By Noelle Robadaik, Education Coordinator
A few years ago, during the Nativity season, I visited the Tijuana DIF Shelter with some of our orphanage staff to bring tamales, hot chocolate, and candy to the children there and spread a little Christmas cheer. This facility is where children wait to be reunited with family members or moved to an orphanage after primary caretakers lose custody. All of the boys in our care have been in this facility or at a sister facility at some point. At times, more than 250 children have called it home. When we entered the nursery, we were met with rows of hospital-style bassinets filled with babies, some asleep, others lying awake staring at the ceiling. The two women caring for them told us that by the time they had fed and changed each child, it was time to start over again. They were able to meet the most basic needs of these babies, but nothing more.
But most alarmingly, although we spent at least forty-five minutes in the nursery, we heard no crying. These precious babies had found that their cries received no response and had stopped trying. At that moment, I realized we needed to help these children, and we began to explore the feasibility of expanding our orphanage program. The effects of neglect and abuse in the earliest years of life have severe, lifelong consequences.
While helping the boys at St. Innocent Orphanage navigate the obstacles created by poor care in their early years, I have been overwhelmed with the desire to prevent other children from living the same traumas. Now, after years of planning and with support from our Board of Directors and generous donations from the Phillip Giannakis Foundation and others, we have started building our own nursery and created a temporary facility to care for a few infants and toddlers while the building is finished.
In our nursery, children will receive so much more than the basic necessities. We will provide them with a loving and attentive home and opportunities for the healthy attachment and physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual development they would otherwise be denied. Watching the walls of the nursery being built fills my heart with joy, knowing that generations to come will receive a loving and stable beginning of life and a brighter future.
I feel so blessed to have been a part of this ministry for so many years, but the time has come for me to finish my time working here at Project Mexico and St. Innocent Orphanage and start the next chapter of my life. The first time I came down on a homebuilding trip as a young high school student changed my life, and since then I haven’t been able to stay away.
I am so grateful and proud to watch our ministry grow and develop. Embracing my changing role has been bittersweet. My time caring for the boys in their day-to-day activities has come to an end, but now I take on the equally important role of praying, contributing what I can, and spreading the word about the beauty of the orphanage.
This ministry cannot function without the countless people who support it in different ways. Your support, whether through constant prayer or donations to keep the lights on and pantry full, fills us with strength and allows us to expand our ministry and continue to serve our Lord and the needy of Tijuana. Please prayerfully consider supporting our growing ministry while keeping the boys and staff in your prayers.