Nuevo Paraiso Orphanage
Nuevo Paraiso is an orphanage project in rural Honduras. This village community houses around 150 kids at any given time. These children land in the arms of the orphanage for many reasons, including having families who cannot or will not care for them. Sometimes children are brought to Nuevo Paraiso willingly, but oftentimes children are found in horrific conditions and rescued.
Children here live in family units of 10-12 kids with a housemother (“tia”) who serves the parental role in the home. In addition to safe shelter, food, and a loving family dynamic, the kids at Nuevo Paraiso are provided with schooling, health care, psychological counseling, English classes, and the transformative experience of living in community and ending cycles of generational trauma.
Nuevo Paraiso is entirely funded through direct donations and sponsorship of individual children. This funding provides: clothing, school supplies, medicine, and toys, and is also used in conjunction with donated time from volunteers to create facilities like their playground, kitchen, and the homes themselves. The children have very few personal possessions, but their desire to share and appreciate everything they DO have is powerful — we can all learn from this mentality. They are overflowing with kindness and creativity, and they cherish every opportunity to show off a project they are working on or invite you to join in on a game!
Nuevo Paraiso also serves as a home base to host groups of volunteers who visit to provide support. Medical brigades will be based out of the orphanage for extended periods while traveling to rural communities to provide medical care that would otherwise be an unattainable luxury. Other volunteer groups stay at the orphanage to take part in building and repair projects, or simply to spend time with the children. With these volunteer groups, the kids of Nuevo Paraiso are shown love and attention through parties; field trips to movie theaters, soccer fields, swimming pools, and shopping towns; as well as plenty of one-on-one time to read books, play games and share space together. The learning and enjoyment shared in these groups is always mutual.
“My time at Nuevo Paraiso has been formative in shaping the way that I experience the world — how I appreciate what I have, how I think about resources and consumption, and the importance of community and group efforts.”
