PWM Ministries > Orphan & Widow Care > The Model
Our Model - Communities of Care for Orphans and Widows
Before purchasing any land or laying the first brick, we spent 3 years researching orphan and widow care in Latin America. By interviewing such stakeholders as orphans, government officials, missionaries, widows and medical care providers, we developed what we believe is a viable model for the effective, culturally appropriate care of orphans and widows. Our intention is that we provide holistic care for orphans and widows, while achieving long-term buy-in and participation by all parties involved, including partner organizations, sponsors/donors, and the national/local community.
Each of our communities of care for orphans and widows will consist of the following basic structure:
- 12 family homes
- a home for widows
- a medical facility
- a school
Our communities of care are based on the belief that a child is best raised within his or her home culture and within a family structure. For this reason, we have our children arranged into families, each headed by a Christian, national/local couple. We receive our orphaned children at an early age (1-2 years of age) and raise them within a single family until they graduate from high school. Thus, no children within our community are eligible for adoption. Once they graduate from high school, they will each be given the opportunity to attend college within their country, since a college fund will have been amassed from a portion of their sponsorship each month. Ideally, we anticipate that these young men and women, having been raised with a Kingdom perspective and having grown up among the orphaned, widowed and poor within their nation, will approach their education with a sense of Christian stewardship as the future leaders of their nation.
In addition to basic home/family care for orphans and widows, our communities will provide medical care and educational opportunities not only for those within our walls, but also for those in need within the surrounding community. Our hospitals will provide care for our orphans and widows, but also for the poor around us. Our schools will educate our 96 orphaned children, but also 96 additional children who would otherwise receive no education. The fruits of this approach are many. First of all and most importantly, those in need receive ministry. Our intent is not to provide concentrated care for orphans and widows in isolated communities, but to help realize the transformation of their larger contexts. Secondly, as mentioned above, our children will grow up with a sense of stewardship and service toward those in need around them. Finally, it insures that our orphan communities are embraced by their larger communities. When they are viewed as a source of value to rather than a drain on their larger communities, then they are embraced as vital and thus given a voice among local and national leaders.
Eventually, each community of care will be completely managed and operated run by nationals of the countries in which they reside. Our ultimate goal, then, is thus to assist the missional church to equip the church in various nations to care for orphans, widows and the poor in their midst. Of course, each community of care that we establish will vary according to the cultural dynamics within that country.
