter wants to go and live with her grandmother.
To make this reintegration a reality, we will need to support the construction of a home. The grandmother's current house is made out of scrap metal and does not have basic needs such as a bathroom or electricity. Still, her love for her granddaughter is immense, and she wants to provide for her granddaughter.
For the reintegration to happen, we want to support them with a new home and provide trainings and education scholarships, among other support that our team will provide to this family.
In the past week (literally the last eight days), she has:
Committed to taking in her granddaughter!
Provided us with several contacts of local masons who can manage the construction of the project!
Began to receive trainings from our team!
This week, the construction on her home BEGAN! We are hoping that in the next six weeks, the house will be finished and she will be able to move into a secure home, and the welfare office will be able to do a home study to approve the reintegration of her granddaughter.