A Story of Orphans

Location: Mexico
Camera info: Canon Rebel 350D • lens 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6
ISO 400 • f 4.0 • 1/3200 sec

“If these kids don’t have somewhere to go, they will send them to jail.” What?? I looked at our local contact in surprise. She explained the situation of the handful of kids that played in the orphanage’s front yard. Most of them were not truly orphans, but they had parents in jail for various reasons. It was one and the same in Mexico. If the children did not have other family members to take care of them, the authorities would send them to be with their parents. To keep these innocent kids out of the jail house, a local family had started an orphanage to care for them until their families were free.

Now, the orphanage was struggling because the landlords kept increasing their rent. They also were outgrowing the small houses they lived in. Our team visited them one day, and I was surprised how many kids could fit in one location. It was just a small house with an enclosed patio/garage area they used as a shelter. They had fenced in the front yard so the kids could go out and play safely. There were probably 20 kids blowing bubbles, kicking soccer balls, and trading off on the single swing set. Not all of them stayed at the orphanage, so I wasn’t sure how many actually slept there, but it was crowded nonetheless. I knew that if the orphanage didn’t find a better location they could afford, all these kids would be back on the street or in jail with their families. But what could we do?

What would you do? Let’s dream up some ideas how you would help these kids.

To be continued next week…