Nana's House

Years ago when my family and I lived in another city I volunteered at several different orphanages. I received so much satisfaction helping out with the children and organizing events for them. Though I have to say, the sadness which enveloped those places was stifling to say the least, and always tugged at my heart. I know it seems obvious that an orphanage would be a place that lacks a certain “happy” quality but it was much more than just that. The children were often dirty. There were no toys in sight. Each place was very much like an institution instead of a home. The organizations did provide shelter for several kids, but that just wasn’t enough for me.

One year I organized a huge Christmas Party for one of the orphanages I’d had the opportunity to visit. Part of the planning included the giving of gifts to all the children. It was so important to me that each child felt as though their gift was hand picked just for them. So, each child was given a different gift…their very own special token of love. The day after the celebration I visited again and there was not a toy in sight. When I asked the children where all the toys were they sadly explained to me that the leaders had taken them away and locked them all up. Apparently it was explained to the kids that they would just end up destroying the toys by fighting over them and whatnot so the solution was to sell the toys for profit. I couldn’t believe my ears! My heart was torn to pieces.

Moments like that have never left my memory, and they never will. The time that I spent visiting orphanages caused a yearning in me to start my own someday. The realization that there are many children in our world without a family to call their own is more than heart breaking…it’s unacceptable. My husband and I adopted two of our children. We have also been foster parents to several children who needed a loving home. I suppose my desire to make a difference started long ago. Most of our children are nearly grown ups now and all are developing into beautiful individuals, and without a doubt it’s because of the home life they’ve been provided throughout the years. I truly believe every single child in the world deserves the same opportunities as my own children have been privy to.

Awhile back my husband and I were talking with our Pastor about our desire to create an orphanage. When he told us that his wife, too, was feeling like it was time to start something here in Tepic I instantly got a rush of excitement. God had created the opportunity right before my eyes, and I knew in my spirit the time had finally come.

I am elated to tell you all that we are opening Casa De Nana in September, a home for girls from two years old and up. We all agree it’s imperative to make sure these girls live in a home, not just a building…not just another institution, but a house they can call their own. There will of course be communal items such as books and cd players in which they can all enjoy but we also want each girl to have her own belongings; diaries, toys, clothes…whatever is necessary to ensure that each girl takes pride in her own identity while integrating into the family that God has created for her to be a valuable part of.

Many of these girls will have extreme emotional trauma and will need dedicated people to love and support them during their healing process. We have several trained staff members that have committed to work at the home full time in order to aid in that process. Our intention is to provide an environment that encourages the girls to become confident and active in the world around them. We want to teach the girls life skills. We want to make sure they get a great education. But more than that, we want to be able to provide extra opportunities for their enjoyment such as dance lessons or music lessons etc.

As stated before, it’s so important to the founders of Nana’s House that the girls who live there feel like they are living in a family dwelling and NOT in an “orphanage.” So, with that in mind we have decided we will start with no more than 10 girls.

There is a lot of need for places like this here in Tepic. We often see children begging in the streets. Hardly a day goes by without a child or a family coming to my door in need of food. Our mission is to do what we can now and expand later. We hope to provide more homes throughout the area in order to help this community in the future.

This blog is going to be dedicated to updating you on Nana's House. To make it even more interesting I will include information about Mexico and its culture; food, fashion and music as well. I will also include information about our main church, La Fuente, and our mission churches too.