"Honduras is experiencing a youth genocide..." |
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THE NEED:
Honduras in one of the poorest and least developed nations in Central America. Poverty and hunger prevail, leading to drug trafficking & intimidation, disease, crime, and complex trauma. In Honduras, a typical family of campesinos (peasant farmers) has little or no land to farm, extremely limited education, and no opportunities to earn a decent living. Malnutrition is rampant and starvation is not unknown. Families are weakened by hunger, disease, and gang violence. As a result, many families often dissolve, leaving many children orphaned or neglected. Each child arrives at the Farm of the Child with his or her own life story. They arrive from all over the country with widely varying family backgrounds. Some children have lost both parents, some have been abandoned by family members, still others have parents who are temporarily unable to care for them due to extreme violence, poverty, illness, incarceration, or other family & community risk factors. OUR APPROACH:
At Farm of the Child, our approach is holistic. We offer family-style homes for the children built upon the Holy Family as a model. Our Honduran house parents and tias lovingly raise five to seven children in each home with the support of the larger community of international missionaries, staff, and Franciscan sisters. While in our care, the children receive mental health services from our psychologist; helping to heal the wounds created by previous trauma. The children are cared for by our doctor and nurse and receive basic health & dental care at the clinic. They receive spiritual formation from the Franciscan Sisters and a Catholic education at our elementary and middle school. We strive to integrate evidence- based trauma informed practices into all of our child-centered programming. We go out into the community to reach our neighbors and share in our faith. We strive for family reintegration whenever possible. Overall, we care for each child as a child of God and bestow the gifts of faith, education, health, and life skills; helping each child to thrive in school and in life. |
"In the more violent parts of Honduras, being intimidated by street gangs is a fact of life for children & teenagers..." 
"All we do, our prayers, our work, our suffering, is for Jesus." |