Thursday, March 21, 2013

The need for an orphanage

A post from Vicki Dalia

Well we are home from Guatemala and I have a ton of stories to tell. Uploading pictures for a blog is difficult down there so not many got done, but a tremendous amount of work got done. I will start with one that continues to impress upon my mind.
This is Carla. She was abandoned by her mama and papa and is being cared for in the room of her grandmother. She does not receive much care. Safe Homes For Children provides all her formula and clothing. When I saw her in January she could not turn her head as she has not been held much. When I brought her to my house to bath her and cuddle her, it was obvious she had not had a bath in her 4 short months.
There is a tremendous shortage of quality orphanages in Guatemala now with adoptions shut down completely. Many children are being abandoned or severely neglected. Ones like Carla. This weighed heavily on my mind. I had a dream down there that we opened an orphanage. Two days later, my husband had a dream that we opened an orphanage. I have talked with other orphanage owners who are also from the USA and they have told me the government is much more supportive of their efforts now. We have met with our attorney and he says our paperwork is in order for us to open an orphanage. The next step is twofold: hiring Edy Tum, the top social worker in the country, and the one other USA  orphanage owners work with. He will get everything done that needs to be done before we open our doors. It will take 6-8 months and cost $6000.00. Edy wants $3000.00 of it up front, but he is worth his weight in gold in this area. Then we need to add a third floor to Casa de Sion.
We bring in money from our volunteer teams and want to build the third floor for them. The first floor would be for 24 orphans and the middle for the Director and bodega.. This will cost about $50,000.00. Then I figure about $70,000.00 a year for the day to day running of it. Our business is improving and we will donate part of that profit, but we want partners to do this with us.

PLEASE HELP CARLA AND OTHER CHILDREN LIKE HER TO HAVE A HOME WHERE SHE WILL BE LOVED, PLAYED WITH AND EDUCATED. WRITE ME AT 20.vicki@gmail.com today and we can talk about your involvement or agree to sponsor a child for $300 a year or just donate for the building or bring a team down to build. But do something.

thanks
Vicki Dalia
PS. we are not abandoning any of our other projects, just adding another badly needed one

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Blessed are those who help those with Special Needs


There is no safety net for the poor in Guatemala.   While there is a National hospital system that does help without cost, it is not free because of the many other services that are often beyond the pale for most of the indigent in Guatemala.  You must bring your own food to the hospital, medicines and auxiliary procedures are not necessarily free and you must have a family member be the nurse because that service is not included.  Neither is transportation or the cost of an overnight stay if you are not being treated in-hospital.


With this knowledge and a heart for the many special needs kids that come to our programs, we try to help get medical treatments for the poor that we often take for granted in the States.  For you that support a medically fragile child here, know that sometimes you are literally a lifesaver but always a good Samaritan.


On Vicki’s first visit to the Momma’s and Tot’s program this year she had a ready line of those asking for help.  First was Eli (his name is way too long to write).  He was two months old and his head was the size of a basketball—hydrocephalus.  The mother was young, poor, with one other child and no husband.  She had been to the National hospital once already and they had drained the fluid from his head.  The incision was visible.   Since the fluid returned he was going to need a shunt but she didn’t have the money for a return visit nor the series of visits it would take to treat this condition.  Vicki gave her Q100 for travel as well as two cans of formula because she had no milk of her own and obviously could not afford formula on her own.   She lives in a village next to Godinez.
Next was Flavio, the 5 year old, blind Downs boy that Peter, our Boston pediatrician, has seen several times.  Peter recommended a professional examine and the child has diagnosed with cataracts.  Again his family is VERY poor. (Dominga checks these things out for us.)  The next step for him before he can be considered for surgery is an appointment to get an echo-cardiogram since Downs kids often have weak hearts.  That procedure is Q275.
Eduardo was next.  His parents have been regulars at our programs for years.  He needs a hearing aid that we hope Peter can come up with.  Meanwhile, we have a faithful donor paying for his transportation one day a week to go to a special school for the deaf in nearby Panajachel.   His mother would like for him to go every day and is willing to do the leg work if we can find a sponsor to pay for the other days.  Sorry his picture was in the shadows as he has the sweetest, most humble eyes of any child I can think of.
This was just an average day in a land with abundant need.  If you’d like to help any of these situations or any of the numerous others that are going to pop up, let us know.

I have given the money for the preliminary needs knowing I could trust you to make the donations to replace it and also knowing I did not have the words to turn them down. 


thanks for the help


Vicki
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