Four out of five of the estimated eight million children growing up in orphanages across the world today have at least one living parent.
On December 18, 2019, the United Nations passed the following resolution: “By adopting the Resolution, all of the 193 member states of the United Nations have agreed, for the first time in history, that orphanages harm children and, recognising that the vast majority of children in orphanages have living family, all children should be reunited with or supported to remain with their families.”
In Mexico, our official name has always been Hogar para Niños Necesitados del Sauzal, meaning El Sauzal Home for Needy Children. In January of this year, we changed our English name from El Sauzal Orphanage to El Sauzal Home for Children.
There are significant concerns for children living in orphanage institutions. (These issues are valid for all children who are not living in safe, protected home settings.)
- The lack of one-on-one attention and care by a dependable caregiver, which is vital for a child’s health and wellbeing
- Developmental delays and attachment disorders
- Damaged social and decision-making skills, impacting children’s capacity to behave in society when they are grown
- Increased danger of abuse, neglect, exploitation, and severe discipline
- Increased chance of dealing with homelessness, trafficking, and mental health issues after leaving the orphanage
We have been raising children for over 50 years and are keenly aware of these issues. Our mission has not changed: we nurture children in a safe, loving home to give them a faith, family, and a future. It has been a challenge for our friends to no longer say “El Sauzal Orphanage,” but we are not an institution, a true orphanage. We have always been and will continue to be a home that exists to love children.
Isaiah 1:17 Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.