I know you have a lot of questions concerning how the girls living in Villa Esperanza were chosen. What the age limits are and if we will ever house boys from the dump. The ages for the girls right now are 5 yrs old to 16 yrs old. We have one girl in high school, with another that will graduate from primary school and move on to high school. The girls were chosen by an application and interview process. The announcement went out to families whose children attend the school in the dump (La Chureca). The applications were filled out, Gloria along with the principal of the school, held interviews with the parents to find out what the immediate need was for their daughters. The needs ranged from emergency safety issues, to families who just didn’t want their daughter or could not provide for them. After much prayer and deliberation, the first sixteen were chosen. The parents have agreed to let their girls live in the Villa for a minimum of 3 years, with the possibility of them living there until they graduate high school and/or college. We are hoping to be able to work with local communities, churches, companies and schools to help maximize the education the girls will get and for them to realize their employability. Also by adding a vocational center in the Villa we will be able to teach basic skill sets to help the girls reach their full potential and to give them a chance to not just survive in the outside world but to thrive in the outside world.

I was asked a question by a friend, and she wanted to know how the girls responded to having teams stay at the Villa all summer long. I will tell you that they said over and over again that they missed the teams and wanted to know when then next teams were coming. Some of the older girls help work in the kitchen and do some basic housekeeping. This allows them to learn responsibility and work ethic. All while developing relationships with locals that work in the Villa. They also are able to see positive and healthy relationships between men and women and boys and girls with the youth teams that visit. They are taught boundaries and are held accountable for their behavior. These are all things that they may have only seen while at school in the dump. Now they can live it. Besides all the life skills, they are receiving a ton of love!!!!! And they have made many friends who want to keep in contact with them.

If you are interested in helping and keeping in contact with any of these special girls please visit Forward Edge's website (there is a link above) http://www.forwardedge.org/ and click on their Child Sponsorship program.

Here are a few pictures, above and below, of the girls with teams, see for yourself how happy they are!!!