Girasoles Support Fund launch
Over the last year, we have been working diligently with our partners at Health Bridges International to further develop the work that is being done with the graduates of the children’s homes in the Comunidad Girasoles Program, and we are excited to share some new developments toward that end!
At the end of April, Billy and Jocabeth traveled with the HBI team to the children’s homes in Ica and Urubamba. This was a follow-up visit after previously spending time listening to many of the current residents’ and recent graduates’ hopes and dreams for the future and how they would feel most supported. Many shared that they hoped for opportunities to continue to develop their abilities (both practical and professional) so that they would be better prepared to live autonomously and provide for their needs in adulthood. Some of the graduates also expressed feelings of loneliness and difficulty identifying their place in the community after leaving the home.
Those prior conversations helped us to develop two objectives: (1) the launch of the Girasoles Support Fund and (2) beginning conversations about integrating a mentoring project into the Comunidad Girasoles Program.
During our visit we had the opportunity to officially launch the Girasoles Support Fund and share with the high schoolers in both homes how they could apply to receive support from the fund for a myriad of different situations and opportunities:
Opportunities for short/medium term courses and workshops that are designed to teach a specific trade or to allow the teens still living in the home to experiment with a specific profession before deciding on a major once they graduate.
Support for graduates who want to pursue a technical degree.
Seed money to help those who prefer to take a more entrepreneurial path and jumpstart their business plan.
Funds to support the youth as they establish themselves during their first year of adulthood and autonomy.
Money to provide short term, immediate support if any of the graduates experiences an unexpected crisis in their first years of adulthood.
In all these cases, the financial support is accompanied by regular follow-up and check-ins from staff and volunteers who are a part of the Comunidad Girasoles Program.
Our second goal for the trip was to sit down with the staff and directors of each of the homes and to begin to collaborate with them as we build a mentoring program for the teenagers under their care. We had the opportunity to share about Paths of Hope’s Caminando Juntos mentoring program that we have started in Lima and to hear from the staff at the Girasoles homes about how they would envision adapting that structure to each of their own unique environments. The conversation is started, and we continue to collaborate as a team with the hope of launching a program that will equip mentors to serve the youth and develop meaningful relationships.
We believe that these intentional relationships really get to the heart of Paths of Hope’s vision for these young men: that they would have fullness of life while integrated into their community, and that they would have the assurance that a loving God sees, hears, and knows them. It is an honor for us to be a part of the Comunidad Girasoles team as we work toward that end with the youth living in the very homes where this journey began.
We can’t wait to see how the Lord will be at work, and we look forward to sharing with you!
