Our Purpose & People > What's Different about PWM

Fundamental Characteristics

A cup of water, rather than a cure
A problem with orphans is endemic to most Latin American countries and has a range of causes, many of which we can do little to change. Nevertheless, we believe that even if the overall situation cannot be changed Jesus Christ still calls his church to the care of orphans and widows, to offer a cup of water to the thirsty. It is in this spirit of obedience, rather than with a desire to fix a problem, that we approach the work of establishing La Providencia.

Prevention rather than intervention
As this report notes, there are a number of models to help orphans, and all of them have something to recommend them. At La Providencia, one of our emphases is prevention, rather than intervention. We believe that we are more able to help children if we can reach them early and build a network of family relationships into their lives, rather than begin with children that have already been hardened by the streets. Thus we want to bring children in to the orphanage as early as possible (typically between age 1 and 5). This is not to say that those ministries that emphasize rescuing street children are wrong; simply that our focus is different.

Family-based, rather than institutional
As noted earlier, all orphanage models are located somewhere on the spectrum between an institution and an adoptive family. La Providencia consciously locates itself more towards the family end. This is reflected in the living and eating arrangements, and the recruiting, construction, and fundraising programs that go to support the orphanage. We realize that this is less efficient, and will mean that we will take fewer orphans than otherwise, but believe that it is in the best interests of the children we are able to take. We feel that it is important for these children to

Identify, Train, and Equip
All of our missionaries will have the goal to identify, train, pray with and be replaced by local professional Honduran natives in their particular areas of expertise. It is our goal to have the entire orphanage staff be composed of Hondurans.

Relationships above Finances
The vision is that children, in addition to their family group, will experience the providence of the Lord through the unconditional support and care of an extended family. This support will come through Advocate Sponsors which is a team of six individuals or families who pray together and give monthly support for the child. The supporters will choose to support a child before viewing pictures, and the child will not be informed of the Advocate Sponsors, ensuring that he or she will never feel the burden of keeping supporters involved, or be open to the risk of feeling abandoned. The financial commitment we are seeking from the group will be until the orphan turns 18, but our hopes are that involvement in the life of the orphan will be for life. If sponsors are ever in a situation where they cannot contribute financially, they do not need to leave the group. We have made it apart of our policy to allow the group to grow so they will continually be together and support others in the group through tough times.

 

Primary Programs
La Providencia
La Providencia will be a Christian orphanage for 92 boys and girls in Honduras. Arriving in the orphanage between ages 1 and 5, they will permanently become apart of our family. These children will be given a family environment, spiritual nurture, solid education, and practical training, so that when they leave the orphanage at age 18, they will be ready to live spiritually fruitful lives and take their place as stable members of Honduran society. We believe that this will help establish the gospel in the next generation of Hondurans and is a concrete example of obedience to the Bible’s admonition of what constitutes true religion in James Chapter 1. Our initial estimates indicate that start up costs will be approximately $500,000, with a stabilized operating budget of $200,000/year. The total construction budget will be approximately 3.1 million dollars and it will take about 5 years to finish the project. However, it is expected, because of its model, to have the orphanage in operation in less than two years.

Advocacy
Knowing that La Providencia is only going to be able to aid a small portion of the growing orphan population we must attempt other ways, such as adoption, to provide help for these children. As of recently we have decided to make lobbying for open adoption another aspect of our organization. We have been working on opening adoption here in Honduras for about 1 and a half years and as of December 24, 2005 it was opened. There were five pilot families chosen to test the program and see how things will work. From these programs we will be able to improve the details so that Honduran children can be received into safe, dependable, and loving families. Once we have a successful program in place we hope to share our to spread this idea into all Latin American countries.

Providence Outside the Box (Innovation Missions)
Currently all orphans that the government oversees are managed by one enormous excel spreadsheet. They input the data when the child initially becomes an orphan and after that the information is basically lost. They don’t conduct any follow up visits, status checks, or anything to keep up with the well being of the child. As we continue working closely with the government and orphanage programs, we are looking to introduce software programs that will allow them to more efficiently manage the orphans of Honduras. We are currently in contact with Appalachian State University who has been working on this type of software, and has agreed to help us develop a program.

 

Related Programs
Providence In A Box
This program was developed as a unique way to provide clothing for those in need. We have developed a system that allows people in the community that are interested in clothing to work at our facilities and be paid in Providenciales which is a voucher system that will be used to purchase clothing from the “Providence Store”. The clothing will be price at normal Honduran prices for used clothing, but the workers will be paid three times the normal Honduran wage for their task. These are not full time workers, but rather those who want to work on short term projects just to earn clothing for their families. We gather the clothing by distributing clear plastic boxes to churches in the United States. The churches hand the boxes out to families that are interested in filling the boxes with clothes, shoes, and accessories that they no longer need. After they fill the box we ask that they place $20 on top of the clothing which will be used to pay for the box and all shipping charges. It takes 800 of these boxes to fill the container that we use to ship from the US to Honduras. Once in Honduras the boxes are sorted and prepared to be used in the “Providence Store.”

PWM Medical Missions
As we continue to work with the people of Honduras we realized the dire need for medical assistance. For the past two years we have worked with an organization in the U.S. that has allowed us to supply over $1 million in medical equipment to the military hospital. With the equipment in place it allows us to bring in medical teams to that hospital for one week out of the year to perform multiple surgeries at no expense to us or the patients. As construction continues at our project medical teams will be able to operate in the medical center on site at the orphanage. 

 

Who We Minister To
Orphans

  • La Providencia will hold a total of 96 orphan children.
  • If current trends continue it is predicted that Honduras will have 65,000 new orphans by 2009 due to poverty and the rapid spread of the AIDS virus.
  • 20% - 30% of the orphans we receive will most likely be HIV positive
  • Usually orphans drift into life on the streets, living in loose bands with older children, known as “street children” that are ubiquitous in countries such as Peru, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic. The US State Department’s 1997 Human Rights Report on Honduras notes: “There were an estimated 4,000 street children, of whom only half reportedly have shelter on any given day. Many street children have been sexually molested, and about 40 percent regularly engaged in prostitution; approximately 30 percent of the street children in Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula, the two population centers, were HIV positive. At least 40 percent were addicted to sniffing glue. Over 75 percent of the street children found their way to the streets because of severe family problems; 30 percent simply were abandoned.
  • There are three different ways that the children can become apart of the orphan population. The two types of orphans that we will most likely see at La Providencia are those that have been taken from their homes by the government or those that have been relinquished by their parents. Because these children are not technically viewed as orphans and cannot be adopted by American families, we will adopt them into our program and they will become apart of the La Providencia family for life. The third type of orphan we might obtain would be those that no longer have living parents. These are the children that are more likely to be adopted by families, but because of the increasing numbers, malnutrition, and AIDS only certain places will be able to handle special medical cases.
  • All of the orphans we receive will be under the age of 5. We have made this age part of our policy because or our prevention model and our emphasis on a strong education foundation. With malnutrition and lack of medical care within the first five year most children do not develop all the skills and learning abilities they would need to reach their full potential.

Widows

  • James 1:27 says, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” For this reason we have decided to include and care for widows in our model.
  • There will be 20 elderly widows that live together in a 10 bedroom house on site, and they will all be over the age of 60.
  • These women will be chosen out of the local community based on their need, character, and love for the Lord because we want them to play a role in the lives of the children.

Community Children 

  • For every orphan that attends the school at La Providencia there will be one community child admitted into our program. These 96 children are going to be chosen out of the community based on their need for care and education.
  • We have already began to identify these children in the local community as we are conducting a community census. Right now all of the children that will are identifying to be admitted are under the age of two. This age requirement is part of our prevention model. In order for these children to function in a strong education structure they must be well nourished and taken care of in the first five years of their life. This time is crucial in their development.
  • Currently we are developing different methods to get these children medical attention and healthy portions of food once they have been identified and admitted into our program. Our greatest challenge will be seeing these kids on a regular basis to make sure they aren’t slipping in and out of malnutrition. It is our goal to keep them on a constantly increasing trend rather than an up and down tendency.
  • Once these community children are in school not only will they recieve a top caliber education, but we will continue to feed and nurture them. They will receive three meals a day, five days a week for nine months out of the year.
  • Each community child will have a sponsorship group just as the orphans do.

The Terminally Ill
A tough aspect of the medical clinic is that we will be receiving many patients that are just days maybe even hours from death. As a result of this, another part of our ministry at the hospital is going to be allowing volunteers to come in and basically hold the babies and comfort patients until they die.

On Site Workers

  • Each of the workers on site at La Providencia has not only been chosen for their skill level but also for their character and desire to serve God. We do this because ultimately we want these workers to be involved in the lives of the children and in many ways provide more “family members.”
  • Another unique part of our model is we require that all workers have at least a high school education and we encourage them to carry on further. All workers that do not have a high school diploma return to the grade they last attended and continue until graduation. Some have had to start as early as first grade. PWM pays for 50% of each workers education and if they perform well and earn grades above 80% they are reimbursed for the other 50%.
  • We have also made it a part of our policy that all site workers will be Honduran. We do this for many reasons. Ultimately these workers and their families will be very involved in the lives of the children and we want them to feel more like family and not outsiders. Another reason we have decided to have all Honduran workers is that by providing work for local Hondurans it provides better living not only for them, but also for their family and those they support.

 

Roles of those included in our Model
Family Members
 As mentioned above, the model of La Providencia will follow that more of a family structure rather than institutional. All people that will be involved in raising these children will be Honduran. By using this model we hope to bring up children that are deeply rooted in their culture and have a longing to return to Honduras after they attend college. Because Hondurans are very family oriented people we hope to create huge family ties for all the children through those involved in our model.

  • Parents – The house parents are probably the most crucial part of our model. These couples will be around the age of 30 and must be willing to raise these children as their own. They must complete an intense interview process before we will allow them to have their own home of children. The parents will be required to have a high school education and strongly encourage to receive a college degree as well. The parents will hold jobs in the community or at the orphanage to provide for their needs. They will have the freedom to function as an individual family. Within reason, they will choose which activities they want to attend, what church they want to attend, and how basic household duties are managed.
  • Grandmothers - Of the 20 elderly widows that have been chosen to live on site, 12 of them will be assigned to the orphan homes as a “grandmother”. They will fulfill the loving, nurturing role of grandmother to all eight orphans in that home.
  • Uncles, Aunts, & Cousins – All of the workers on site will have the opportunity to receive a few of the children as their nieces or nephews. This in turn would make their wives aunts and their children cousins to the orphans.

Sponsors

  • Each child will be supported by six individuals or families that are somehow connected and know each other. This is different than most models, but we want the six supporters to be able to support and interact with each other hoping that is will create a stronger more durable bond since we are looking for sponsors to commit for at least 18 years. If there are six families that are in this together, if something happens to one family, it is likely that the other families will help them through and the child won’t immediately loose all support, which could create the feeling of abandonment yet again in the life of the child.
  • Not only will these individuals/families provide financial support, but also spiritual support through prayer. Out of those six individuals/families, five will be advocate sponsors and one will be the advocate family. The advocate family will participate in the child’s life directly by visiting and other sources of communication.
  • The most important yet different part of our model structure is that the children will never know that these families are their source of financial well-being. We do this mainly to protect the child and to ensure that they will never feel the burden of keeping supporters involved.
  • Another important policy that we have is that no children will have pictures posted on the internet and the sponsors will not be allowed to view pictures prior to deciding to support the child.
  • We feel by using policies such as this it will eliminate the emotional decisions to support the children.
  • The sponsorship will be about $180 a month per child. This will cover food, medicine, and basic expenses of the child. Also, about 1/6 of the money will be set aside each month so that at the end of the 18 years each child will have enough money to attain a college degree either here in Honduras, or in another country.

Missionaries & PWM Staff

  • As mentioned before the main objective of any missionary that works with PWM is to identify, train, and equip. There are several reasons for this, the first of which is keeping as much of the culture in the lives of the children as possible. It has also been our experience, through direct research, that the best use of missionaries in areas where the gospel is already present is for training and support. This creates a group dynamic more acceptable to Hondurans and missionaries alike. This limits the need to compare the two (e.g., salary levels, position, job security) because each group has a different function and purpose. Missionaries are able to freely express their expertise and leadership and Hondurans will be more prone to accept it because the two, by their nature are not threatening to one another.
  • We have also decided to make it a policy that missionaries involved with La Providencia will not be allowed to live on site. Through a few interviews with missionary children we found that some of them feel less loved than the orphans by their own parents. After hearing this we decided that the missionaries should be able to work an 8 to 5 job and then go home to their families and spend time with their own children. We want to build new families without causing destruction to families that are already established.

 

Our Facilities
La Providencia - La Providencia will be an orphanage built in the town of Aguas del Padre, Siguatepeque, Honduras, approximately 1.5 hours from San Pedro and 2 hours from Tegucigalpa. Once in operation, it is expected that we will have an operational budget of about $200,000 per year. This budget will cover housing, feeding, educating, and training the 96 orphan children who will live at the orphanage. In addition to the orphans a separate model will exist for 20 widows and 96 community children in need of schooling and medical assistance. In all La Providencia will assist 212 individuals and include 12 orphan homes, medical clinic, warehouse, school, dining hall, administration building and a laundry facility for a total of 19 buildings on 45 acres.

  • Orphan Home - Each home is approximately 2500 square feet and will hold 8 orphans and a set of house parents. There will be 2 children per room and 4 children per bathroom for a total of 5 rooms and 3 bathrooms. The home will also include a kitchen, TV room, living room, dinning room and screened in porch.
  • Widows Home - This home will be about 4300 square feet and is designed to hold all 20 widow. It will have 10 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms and contain all the basic living necessities for these elderly ladies.
  • Medical Center – The medical center is of great importance to our facilities as 20%-30% of the orphans will be infected with the AIDS virus and many others will be malnourished and suffering from physical disabilities. The clinic is around 10,360 square feet and includes:
    • men’s ward with 12 beds
    • women’s ward with 12 beds
    • emergency room
    • operating room
    • three exam rooms
    • ultra sound room
    • x-ray room
    • pharmacy
    • waiting area
    • doctor’s break room
    • research lab
    • two interior gardens
  • We are currently in the process of forming an alliance with the local university that will allow all of their last year students to volunteer at the clinic. We will have one doctor that is paid to oversee all of the students and all operations and his/her hours will be that of a typical work day. This allows us to have medical staff at all hours at a more economical cost.
  • It is also our hope to install fiber optic lines and recent technology that will allow doctors from the United States to oversee certain operations and even communicate to our doctors during surgeries.

Warehouse - The warehouse is designed to be a very versatile building. It is about 3350 square feet and includes 6 rooms, a set of bathrooms complete with showers, and a breezeway with a pit that will allow for easy maintenance of vehicles.

  • Currently the warehouse is being used for storage of supplies. As more buildings are completed those supplies will be moved to their respected areas and the warehouse will serve more as a maintenance facility.
  • Two rooms will be set apart to be used for Providence in a box. One will be the actual store, and the other will storage for all the boxes of clothing.
  • It is our hope that one day these rooms will be used for wood shop, metal shop, etc. If any of the homes ever need a new chair, or their stove malfunctions, they can just place an order at the warehouse for someone to repair their needs. This will not only be cheaper in cost of running the orphanage, but it will also provide more jobs for local Hondurans.

School – The school measure about 23,400 square feet and will educate all ages from elementary to high school.

  • The school will not only be used for the children onsite, but also for some of the children in the community. For every orphan we will allow one community child to attend the school which means there will be a total of 192 children.
  • The school will be bilingual with an option for a third language. The children will also be required to learn how to play a musical instrument of their choice. In some ways it will also be a type of finishing school.
  • It is our hope that the children will come out of this school well rounded with knowledge from many different aspects. We want the school to not only educate on basic school subjects, but also provide them with the insight to survive in many different situations.

Dinning Hall/Multipurpose Building – The main purpose of this building is to be a dining hall for the school during school months. It will hold approximately 233 people for dinning and is about 10,800 square feet.

  • For nine months out of the year, we intend to feed all 192 children three meals a day for five days a week.
  • Inside the dinning hall we will also have a stage area so that it can be easily transformed into a room that can be used for conferences, guest speakers and special presentations. It is our goal to engineer the stage in such a way that we can use a crank to move it up and down between the two floors. This will allow for efficient moving of furniture depending on the function of the main room.
  • We are also designing ways to transform the dinning hall into a recreational area that would include a small indoor soccer field and other activities so that the kids will be able to stay active during the rainy season.

Administration Building - The administration building will be about 3,050 square feet and will basically serve as an office building for those employees responsible for overseeing the site. The unique thing about this building is that is will be designed with teamwork in mind. It will basically be one big room with a lot of glass, and not really any offices that are closed off or secluded.

Laundry Facility - The laundry facility will be about 1,400 square feet and will have enough equipment for each home will do their laundry. If we have a situation where the mother can’t leave the home because of a disabled or sick child, we have installed washer and dryer connection in each home.

 

“They only asked us to remember the poor—the very thing I also was eager to do.”

Galations 2:10