Guatemala Aid Fund

This orphanage is run by a very caring woman named Dinora Palacios who is studying to become an attorney and her sister. Bethany visited the orphanage in June of 2009 and was moved by how hard these two women are trying to provide a place for the increasing population of abandoned children. Newborn babies are being left in trash cans, at churches, on buses and simply on the streets. Dinora has continuously accepted more children into her orphanage without any funding at all from the government or private adoption services due to the closure of international adoptions. Dinora received 8 infants in one day over the winter who had been abandoned in the streets. There are currently 22 children ages 2-5 at the orphanage and 11 babies. They work so hard to keep the children fed, clean, clothed and content. Dinora is resourceful and works hard to find help from organizations and churches within Guatemala but it is not sustaining and very minimal. Currently with the closure of international adoptions, many private orphanages have had to shut down over the past year and the situation for the children is desperate. This orphanage is barely getting by with no constant source of funding, yet they are constantly asked to take in more children. Please take a look at the photos of these beautiful children and the wonderful women that are dedicating their lives to helping them. We heard of this Hogar through the Wide Horizons for Children (WHFC) Program called Rayas de Esperanza. A link to their information is included on the Missions page.