HOMES & CENTERS

As stated in our Vision & Mission page, we believe all children should grow up in a home with goodly, loving parents who provide for their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. We hold the minimum standards for parenting to be:

• Physical security.
• Minimum amount of love and nurturing.
• Role modeling for children.
• Negotiate the system on behalf of the children (Dentist, Parent-Teacher conference, etc.).

We believe that if street children are given these, even minimally, they can transform their lives. Our blueprint for Model Drop-In Centers (MDICs) provides for children to “drop in” and receive the deficits of these standards on a consistent basis, all day and night if necessary. MDICs provide the following that correspond to the standards above:

• Food, shelter, clothing, hygiene needs, medical attention, and safety.
• Loving and nurturing staff, volunteers, interns, and mental health professionals.
• High standards of conduct, discipline, and education.
• Promote a work ethic for children to become productive members of society.
• Negotiate medical, educational, legal, and guardianship issues on behalf of the children.
• Foster a faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, hope they can change their lives, and charity for others.

Where there are orphans or abandoned children, we build self-sustaining orphanages, which include small business or farms to sustain themselves.  For example, we have a bakery at our Espinal, Colombia home and specialize in croissants.  We sell some 30 dozen each morning to local businesses and plan to increase the sales this year.  Of course, we also provide bread for the children that drop in for lunch (more than 50 daily). Our Cartagena home sews clothes that we sell in the street to provide more than 1/3 of our income for expenses at home.

Select from the menus below the homes you wish to see.