FAmily style orphan care
Most orphanages are set up with massive rooms with a bunch of bunk beds, and 20-50 or more kids packed in a room. Those 50 kids many times only have 1-2 nannies taking care of them, and things get out of control. The kids grow up with no idea of what a family is, no idea of what chores and responsibilities are, no parental direction. So even though they get a roof over their head, a bed to sleep in and food, it doesn’t really prepare them for a life on their own once they age out of the system. We want to go beyond providing just the basics for our children.
“Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.”
-Psalm 82:3
Little Lambs International believes that every child deserves and needs a healthy home. A home where they can grow up with parents who lead and guide them, teach them and love them as their own. Only this way, will they grow up to be future honorable leaders of their towns and countries.
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Our plan is to build up to 20 homes on our first campus in Jalapa. Each home will hold up to 10 LLI children, with adoptive parents and their biological kids (if any). We have our first house completed, and it is specially designed for taking care of these hurt and healing children. The remaining homes will be designed after the first one.
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There will be a central park (designed after Antigua and most small towns in Guatemala), where the children can go to meet their neighbors (other LLI children) and play. There will be a BBQ area, sitting areas, sports fields/courts, a game room, a school, and of course a church!
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After a hard day of school and play, mom’s voice will ring through the courtyard “dinner is ready!”, and all of these kiddos will run home to eat a fresh home-cooked meal, and then help with cleanup chores after dinner (like any normal kid.. maybe like your own!)
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Some day we hope to have an elderly home for elderly men and woman who have no one to care for them (we see that a lot in the surrounding villages). Then each LLI family can “adopt” an elderly man or woman as their “grandparent”, and go to visit them and love them as family as well.
Our whole compound and set up is based on a strong family setting. When you know you belong to a family, when you know there will always be someone there to support you, when you know you can always return “home”, it gives you a lot of confidence and peace, which most of our kids have never experienced before arriving with us. They are now HOME when they are at LLI! They are loved, they are cared for, they are invested in. They are given every opportunity and skill set they need to succeed at life. Join with us as we create FAMILIES!
the waddell family
The Lord has brought us the perfect couple to be directors of our campus orphanage to help us to reach our goal. Meet Sam and Michelle Waddell who have adopted 11 children in Guatemala, on top of their 4 biological children. They have lived in Guatemala for 15 years, and have raised up beautiful children in the love of the Lord! Now they will guide us, as they follow Christ, so that our whole campus can be full of orphaned children now being loved and raised in the fear of the Lord!