Dear DCF friends,
Thank you very much for taking the time to read this newsletter. This time we give you a glimpse into the experiences of young people and families who receive our guidance in Ecuador. Moreover, we will give you an update on the joint initiative, Family Power in the Netherlands, which aims to give children worldwide a HOME instead of institutionalizing them in a children’s HOUSE.
FAMILY SUPPORT The team in Quito works daily with families in difficult situations. For example, they live on the street, have problems within their family and/or cannot manage financially. By receiving temporary guidance from the team, they are able to change this. Here are some experiences of these families: We are very grateful that you helped my family and I to see other options and alternatives that we could not see at the time. The changes with my son have been easier. We now make agreements and we can negotiate during conflict situations that would have gotten out of hand in the past. We experienced something completely different at the foundation. We feel that we are being listened to. You don't judge us and it was also very valuable that you always believed in us when other people didn't. My son rarely opens up to talk, but now he waits for the team to come so he can tell them what hurts him. We have the feeling that justice is being done to injustice and that we have been able to find some peace thanks to the foundation.
CASA DE PASO Casa de Paso is a temporary shelter for young people from Ecuador and from other countries, to offer them a quiet place and at the same time to investigate what exactly they need to be protected. Normally they stay there for a maximum of 3 to 7 days, after which they can be reunited with their family or move on to the necessary program. A life story to highlight is that of Juan, María and Marco (all names have been changed for privacy and security): Juan and Maria had a really hard time arriving in Ecuador. They lived on the street, where they came into contact with the DCF team. María was pregnant at the time. Both immediately made active use of the opportunities presented to them and improved their skills in cooking and baking making use of the courses offered. Juan followed a gastronomy course with great passion. Thanks to the sale of food, they can now generate enough to support the now young family. It is also the intention that Juan will provide gastronomy lessons to other families in the future. During the same time at DCF, in Casa de Paso they met Marco, a teenager who can't be reunited with his own family at the moment. However, Juan and Maria opened their hearts and their new place to live and the special thing is that Marco now lives with them temporarily. It's nice to see how a helping hand can have a domino effect if we continue to share with each other.
NEPAL As you know, we are in the concluding phase with Nepal. The local team is working on a business plan that will enable them to continue independently. We will keep you informed in a future newsletter.
FAMILY-POWER Earlier we talked about Family Power. Family Power's dream is a safe, caring and permanent family for every child, anywhere in the world! Worldwide, at least six million children live in institutions such as orphanages. And that while there are more than 300 convincing studies that point to the negative effects of growing up outside the family and show that these children are not orphans in 80-90 percent of the cases. It also appears that Dutch Private Initiatives (PI’s) and their partners – with the best intentions – maintain orphanages and similar institutions. But it can also be done differently! In Family Power, 9 Dutch organizations, including DCF, and their international partners on four continents, have joined forces to show that vulnerable children can grow up in a safe, caring and stable family. Family Power works together with Wilde Ganzen, Better Care Network Netherlands, Dutch Coalition on Disability and Development, Partin, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Radboud University. We do this through research, training, guidance and awareness. In this way we work on strengthening the family around the child and we promote de-institutionalization! DCF is an active part of the Family Power initiative and in particular coordinates the setting up of a training & interconsultancy program, so that we can share knowledge and experiences together, so that more children worldwide grow up with their own families.
THANKS
We would like to thank you again and again for your heartwarming involvement in whatever form!
With warm regards,
Alex, Barbara, Nicoline and Helma - Daniëlle Children’s Fund
If you prefer our newsletter special on paper, please download