Safe House
Deut. 10:18 He ensures protection of orphans and widows. He shows love to the temporary resident by giving them food and clothing.
Orphan Hope International (OHI) will operate a safe-house (casa de regreso) in Bogota, Colombia. One of the world’s greatest social tragedies today is that of orphaned, abandoned or seriously disadvantaged youth aging out of state welfare child custody services. This problem exists in many countries around the world and is especially acute in Colombia due in large part to its recent unsettled history.
OHI plan to purchase a house which will accommodate 15 to 25 young women between the ages of 18-21 years. These women can remain for 2-5 years depending upon education requirements and work opportunities. While a few of the residents will attend university, most will attend technical schools, completing their training/education in 2 years. The house is intended to help meet the young women’s physical, mental and spiritual needs. It will provide a setting where they can transition from institutional living to being responsible and contributing members of Colombian society. We intend the house will have Christian house parents to serve as both mentors and role models in this transition process. The residents will have house jobs to do and rules to follow. This too is part of the learning process.
We estimate that the purchase and refurbishment of a house will cost approximately $200,000 U.S. Annual operations and maintenance will cost up to an additional $150,000; however, we hope that Christian volunteer help will reduce this cost. While we are still in due diligence and study phase, our goal is to have the safe house operational and occupied in 2012. Due to the great need, OHI’s future plans are to establish and maintain additional safe-houses for aged out youth (boys and girls) in Bogota and elsewhere in Colombia over the next few years. These plans also include providing associated accommodations for visiting ministry teams and for couples wishing to adopt Colombian orphans.
Your support of this ministry in any way is greatly appreciated.
- For more information contact Dave.Beach@OrphanHopeIntl.org
