Westfalia Orphanage

Thank you.

The government provides no further assistance except a monthly allotment of rice which is certainly not sufficient to properly feed 90+ children. Donations of everything from food to clothes to school supplies provide some sustainability, but the needs of these children are significant.

There are currently 90 children in residence ranging in age from a few years old to the age of 18. They are there for numerous reasons including no parents, parents abandoning them, parents unable to support them and in many cases physical and sexual abuse in the home. What is remarkable is the resilience they demonstrate in overcoming the trauma of their previous circumstances. They become a large family, taking care of each other like brothers and sisters.

The facility makes use of a psychologist to provide counseling. In residence at the facility are llamas, pigs, Cuy (guinea pigs) ducks, geese and a few dogs that serve as therapy. The children carry the responsibility of caring for the animals. Because meat is a rare experience in their diet, some of the Cuy, a common food in the mountains of Peru, are culled when the population reaches 200 in order to add some meat to an already less than adequate diet. In spite of raising some of their own vegetables and fruit, it is impossible to be self sustaining for 90+ children and, as a result, fruit particularly is a rare luxury. Breakfast, it is sad to say, often includes no more than milk and perhaps some cocoa.

Every effort is made to keep the children busy maintaining the cleanliness of the property, tending the vegetable gardens, learning and making crafts to sell in support of the facility. The older children bake all the bread for consumption there.

Those of school age attend a local school in town and it is often more than difficult to provide the cost of school materials each year, at a cost of about $60 per child. Those too young for regular school attend a sort of kindergarten on site.

Clothing is always an issue. Donations of decent used clothing help but are often not enough. Blankets are always an issue as well. It gets cold there at night and one thin blanket is not much protection.

Christmas? Needless to say trying to provide a somewhat happy Christmas is difficult and expensive. Additionally, most of these children had never seen the inside of a movie theater, been in a swimming pool or seen the beach and the organization tries desperately to provide at least some of those experiences in spite of the difficulty and expense of transporting so many children to Lima for the experience.

In spite of their many needs, the facility is incredibly well run and organized, but the needs remain. The donations that I am requesting will serve a few purposes. They include providing school supplies, additional blankets, some needed clothing and a decent Christmas for these children. Hopefully there will be sufficient monies to also provide some additional food supplies to improve their diet.

Here is hoping that you will open your hearts and help these wonderful children. They are a light in my life and I am grateful for every moment that I can devote to their cause.