14 BOYS

13 GIRLS

5 DOUBLE ORPHANS

ORPHAN CRISIS IN PARAGUAY

Despite making significant changes in economics and politics in the past two decades, Paraguay remains a largely underdeveloped nation. Paraguay has long struggled with the gap between the upper and lower class, with a small percentage owning most of the land and businesses. This leaves many in the rural areas of Paraguay little to no source of income. Once stuck in poverty, there is not a high change of rising out. According to the World Bank Group, the poverty rate, defined as those making less than $3.10 a day rose from 26.6 percent to 28.8 percent in Paraguay. Women and indigenous populations are impacted the most. As a result, children are sometimes forced to engage in child labor, and not given the opportunity to attend school. According to a report published by UNESCO Institute for Statistics, children in Paraguay engage in the worst forms of child labor, including in cattle raising and domestic servitude, sometimes as a result of human trafficking.

HOGAR EL CAMINO

Founded in 2010, Serving Paraguay is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving the children of Paraguay who are victims of abuse, neglect and poverty. To that end, they operate a Christ-centered children’s home on 40 acres in Itaugua, Paraguay, about 20 miles outside of the capital city of Asunción. The children’s home (Hogar El Camino) is unique in that they utilize a family structure to restore and develop the children entrusted to their care. Thus, the atmosphere at Hogar El Camino is much more that of a community than an institution. Hogar El Camino receives children who have been abandoned, orphaned, or removed from their parents due to abuse or neglect. In conjunction with the children’s home, they also operate the New Path Christian School, serving not only the children from Hogar El Camino, but also more than 180 children from the surrounding, impoverished community.

Serving Orphans Worldwide travels to every orphanage we partner with to ensure needs are legitimate and 100% of funds distributed goes to the livelihood of the children.

PROMINENT ISSUES

Abuse

Many of the children coming into Hogar El Camino are leaving harsh home situations of abuse and exploitation. A UNICEF report showed that nearly 60% of children in Paraguay suffer some type of violence.

Child Labor

In Paraguay, 1 in 5 children has to work more than 9 hours a day. UNICEF estimates that there are 400,000 children working in Paraguay.

Sex Trafficking

Paraguay is a source and transit country for trafficking. Often it is the poorer, rural children who are exploited and forced into sex trade and servitude.

HOME

Nineteen buildings make up the facilities at Hogar El Camino. Ten of those buildings are homes for children, staff, and volunteers; children currently occupy three. The other buildings serve as space for a school, offices, maintenance buildings, and further staff housing. When children arrive in the home, they are placed in the care of a family with a loving Christian mother and father. In those homes, 10-12 children live alongside their houseparents.

EDUCATION

Each child attends the private school located on-site, where they receive a quality education in a Christian environment. Older children are able to participate in vocational training in the home’s garden, bakery, or farm. The home also desires for the house parents and counselors to be educated an trained on how to help the struggles of the children in their care.

FAITH

The children participate in worship services and a weekly discipleship program, memorize scripture, and enjoy daily devotions with their house parents. The house parents disciple the child in their care, providing them with a mother and father figure the children probably didn’t have before. The goal is that these children who were once overlooked by society will become the Christian leaders who transform the future of Paraguay.

HEALTH

Hogar El Camino serves 5 smalls meals a day, including bread, fruit, beans, and rice. The home owns property with fruit trees on it, providing the home with sustainability in that area. As for medical help, the children receive testing when needed, with hospitals nearby if any children become seriously ill. Each child receives weekly or bi-weekly counseling, and the home greatly desires to provide further training for the counselors.