“I wish you could see the value and impact of what you do.”
That’s what Hellen, Deputy Director of Programs for Every Orphan’s Hope, said when asked what she would want donors and sponsors to know.
Hellen oversees the full journey of a child at Every Orphan’s Hope—from the moment they arrive as infants, to the day they step into adulthood. Few people see the long arc of transformation as clearly as she does. “I get to witness the result of people’s generosity,” she shared. “The impact is so tremendous. You completely change the trajectory of a child’s life.”
This is why Every Orphan’s Hope exists—and why your generosity matters so deeply. Your giving doesn’t just provide care; it gives a child what they were made for and what transforms the course of their life: a family.
This is where the power of the family shines forth.
The Power of Family Permanency
I often wonder, where would these kids be if it weren’t for the family homes?
When someone sponsors a child at EOH, they help provide the support necessary to care for the child. All educational supplies, medical care, food, and more are the cumulative result of support from fourteen sponsors.
But the physical needs are only half of the story. The more crucial element is the potential for EOH to create families out of widows and orphans.
Attachment is key.
What sets EOH apart is that our family homes do not consist of individual widows and orphans, it’s a collection of people that transform into a family. The orphans call their fellow orphans, brother and sister. They call the widow, Mama. The least of these unite to form a true family, and this is the difference-maker.
The family home answers the need to belong. This is the deeper, more crucial thing.
Why did God create families? It has been this way from the beginning. We need to belong.
Family permanency provides that essential belonging.
In a family home, orphans and widows share a bond, and a safe place. The attachment that comes forth from such a setting is where the joy and belonging are found.
From Crib to College
While the power of Family Permanency is immeasurable, the process that welcomes a child into a Family Home is crucial.
The first step for most orphans begins at a Baby Home. Newborns and children up to age 4 join a baby home due to an emergency. Abuse, neglect, abandonment, or even the death of a biological family member necessitates a child’s placement in a baby home at EOH.
The first goal is always to reintegrate a child with a biological family member. Tragically, this isn’t always possible. When a child nears age 5, and cannot reunite with their biological family or have not been adopted, they begin the process of joining an EOH family home.
Across several months, and many visits, a child is introduced to a Family Home, where he or she is able to meet their future brothers and sisters and begin to bond with their Family Home Mama. This opportunity to successfully pair a child to a Mama at the front end, before the complete transition into a Family Home, makes all the difference. So, when a child joins a Family Home, he or she is truly joining a family.
And it is in this context of a stable family dynamic, with siblings and a Mama who loves them, that children are able to truly thrive.
At Every Orphan’s Hope, we are not content to merely provide for widows and orphans. Rather, EOH exists to restore widows and orphans into a family once more. If you desire to leave a spiritual legacy of restoration, joy, and abundance, consider supporting Every Orphan’s Hope; so together we can unite more orphans and widows into permanent families.