Walking In Hope: Ana’s Story
“Walk on with hope in your heart, and you’ll never walk alone.”
Every child deserves a family. Every child deserves hope for the future. And every day, you are giving that hope to orphaned and vulnerable children around the world.
We are so grateful for you. We are so thankful that you share our vision and our passion for helping children across the globe. And tomorrow, you have an incredible opportunity to help even more kids get out of orphanages and into loving families.
Tomorrow is GivingTuesday, a global movement celebrating generosity. Tomorrow, people all over the world will come together to make a difference. And this GivingTuesday, we invite you to join us in changing the way the world cares for orphans.
We invite you to help more children like Ana* walk in hope and find loving families.
Ana’s Story
Ana was placed into institutional care immediately after she was born. Her mother tested positive for drugs, so Ana went straight from the hospital to an orphanage…never knowing the love of a family.
Ana remained in institutional care for the first year and a half of her life. While the orphanage provided a roof over her head and met her basic needs, we know that type of care is extremely dangerous for children, particularly during the critical developmental years. There is clear and compelling research on the damaging physical, emotional, and psychological effects of traditional, institutional orphan care.
The first months and years of a child’s life are critical to development. During that time, children learn how to express emotion, communicate their needs, and bond with others. In an orphanage, those skills often aren’t learned because the kids aren’t receiving the individual love and attention found in a family environment.
As Ana grew up in the orphanage during some of those crucial years, she was at risk for those developmental delays. But thankfully, through the love of a family, Ana’s life was about to change.
Walking In Hope
This fall, Ana was welcomed into the home and hearts of a loving family in Hermosillo, Sonora. And immediately, she began to thrive as she received individual attention and care.
When Ana first arrived into family care, there were indicators of developmental delays. At 18 months old, she could not say any words, and she was not walking independently.
But the very first day in family care, Ana felt comfortable enough to play with her foster siblings. She crawled, babbled, and imitated the family members. Just a few days after arriving in her foster home, Ana began saying her name!
Ana also grew stronger physically. On the second day with her foster family, she began to stand and hold herself up on her own. By the third day, she actually started walking!
The transformation in Ana was amazing. Over the next few weeks, Ana progressed rapidly and continued to reach new milestones. She gained noticeable strength in her legs and was much more confident in walking…and even running at times!
In addition to reaching new physical milestones, Ana has grown stronger emotionally as well. She sees her foster family as her “safe people” and feels comfortable expressing her emotions and communicating her needs. Ana maintains eye contact with whoever is speaking directly with her, and often seeks to get the family’s attention. She is going through the natural process of discovering her individuality and identity while knowing she is safe and loved.
We are so grateful that this beautiful little girl has hope for the future because of you. She is walking in hope because of you. Thank you for being Ana’s hero!
Give Hope on GivingTuesday
Every child deserves a family. And every day, you are changing the lives of orphaned and vulnerable children like Ana.
Will you join us tomorrow for GivingTuesday to help even more children find the love of a family? This GivingTuesday, our goal of $125,000 will be used to help us grow in our current locations AND expand into our next new location in 2023.
And by donating on GivingTuesday, you will double the impact of your gift! A generous team of donors will match every gift, dollar for dollar, up to $62,500! If we reach that matching gift amount, we’ll meet our goal of $125,000.
If you’d like to jump in early, our GivingTuesday donation site is up and running! All donations made through the GivingTuesday page will be matched.
Thank you so much for your partnership and generosity. You are doing incredible things around the globe, and we are so grateful. Together, we are changing the way the world cares for orphans…because every child deserves a family.
*Name has been changed to protect the privacy of the child.