"Here they tell us that dreams can become true..."

Two years ago, one November afternoon, a woman on the run from her violent husband knocked on the door of a children’s home in Cochabamba, Bolivia. She left her six-year-old daughter there, and carried on running...

Jenifer, now eight, was upset and anxious for a long time. She spent a lot of time hiding around the house, scared that her father would find her. It was a hard time for her and for the people caring for her.

Jenifer is just one of the thousands of children abandoned by their parents each year in Bolivia. Still more run away from violent home lives. Without places of safety and security, these children would probably end up living on the streets.

In Jenifer’s home there are 57 girls learning what it feels like to be loved and to know they are safe. When they come to the home, they are taught that they are valued and precious, and that they are no longer alone. Sometimes it takes a while for it to sink in; but when it does, the girls begin to laugh, giggle and chatter; “Jenifer is very talkative and its very hard to keep her quiet,” says Carla, one of her friends who knows her very well “She is very good at school and she is always making friends with the quiet children. I believe that in the future she will be a very good attorney”.

Jenifer doesn’t often get visits from her family. Every now and then her grandmother comes to see her, but contact with her mum has only been over the phone. Although she is safe and is generally a happy, settled child, the fear of abandonment has stayed with her and if the project leaders go out for a while she always asks them to come back soon and not forget her. Jenifer is never alone; she always has friends and carers around her, helping her to know she is safe and giving her the love and friendship she needs.

Go back to: What We Do
Go on to: Rescue - Red Alert - Refuge

Jenifer hopes that one day she’ll be living with her mum again, and when asked what her dreams are says:

“My dream is to become someone of authority, like a city mayor or a governor. I would build many houses for orphaned children. Here they tell us that dreams can become true if we trust in God. I believe in God and I believe that in Him, all is possible”