25 Oct The Vallado Project 10 Years and Still Counting
LOOKING BACK
I can remember the first time I ever met Jaqui, a shy and bashful six year old girl lost in the shadows amidst a dozen other children. She and her three siblings had been at the Casa Vallado Children’s Home for two years at that point. While children squabbled and played around her, Jaqui just kept to herself in the background, rarely making eye contact with anyone, and never daring to make her feelings or opinions known… Perhaps this was her response to a group of loud Americans whom she had never seen before. Or, maybe, it was how she had learned to survive when she lived in a home where her mother would routinely insult her about the darkness of her skin and extinguish her cigarettes out on Jaqui’s arms as a form of punishment. I don’t know exactly what was going on in Jaqui’s mind all those years ago, but what I do know is that the Jaqui I met as a child is not the same Jaqui I know today as a 16-year old young woman.
Today, Jaqui is full of confidence. She loves to sing and perform for our teams when we come to visit. She helps lead and mentor the younger children around Casa Vallado. She knows who she is, and she knows that the words and abuse she suffered as a child are not what define her. Through our interactions, Jaqui has come to know the love of Christ and today stands firm in the knowledge that though her mother may have abandoned her, she has a Father in Heaven who will never leave her nor forsake her (Is. 49). Jaqui’s life has been transformed.
Jaqui’s story is just one of many I have come to know within the walls Casa Vallado. I have watched these children grow from toddlers to young adults. I’ve seen some make the unwise decision to go back to dysfunctional situations, and suffer as a result. I’ve seen some persevere through difficult moments and come out on the other side stronger and wiser because of the love and support they have received from Casa Vallado and The Vallado Project. I’ve escorted some of the most precious young ladies down the aisle during their Quiencieneras and had the privilege of speaking the father’s blessing over them during those celebrations. I’ve watched young boys, once a behavioral nightmare, grow into young men full of honor, integrity and leadership. And, I’ve had the surpassing joy of having these beautiful children call me Papa Brett.
All of this has happened because 10 years ago God provided the opportunity for us to meet, and begin partnering with, some of the most amazing people I have ever had the opportunity to know as they sought to love, care for, and educate children who had been abandoned by their parents.
IN THE BEGINNING
When The Vallado Project first began it was simply our vision to partner with and serve the Casa Vallado Children’s Home through an annual trip where we would help with facility maintenance needs and spend time loving on the children. However, after that first trip in 2007, we quickly realized God was calling us to go way beyond a once a year visit. We saw the financial struggle the directors faced in order to keep the children’s home open. We saw the vast relational needs these children had, and the fact that there was no other local organization or church in San Luis Potosi who was helping fill that void. We saw the opportunity to help educate the women caring for the kids in the area of social welfare. And so, in response to all of that, we launched The Vallado Project in 2008.
For nearly 10 years now, The Vallado Project has partnered with The Casa Vallado Children’s Home through group trips, financial support and relational connections. Three times a year we travel to San Luis Potosi, Mexico to serve and build with the women and children of Casa Vallado. We do a Vacation Bible School to teach the children about God’s Word and God’s love. We take the children on a special outing in order to spend the day playing and building relationships. We also treat the “Moms” to a day out, which they rarely get, so they have a slight reprieve from the daily routine of caring for multiple children. Each December we take the “Moms” on a Christmas shopping spree to get gifts for the children as well as themselves. Since 2007, we have sent 87 different missionaries to Casa Vallado. Through these trips, we have gained the love and trust of these children and have become highly involved in their lives.
Through our financial partnership program we have increasingly funded the operating budget for Casa Vallado. In 2008, we provided 50% of the revenues needed to run the home. Today we provide 97%. We currently have 49 monthly partners providing $3,700 per month. Over the past 10 years we have raised over $230,000, 100% of which has gone to fund the operations of the Casa Vallado Children’s Home. That money has enabled Casa Vallado to provide love, care, education, housing and food for 27 children within the homes and an additional 17 children outside of the children’s homes over the past decade.
God has graciously allowed us, through The Vallado Project, to be a part of something truly magnificent in seeing the course of a generation of children altered from a path of destruction and hopelessness to one of building a new legacy. As we prepare to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of The Vallado Project, we not only look back at all the amazing work that has been accomplished, but we also look forward to all the work that still remains. Our hope is to continue raising the funds needed to not only run Casa Vallado as it is today, but to also expand the housing and resources needed to take in, and care for, more children in the years to come. You see, Jaqui will be moving on in the next two years, stepping into a new phase of life equipped with an education, faith, and hope that she did not know 10 years ago; but Natali, a 6-year old girl who just recently came to Casa Vallado, is just now beginning her journey of healing. There are many more Jaqui’s and Natali’s out there who need a place to call home.
We are building a team of amazing people who are looking to play their part in changing the course of a generation of children in Central Mexico. We have what those children need: Love. Support. Hope. If you’re reading this blog, then I want to invite you to be part of the solution:
Give hope to a child in need. Come, join the project.