Abrigo Lar Dos Pequeninos Is a wonderful place that is making a difference in many childrens lives here in Paracatu Brazil. Abrigo Lar Dos Pequeninos was founded in 2001 and started providing services in 2005. It welcomes children from birth to 18 years old and acts as a temporary shelter and orphanage. The children are all from Paracatu and the surrounding area. When a childs right’s are violated by negligence, abuse, sexual abuse, begging along with other violations there is an investigation and most of the children are sent to Abrigo Lar Dos Pequeninos so they are safe and provided for while they wait until the court process plays out. The court decides if the child will be returned to the family and the shelter works with the family to strengthen the family and change the story and life of that child. If a judge releases a family for visits, they come monthly. There are children and adolescents who cannot have contact with their families. The shelter makes efforts to connect them with other family members. If all those options are exhausted and there is no option of family reunification the child will stay at the shelter and go up for adoption or stay until they are 18 years old if they are not adopted by a family. There is also a hesitation of adopting a child from this community when you live here because of the potential danger of that child coming from a biological family that is in the drug trade, and they fear that they will hurt them and steal the child back from them so they adopt from other states in Brazil to avoid the risk of people here knowing of the adoption. They have a team of people who work with these children including a psychologist, social worker and a teacher. At the facility they have 24 hour care for the children with 4 shifts of wonderful, loving people who take care of the children. Education is important and fostered at Abrigo Lar Dos Pequeninos. When the children arrive they are not focused on their education because they are coming from very traumatic situations. They arrive with very low self-esteem and are discouraged so it takes a lot of effort for them to believe that they are capable of learning and realizing their dreams. They have a teacher that works with the children on their literacy skills because literacy levels are low in these displaced children and this is one of the ways they can make an impact on the future of their education. They offer professional courses and enroll students in other educational opportunities here in Paracatu to remediate lower skills. This helps the children feel more successful. Paracatu does have a foster family service where a family can choose what type of child they would like to take into their home. This leaves a lot of children not meeting the criteria of the foster families. Foster families are looking for a specific type of child with the potential of adoption so they don’t take the older children and only want children to age 2, no types of disabilities, siblings etc. This is why Abrigo Lar Do Pequeninos works to take care of all children no matter their circumstance, color, disability, family size, etc. All children are taken care of that come through their doors. Abrigo Lar Dos Pequeninos depend on people’s donations for day to day operations and projects. The city hall funds 5000R ($1044) per month of their 13000R ($2726) monthly expenses. The 5000R ($1044) covers the salaries of the people who work there. They have a local partnership with the local supermarket that gives customers the choice to donate .10 for every 100R ($20.88). This money is variable and doesn’t give a fixed amount each month so they are short on their monthly budget by at least $628.00 (3000 R). They have started to expand,but stopped work because their funding ran out. This new building would be a place for them to expand and offer counseling services to children and their families along with giving them the much needed room they are lacking. The target budget to finish the project is 150000R ($31,310.01). There are also some medical needs that need to be paid for each month and they range from 500R ($104) to 1500R ($313). Besides the project to finish the new building they need to paint the childrens room and wardrobes, purchase school supplies and they always need hygiene items and underwear. They are in need and I hope to help them with some fundraising and support.
Abrigo Lar Dos Pequeninos is a wonderful, loving shelter/orphanage for the most at-risk children here in Paracatu. The staff is loving and supportive of the children and it feels like a family home when you are there. Nick and I did not know what to expect when we started volunteering, but soon learned that these lovely women truly care about these childrens and they foster and nurture them while they heal emotionally and physically. The children at Abrigo Lar Dos Pequeninos have made an imprint on our lives and I hope reading about this special place has made an impact on you. If you have a desire to help support Abrigo Lar Do Pequeninos please click the link to the paypal or if you have any specific questions please reach out to me.
Search to Pay: amaterptu@gmail.com
Off The Beaten Path 