We frequently hear from potential donors that “Your cost per child is much higher than other children’s homes.”
Yes, we know.
I’ve written about this in detail before, but the bottom line is that we’re not content just to house these kids and then turn them out at age 17 with no families, no support, and no belongings except the clothes on their backs. While it’s certainly better than a life on the street, we don’t believe that kind of “help” puts young adults into a position to lift themselves out of poverty — and what do you suppose happens to the future generations of their families?
How we’re different
So we provide private education and after-school enrichment. We support the kids through college and into careers, even when they make mistakes or change their minds, just like you probably would with your kids.
Our biggest expense is staffing. Kids need interaction with adults, and lots of it. And kids who are recovering from multiple traumas need educated adults who know how to manage their behaviors without resorting to abuse, and have the skills to give them the best nutrition, emotional support, and educational guidance.
It’s important to note that all of our paid staff (except for Lauren, who manages fundraising and donor communications) work directly with the kids every day in Peru.
We have a very low child/adult ratio, and our adults are highly paid by Peruvian standards because they’re highly educated. We don’t hire the cheapest caregivers for our kids — we hire committed people who have the skills to help them overcome trauma and build self-esteem.
Is it working?
See for yourself! Our kids are outperforming their peers across the country by leaps and bounds.
The majority — 79% — perform at or near the top of their classes in private schools.
Most of them — 93% — are enrolling in some kind of post-secondary education to prepare them for careers and professions.
Our teen pregnancy/marriage rates are lower than average, and our kids have escaped the trap of child labor across the board.
Click on the graphic below to see the details of how our kids compare to their peers across Peru. (you may need to click more than once to zoom it out to full-size).
What we can’t measure
More importantly, our kids are healing from trauma. They fight like siblings, but they also have each other’s backs. They know how to love, and they have the tools they need to succeed in all aspects of life.
