A Daughter Of The King

The Place I Call Home

While in Perú, the children were the main source pulling at my heart. How could such beautiful children be left behind or forced out of their families due to poverty, drugs, abuse or death? Why would God make so many people is there wasn't enough to keep all of them in a good place. They don't deserve this life. They deserve so much more. They should have loving families with enough money to support them.

In America having a kid or 2,3,4 is completely normal. In Perú this is exactly the same except the fact that most families raise their children in poverty. They have children knowing they can't pay for them just because they are looking for a source of happiness. The happiness is there, but it also brings stress and pressure on the parents. You now have more mouths to feed and more space needed for lodging. But guess what, you still have the same small 2-room house and the same daily wage (if you even have a job that is). You don't have the natural resources or money to buy necessities to supply your children with basic needs. A decent chunk of the children have to find their own food and are alone at home all day with parents at work. This isn't the life they were meant for.

At first I felt horrible these children weren't with their families, but after walking around town this opinion changed in a way. These children were living the life compared to the city that surrounded Casa. They got 3 meals a day (2 hot, 1 cold), running water for showers, clean water to drink and parent figures who were always there. This is no way makes up for the fact that they were separated from their parents for reasons unknown for each child, but it makes it a little easier to know they are in a better environment at least.

THE CASA SET UP
I like this think of the orphanage we stayed at, Casa Hogar Juan Pablo II, like a small gated community. There are 8 families, 4 of girls and 4 of boys, with 8 children in each one. 2 family teachers act as parent roles for each family and their biological children can also life with them in their living quarters.

A square building with 2 floors holds all 64 children and 8 teachers. The bottom floor has the 4 boy families and the top has all 4 girl families. Each corner holds a different family "home" which consists of a living room, a dining room, a bathroom (with multiple showers, sinks and toilets), a bedroom with 4 bunk beds and dressers, a storage closet and a teachers living quarters. They try to make every section seem as if it is its own home.

The goal of Casa is to make each group of children paired together feel like an actual family. The children range from 4-17 and are there to teach each other. They eat together as a family each night. Everyone has chores to do and they clean every Saturday together. They are in charge of keeping each other in line and bring each other closer to God.

One of the great systems used at Casa is the point system. The children learn to live a life of respect by getting points for greeting people and starting conversations. The family teachers are given a list of what each child should accomplish in a day (how many hugs, kisses, conversations) and what each challenge is worth in points. The younger children start off with simple challenges like a Peruvian greeting of kissing ones cheek and asking how they are. The older ones learn how to act on their own in society.

This system works with a reward of privileges. The children's ability to go out and play on the playground and soccer field at night depends on if they reach their point goal. Behaving badly can result in a loss of points or privileges completely. The children try very hard to be able to play soccer, being as it is one of the main sports of Perú. The orphanage even has its own soccer teams for girls and boys. One of the girls at Casa is actually a top ranking competitor of the soccer competitions they are in.