~*~Make A Child Smile~*~
Last week (July 19-26, 2008), I had the honor and priviledge of going on a church mission to an orphanage just north of Lima, Peru. My brother and several others had gone the previous three years and this was mine and my husband's first time to be able to go with them. They not only provide the kids there with Vacation Bible School, but with lots of attention and hugs, which these children so need.
Some of the children there found their way to the orphanage after hearing it, sometimes coming from far places in Peru. Some are taken there by their parents who are unable to take care of them. Miguel, the founder of the orphanage, is an amazing man and turns no child away. Mario, the "counselor" is equally amazing. One of the goals he has is to reach out to the parents of the children staying there to stop the cycle of leaving more than one child at the orphanage. Why do they do this? Because Miguel, with the help of local volunteers, tries to provide the children with learning English, Bible studies, working (these kids are NOT lazy!) inside the orphanage, and other skills. The parents sometimes see this as an opportunity for their children instead of providing it themselves.
The orphanage, now called the Hogar Sagrada Familia, is on the side of a dirt mountain among many, many one and two-room houses where the poor of Peru build their homes. They do this because the land is free if you build on a mountain. Thus, countless thousands upon thousands of homes, some of cement, some of plywood, are built in the mountains. As one lady on the trip said, "Even our poorest people in America have it better than the people here." Most Peruvians do not receive any kind of government help, but I did hear that the government is beginning to help some.
This is no small orphanage - there are, as of last week, 681 children there ranging in ages from less than a month old to 21 years old. Once they reach the older ages and choose to stay, they begin taking care of small groups of children. As one young man who captured my heart (there were many!) put it, "I have been taken care of here and now I am caring for these little ones". I told him there's a phrase for that - paying it forward. He smiled and knew the phrase!
Lunchtime is a sight to behold. The babies, toddlers, and preschool kids stay in their respective "casas" to eat lunch. The rest come into a large lunchroom and take their places. Each "casa" has their own bowls, which they know and would tell us where they went if we got the wrong bowls with the wrong group of kids! Even with a language barrier, they made that clear .. lol No one eats their food until each child has a bowl of food in front of them. The only exceptions are for those going to a school just outside the orphanage. The day I helped served food, lunch consisted of rice, half a baked potatoe, tuna fish mixed with onion strips, and a sliver of a piece of tomato - all in the same bowl. The day my husband and I helped feed the babies/toddlers, they ate nothing but sweet potatoes.
The hardest thing for me to hear was that these sweet children only eat two meals a day - breakfast and lunch. Nothing - not even a snack - until breakfast the next morning. The money is simply not there for them to be able to eat three meals a day. The older kids take it stride and make light of it saying that it keeps them from getting fat. Still hard for us to know that seeing these kids, who are so loving, kind and giving, go to bed hungry at night.
Right now, quite a few of us at church make monthly donations to Olive Branch Ministries that go to the orphanage. Olive Branch is the organization that gets the mission trips together for us. The money, so far, has gone to help the ophanage in ways that Miguel sees as most necessary to the safety and educational efforts for the children. In fact, each day we saw progress being made in the building of classrooms for the children that we are helping monetarily to build. A wall around the orphanage to help keep thieves out was recently built as well.
But when I found out about the food situation, I spoke with the Olive Branch coordinator if there was any way to designate our donations going towards food. She said absolutely! It would take alot of money to make sure the kids get fed three meals a day, but even if they could begin getting some protein into the meals they have now would be awesome.
Now for the how you can help part. When you purchase anything here at Lavender Graphics, 75% of your purchase will go towards helping feed the children at the orphanage. The rest goes toward maintaining this website. Or, if you'd like to give a much bigger, tax deductible donation, simply go to the Olive Branch site and let them know you want to help.
I am planning to make a graphic that you will be able to place on your website, if desired, that will be sent to you when you purchase a webset. I may also bring back some of my other graphics from Country Dream Designs to go towards this effort.
God bless each and everyone of you who took the time to read this page. It's my prayer that your heart will be touched and feel the need to help feed these beautiful children. Whether you give a little through Lavender Graphics or go to Olive Branch to donate yourself (specify the Peru orphanage), it is MUCH appreciated!
.:Links:.
These sites are not updated as often as they should be, but you'll be able to see that my church does support Olive Branch Ministries, which supports the orphanage. The orphange website is terribly outdated, but it does tell a bit how Miguel started the orphanage and why.
Olive Branch Ministries
Woodland Oaks Church of Christ
Hogar Sagrada Familia
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Flower tube from Jane's Country in PSP.
~This page last updated July 31, 2008~
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