CALO (Change Academy Lake of the Ozarks)
Lake Ozark, MO

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CALO Leadership Spends
Time at Mexican Orphanage

South of Phoenix and across the Mexican/US border is a sleepy little port town called Puerto Penasco. Fifteen miles outside of town is an orphanage named Esperanza Para Los Ninos. This orphanage is not like many others in the world where the children are waiting to be adopted or waiting to be permanently placed in new environments. These Mexican children come from the local community from homes marred by drug or alcohol addictions, neglect, or direct physical abuse of the children. Many of the children expect to reunite with their parents but many more will probably never return home. Those that don't return home are raised by the caretakers at Esperanza. They are cared for, taken to school, and socialized by two couples who live on site with their families. The orphanage budget is meager. They survive on donations and about $60,000 per year from the government. They serve 35 to 48 children at any given time. The $60,000 budget includes salaries, vehicles, food, clothing, and everything to care for the children over the course of a year.

Approximately 95% of the students at CALO (in Lake Ozark, MO) are adopted. They come from the American foster care system, as well as orphanages in Russia, the Ukraine, South America, China, and others. In these orphanages and foster care the CALO kids have been traumatized in ways that the Esperanza children have not. The CALO students struggle with emotions and behaviors much more severe than the Esperanza kids.

The CALO Leadership Team learned of the orphanage two years ago and decided to help. Last year we spent a week in the area and donated supplies and played with the children. This year we went down last month and repeated the experience. We love the idea of helping out a group that is taking good care of children in need.

With so many children in the orphanage, it is clear that government dollars will not even begin to fund Esperanza. Donations are critical to the success of the organization. That is the reason we are documenting our trip. Please take a look at a website created for them by Rick Bills. Rick has been donating time and effort to the cause for many years and maintains a website for Esperanza. Here is the link:
http://www.esperanzachildrenshome.com

You can donate right online. You can go in person as we did and take supplies. The website has a list of supplies that they most often need if you are interested. Call any member of the CALO administrative team if you want to hear more about the trip or want to get involved.

CALO provides specialized therapy for teens struggling with trauma, attachment disorder, or mood regulation issues.