Dear Esperanza supporters,
It’s been over 6 months since I last wrote about the children and activities of the foster home. Some of the children I mentioned in March have since been able to move on to permanent families. Sebastian has gone to live with his grandfather after more than a year in Esperanza. Chubby baby Maria Aylen, now sitting up and crawling, has been able to go to her aunt’s family. New children have also arrived, namely Iver of about 4 years old who was found in a nearby shanty area and Gloria, again 4, who was taken into care due to a difficult situation in her family.The team of ladies in charge of Esperanza have been investigating ways of accessing some funding within Paraguay so that all the financial support does not have to come from abroad. They were able to take advice from a Christian lawyer who specialises in helping churches in these matters. He recommended that Esperanza becomes a legal charity in its own right in Paraguay, rather than a branch of the Anglican church, although it will still have the support of the local church and be run by some of its members. It’s quite a complicated process but would mean that government funds could be applied for, so this possibility is being followed up and is looking encouraging.
On October 17th Esperanza will have been caring for needy children for 7 years. For all that time Juana has been the live-in foster mum. She has now taken the decision to move on. As it would not be helpful to welcome new children at this time, the leadership team have decided they will wait to be sure they have a good replacement for Juana before they do so. This may mean a “pause” until the New Year as very little happens in the Paraguayan courts over the Christmas period. Since little Gloria has recently moved to a home run by the Mennonite church where there are more older girls, it is just Iver and Jonathan who are waiting to go to permanent families now. Iver’s father has recently been traced but is unable to look after him. However, it is hoped that he will be able to go to live with an aunt or uncle soon. We have been told that Johnny should be able to go to an adoptive family in about a month after a very complicated legal case.
If you pray, please remember the need for the right person to replace Juana and provide the right environment of love, security and fun that the children need. Thank you. This comes as always with our appreciation of your interest and support for Esperanza.
Penny Metcalfe
