{"id":27459,"date":"2022-11-28T22:35:14","date_gmt":"2022-11-29T05:35:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.becomingminimalist.com\/?p=27459"},"modified":"2022-11-29T07:08:09","modified_gmt":"2022-11-29T14:08:09","slug":"change-a-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.becomingminimalist.com\/change-a-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Change A Life This Giving Tuesday"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Every child deserves a family.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those five words make up a seemingly simple sentence. But it\u2019s so much more than a phrase to me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is a belief<\/em> that has led to a movement and a mission to change the way the world cares for orphans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A movement that started here, with the Becoming Minimalist community, and has now grown to change countless lives, all around the world, through the love of a family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hope Effect<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2015, on this blog, I launched a nonprofit organization called The Hope Effect<\/a> with the mission to change the way the world cares for orphans. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a big goal, but why dream small? With so many lives in this community freed up from the pursuit of material possessions, just think of the good we could bring into the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Immediately after announcing the nonprofit, I was overwhelmed by the support and passion from this community as we shared about the global problem we were trying to solve. And I have been continually amazed at the ongoing support from the Becoming Minimalist Community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You see, millions of children around the world are growing up without the love of a family. The majority of those orphaned and vulnerable children are being cared for in large institutions, commonly referred to as orphanages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Less than 1% of orphaned children will ever be adopted\u2014so how we care for the remaining 99% matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, there is clear and compelling research<\/a> on the damaging effects of traditional, institutional orphan care that is practiced in so many places around the world. Children who grow up in orphanages don\u2019t receive the individual attention and care found within the structure of a family. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a result, development is stunted and learning abilities are delayed or lost. And tragically, many children age out of orphanages only to face a future of crime, prostitution, or trafficking\u2014children who grow up in institutional orphanages are 10X more likely to fall into sex work, 40X more likely to have criminal records, and 500X more likely to commit suicide!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The studies<\/a> are clear\u2014kids do best when they are raised in families. That\u2019s why The Hope Effect is changing orphan care by providing innovative family care, which allows every child the opportunity to flourish and thrive. We believe every child deserves a family.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the last seven years, we\u2019ve been pioneering and expanding our model of orphan care in several locations, including Mexico, Honduras, Thailand, and Cambodia. In the care of a family, children receive the individual attention and support they need, while also learning what it means to be part of a stable, loving family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All across the globe, more kids are growing and thriving in family care. Children like Antonio*\u2014the very first child placed into family care in the state of Sonora, Mexico\u2014have hope for the future through the love of a family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just look at the work we’re accomplishing together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Antonio\u2019s Story<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Antonio was born in July 2020 in Hermosillo, the capital city of Sonora. Sadly, he was immediately abandoned in the hospital. Moments after his birth, he was alone in the world, without the love of a family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In most developing countries around the world, Antonio would have been taken by the authorities and processed into an orphanage, where he would live with other children and be cared for by a rotating staff of employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But thankfully, there was another option for Antonio\u2026 a better option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just a few months before Antonio was born, we had begun working in Sonora. In February 2020, we signed a contract with the Sonoran government<\/a>, becoming the first nonprofit to receive government approval to provide family care in that location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Antonio was abandoned later that year, the government contacted our team in Hermosillo. At just 14 days old, Antonio was welcomed into the loving arms of a family. As the first child in the state of Sonora placed in family care, he never saw the inside of an orphanage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the last two years, we\u2019ve watched Antonio grow up in a loving family. It\u2019s been incredible to see him develop and thrive in a caring, supportive, and stable family environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here you can see Antonio\u2019s transformation with your own eyes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n