UPDATE: March 25, 2014
Thanks to your generous support of this project, construction is now underway! We are hopeful that the new home will be built soon and thankful that the boys and house parents will be able to move in to a new family environment.The Lord has provided the resources for this home to be built and we look forward to seeing how He uses this family environment to share His love, mercy and grace with the boys who will soon call it home.
December 27, 2013
Reel Life is currently working to assist our Dominican Republic field partners, Niños de la Luz and (un)adopted, to construct a boys’ home for orphaned street children. Rather than an institutional style orphanage, this home will use a traditional family model with loving parents in a family environment. The new structure will be the second home for boys located on the La Baliza Ranch in Cabarete, a small community just outside Puerta Plata, Dominican Republic. We are also helping with the expansion of Escuelita Elementary School, which provides accelerated education for the underprivileged children in the neighborhood as well as the boys that live on the ranch property.
We are currently $37,000 away from our goal and praying to have the full amount raised by the end of next month.
In order to address the underlying cause of this and other social issues, we are working together with our field partners to promote holistic and sustainable community transformation. Empowering individuals to improve their own communities requires long-term cooperation with local leadership as well as hands-on involvement at a personal level. The La Baliza Boys’ Home Project will provide a nurturing environment necessary for young boys to learn and grow through family, education and discipleship. The additional home will further our ability to raise and equip orphaned and abandoned youth with the job and life skills necessary to become tomorrow’s leaders.
The “family unit” model has been chosen for this project due to the increased effectiveness found in providing the children with a more natural environment rather than something institutional in nature. A picture of this model’s success is demonstrated by the existing boys’ home currently operated on the La Baliza Ranch. (un)adopted, also based out of Birmingham, Alabama, is working alongside Niños de la Luz to facilitate a safe and nurturing environment for orphaned children. Currently, 12 former street children, ages 10-17, are being raised by two loving house parents and a staff of “tios” and “tias” (uncles and aunts) who have given their lives to making a difference in the lives of Dominican youth. The boys attend Escuelita Elementary School followed by The Life Navigation School, the latter of which serves local adolescents leaving institutionalized orphan care. In addition to academics, both schools deal with the specific challenges facing the students. As a result, not only are the boys raised in a long-term family unit, but they are taught life skills, family values, and faith in a loving God.
The initial home has been successfully operated for the past 4 years. Given the gravity of the problems facing orphans across the Dominican, we are thrilled to be embarking on a second building project. It is our desire to provide a home for 8-10 more boys, ranging in age from 8-13 years of age. As a part of this project, we will also add classrooms to the school so that it may accommodate the additional children. The new boys’ home will be located on the ranch in close proximity to the existing home and be hosted by another couple serving as house parents.
If you are interested in supporting this project or would like more information, please contact us at info@Reel-Life.org
