El Amor de Patricia

Help us meet our $30,000 match!!! 

Thank you MaryAnn and Brian Nystrom

OUR MISSION

To empower Guatemalan children, families, and communities to reach their full potential.

THE BEGINNING

After adoptions closed in Guatemala in 2008, we first learned of a baby who spent her first 48 hours alone in the countryside in torrential rains with worms crawling in her ears .... then there were the newborn twins found dead in the city dump....and the baby found in a garbage can in a seedy motel.... and the one found in the septic tank with his placenta still attached...  and the overwhelmed teenage mother who buried her newborn baby alive because she was so terrified of being "caught" pregnant, even though she was raped.... the stories are endless.  If not us, then who will help them???

Upon hearing the plight of these scared young mothers, El Amor de Patricia, a children's home and refuge for 25 children, who have been abandoned, abused, and/or neglected was founded

Through your continued, generous support El Amor de Patricia has expanded into the greater communities of Guatemala with outreach and community improvement programs.  Read below about The Children's Home, The Bunk Bed Project,  and our new education center for the village of Yalu.

CHILDREN'S HOME

El Amor de Patricia -  The children at El Amor de Patricia will have a home, not just a shelter, for as long as they need one. They are loved, appreciated, and encouraged to reach their full potential in a family-style setting.  They are in a safe, stable environment cared for by compassionate and loving nannies who celebrate each child's individuality, talents, and development.

Our children have real-life experiences. They go to the movies and the circus. They take dance classes and soccer.  They go to private schools and go to therapy.  This is real life for these precious kids.  Just like you and me.

To sponsor a child, visit: Child Sponsorship

Ten years of El Amor de Patricia

OUR OUTREACH PROGRAMS ~ VILLAGE OF YALU

Watch more about Yalu here: Yalu ~ A Brighter Future

SCHOOL IN YALU ~ El Amor de Patricia is building an English Immersion school near Yalu, providing education for children in the community. English speakers are among the most employable people in Guatemala. This creates more opportunities for people living in poverty to become qualified for jobs that require them to be bilingual. 

The school will house a community center that offers community education, social events, food programs, sewing/weaving co-op, and other needed projects.  It will include a program empowering and educating young mothers who have not had the opportunity to complete their education.  Also on the property,  we will have a small coffee farm to educate the students, and other area teens, about coffee farming since coffee is the second-largest export in Guatemala.  

THE BUNK BED PROJECT® provides beds for families in need within our community.  Volunteers bring the beds, which are made in Guatemala, to the homes of identified families in need and remove what they were using as beds, such as twigs, cinder blocks, wood pallets, or nothing and replace them with new bunk beds.  Purchase a bed and make a difference in the lives of a family in need.  To learn more about this project, visit:

For more information: The Bunk Bed Project

Stoves and Water Filters ~ Throughout the years of delivering beds, we have experienced many homes that have indoor kitchens with open fires.  Imagine being at a fire in an enclosed room.  We have witnessed children, even babies, breathing extremely heavy smoke.  This same smoke caused us to be forced outdoors for fresh air.  Indoor smoke is causing an epidemic of respiratory issues in young and old alike.  As well, dirty water is bringing parasites and amoebas to countless people in the villages we serve. Please help us bring clean air and clean water into the homes of impoverished families in Guatemala.  To learn more about this project, visit:

For more information: Stoves and Water Filters

VILLAGE OF YALU ~ El Amor de Patricia has reached out to Yalu, a small village in Sumpango, Sacatepequez.  We have worked within the village on community improvement projects for 4 years.  Bunk beds, stoves, and water filters have been delivered to nearly every home. We have recently started a sponsorship program for the children in Yalu which will help provide basic needs of food, shelter, and education for the children's families.

To sponsor a  family with a food basket: Sponsor a Food Basket

Yalu ~ The Team Experience

Visit our website at www.theloveofpatricia.org

All Give to the Max donations will fund all of the above projects.