If you have children of your own, you know there is no greater joy than seeing their faces light up with happiness. From packing them their favorite snacks for lunchtime to buying them a new toy or game they’ve been asking for, you want them to feel happy, healthy and loved.
Unfortunately, this is not the reality for many children of Samaná. They often don’t have the necessary support systems during childhood. Many of the children in the country share everything – there is one family bed and a few items of clothing and toys shared by all children in the home. Many leave school at a young age to take up jobs to help support their families.
The Reality for the Children of Samaná
In Samaná, a province in the Dominican Republic, infants are born each day into families that love them but cannot nurture or shelter them properly. Poverty, lack of education, and food insecurity contribute to these circumstances, with 80% of all children of Samaná attending primary schools and only half of them making it to secondary schools.
Worse yet, orphaned children struggle to find the comfort of a devoted and supportive family. That’s where the Advocates of Love, the first and only non-profit Christian ministry in Samaná, makes its entrance.
With fundraisers, donations, and sponsorships allowing these underprivileged children to obtain more than the bare necessities, the children of Samaná are finally experiencing the fun-loving lives every child deserves. The children who have been placed in our care by CONANI – usually because of egregious abuse and neglect – attend private school, get regular medical, dentistry, and psychological therapy appointments. They enjoy extracurricular activities and enrichment activities, as well as field trips and volunteer opportunities in the communities from where they came. They are also gently introduced to God and are encouraged to build a spiritual relationship that nourishes their lives.
What You Can Do
Since Advocates of Love is currently the only CONANI-licensed group caring for these children in Samaná, and responding to their needs, assistance from generous donors and child sponsors is always needed.
If you would like to take part in this important mission, find out how you can get involved.
We also ask that you share our cause with your network and consider sponsoring and visiting our children on a Mission Trip.
To learn more about uncovering the miracles of Christmas giving to the children of Samaná, reach out at info@advocatesoflove.org today.
