Child abuse among Costa Rica’s children is a growing problem. Studies show that 1 in 4 children lives below the poverty line. Despite a relatively low poverty rate in our country, 16% of the population is affected by this problem, with children being the primary victims. On December 11, 2014, an article in the Tico Times reported that between 2006-2014 more than 20,000 minors were treated for some type of suspected abuse. This information came from statistics obtained from the National Children’s Hospital in C.R. With this in mind, we would like to take a moment to share what God is doing with Phase II and our reason for being here.
With the completion of Phase I, we now have our sights set on developing Phase II. This includes the construction of 4 additional children’s homes. Our goal is to provide hope for children who are hurting, abused, and afraid. Since opening our doors in 2004, we have received 91 children. Of these, roughly half have left in adoption. The others have returned to their biological families, while 14 are currently living at the A.P. These 4 homes will allow us to impact more lives. Our aim is to share Christ with every child that walks through our doors.
We are nearing completion of the permit phase. It has been a long, arduous task. Once permits are secured, we will begin with construction of a bridge. The bridge is needed to span a creek, giving us full access to the main portion of the property.
Several months ago, a team from the U.S. was visiting the A.P. During the tour, we approached a friend that had the capacity to help us with the task of building the bridge about funding that project. He thoughtfully told us that he did not feel led to donate for the bridge, but that he would give funds to build a house ($285K)! He also informed us that this was not an open ended offer. He would give us until the end of this November to raise the money. If we are not able to, he would withdraw his offer. Obviously, this has been a HUGE motivating factor for us.
We have been in negotiations with an outside company to construct the bridge. After several meetings, we were able to negotiate a final price of $88,000, which is much less than the original estimated cost of $120,000. Good news…at this point, we have already raised over $60,000! We only need $28,000 to meet our goal.
If you feel led to contribute, please contact us at sgthomas@ice.co.cr or call 956.287.3131.