Unity 4 Orphans’ vast partner network provides not only educational, emotional, and spiritual support but also physical spaces for vulnerable children to learn and grow.
As US students begin to return to school, we recognize how vital clean, safe learning spaces are for the children we serve throughout Latin America. Shelter 4 Change was established as a means of providing secure places to learn and live for children in impoverished communities, and many of our programs operate year-round.
Criteria for In-Country Partnerships Include Facilities
An important aspect of identifying in-country partners relates to the accessibility and availability of existing buildings to shelter our programs. These facilities include community centers, schools, and churches that are willing to provide space for after-school or Saturday programs.
Through our Shelter 4 Change program, we can make improvements to help facilitate their ministry, such as improvements to bathrooms, replacing windows, installing fans, computers, water access, and clean learning spaces, but the structure of the building must already exist.
–Caitlin Snyder, Executive Director
Our program locations vary, due to availability, conditions in the community, and the number of children served. In places where sociopolitical factors affect the safety of educators and counselors, we consider how to best serve vulnerable children without putting them at risk.
Where Our Programs Meet Varies by Location
In Mexico, our programs continue to serve children in Tijuana orphanages as well as those who are part of six community centers, including a dedicated teen center. Due to political pressure in Nicaragua, our locations are discreet but encompass public schools, a local partnering church, and even community kitchens near garbage dumps, for children living in extreme poverty.
The kids we work with are living in very hard places.
–Becky, El Salvador Partner
Our established partners in Ecuador, Dame Tu Mano, meet in community centers, churches, and schools. Panama partners Juntos Podemos meet at a private school and a community center, and our newest partnership in El Salvador operates out of a private school on Saturdays.
Community Centers, Schools, and Churches Provide Spaces to Belong
Many of the children we serve lack a consistent or quality education, which keeps them from completing school and moving on to university and gainful employment. The cycle of poverty cannot be broken without opportunities to rise above the status quo, and through our partners, we’re enabled to meet the kids where they are and lead them to brighter futures.
Kids like to come here because they know they have a place where they can belong and be taken care of. Most children have a lack of care and education and are not being looked out for by their families.
–Enrique, Program Director, Juntos Podemos
For kids born into poverty, dysfunctional families, and limited education systems, the desire to belong to something runs deep. Providing a clean, safe space to learn offers them more than education, it offers them a community to both shelter and encourage them to reach their full potential. Join us as we continue to expand our partner network and reach out a helping hand to children who need it most!
Help Maintain Facilities for Vulnerable Children to Grow and Learn