Unity 4 Orphans Now Supporting Vulnerable Children in 5 Countries!
Orphaned and vulnerable children across Latin America are receiving nutrition, education, and counseling services with Unity 4 Orphans’ robust holistic programs.
If you’ve been following U4O on social media, our monthly newsletter, or anywhere else, you know that our programs to serve the underserved children of the world continue to grow and expand. We continue to be amazed at the places where God opens doors for us to step in and intervene by way of ESL classes, tutoring, nutrition, counseling, and more.
We’re now actively transforming the lives of children living in poverty in five different countries, growing at a rate faster than ever before in our thirteen-year history. Fueled by a common desire, we’re thankful to our community for inspiring and supporting the important work we feel called to do.
Unity 4 Orphans Began Their Work With Poor Children in Mexico and Nicaragua
U4O began with day trips to orphanages across the border from San Diego into Mexico in 2010, which provide volunteers with the opportunity to interact with children who have been orphaned or abandoned. Through these service trips, we’ve learned how vital it is to spend time with the kids to let them know they’re valued.
Our ESL program in Nicaragua, established in 2016 offers people the opportunity to sponsor a student, ensuring they receive all the support they need to grow up healthy and succeed in school. Following their progress and witnessing their journey to become bilingual is an inspiring, fun way to get involved.
We truly believe God brings the right people into our circle that will help grow Unity 4 Orphans and allow us to help more children in need.
– Joe Brandi, U4O Founder
U4O Expanded Holistic Programs to San Diego, Ecuador, and Punta Mita, Mexico
Not only have our programs and the number of children helped grown in Tijuana, Mexico, and Miramar, Nicaragua, we’ve expanded into four more locations in the past two years. Through a local partnership in San Diego, we came alongside an after-school program for children in grades K-5 from low-income families, which make up 15% of the population. Through educational intervention, the students are able to succeed in school and keep in step with their
grade levels.
In Punta Mita, Mexico, we partnered with a local group of mothers that provides healthy food, tutoring, and spiritual guidance to impoverished children. The wealth disparity in this resort location is alarming, and we aim to improve the kids’ trajectory in life.
Our ESL program in Ecuador is now established and 40 kids are being helped with a model similar to what we provide in Nicaragua. Another important connection that helped this vision get off the ground even faster was a partnership with the local group Dame Tu Mano.
I turned to this little girl . . . I said in my broken Spanish, “Would you like to learn English?” Her eyes lit up and she said, “It’s my dream to learn English!”
– Joe Brandi, U4O Founder
Serving Poor and Vulnerable Children in Panama, Costa Rica, and Beyond
In the summer of 2023, Joe Brandi and a small team of U4O volunteers visited the ESL school in Nicaragua, and he continued on to spend time in Ecuador, Panama, and Costa Rica, meeting kids in every town who are in need of the kind of support our programs can provide.
Our first initiative in Panama is to assist kids at a school in a difficult part of the country so they receive two meals a day and support to help them learn and overcome the cycle of poverty one day. As we extend our reach to children like these in Costa Rica as well, our excitement builds to help even more children live healthier lives and succeed in their education!