Children are a soft spot for many.
This is especially true for Children of Hope, a Christian organization based in Abbotsford, British Columbia, that strives to help and support children in orphanages in Mexico.
Although the organization has roots in British Columbia and its mission in Mexico, it also has plenty of support in the Pembina Valley.
Wes Harder serves on the board of Children of Hope, and Chris Kalansky has volunteered for the organization since 2013.
Both have also made trips to Mexico to assist with projects.
For Kalansky, the best part of a trip is “making connections with the children” at the orphanages as well as the adults who run them. Harder agrees, and he says the trips always have a way of enriching the volunteers as much as they strive to enrich others.
Who are the Children of Hope?
While the children in the Mexican orphanages end up there for a variety of reasons, one that is common, according to Kalansky, is that they’ve been removed from “really bad situations.”
“[They are] essentially given a second chance at life. They're given a loving place to live, there's a roof over their heads, they're fed, and they're provided education, which isn't guaranteed in Mexico,” he says. “To see the smiles on their faces and see them genuinely happy, knowing their background history — it's so empowering.”
Both Kalansky and Harder work with Casa Esperanza ParaTi orphanage in Queretaro, Mexico. Because of the support from volunteers like those through Children of Hope, the children there have the opportunity to enjoy some of the best parts of childhood — including “running circles” around Canadian adults who are not used to playing soccer at the orphanage's higher elevation.
“They love it. We love it. It's a great place to be,” says Harder. “They're doing wonderful work.”
A lesson from the children
The children themselves are also inspirational, according to Harder.
“They have very little, and they have every reason to be angry at the world, and yet, you go there, and you just see that they have hope, and they're quick to embrace a stranger and just want to show them love,” he says. “That probably speaks to the Christian environment that's there as well. They’re being loved first as they enter these orphanages.”
“We think more is always better and yet you go there, and you see that in the simplicity of life, there’s a lot of happiness." -Wes Harder on the outlook of the children at Casa Esperanza in Mexico.
For Kalansky, an especially memorable trip to a different orphanage in Mexico ended with a special gesture that illustrates the generosity and joy the children embody.
“I made a connection with a young boy ... and at the end of it, he came up to me and gave me his football,” he says. “To put that in perspective, each boy has a milk crate with his worldly possessions [in it]. His football ... was his most prized possession. I was caught in a moment of, ‘I can't accept this — this is the most valuable thing in the world to you,’ and ‘I can't say no because it’s such a gift.’”
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For Harder, reflecting on the children's happiness despite having relatively few possessions has impacted his outlook.
“You come home and you say, ‘We’ve got a lot of distractions in life,’” he says. “We think more is always better, and yet you go there, and you see that in the simplicity of life, there’s a lot of happiness.”
Updating the community
For anyone who would like to hear more about Children of Hope and its work, Kalansky will give a presentation on March 24th at 2 p.m. at Winkler Senior Centre.
“We'll have a picture presentation. We can sort of give you a glimpse into what a missions trip is like, what life there is like, the projects we’re working on, and give you some ideas on how you ... can support this,” says Kalansky. “You can [be] on next year's team, you can support through child sponsorship or donate towards a team.”
Kalansky says there is always a great deal of interest in Casa Esperanza in the Winkler and Morden area. Last year, five or six teams came from this region alone.
It’s a trend that has been developing for over 20 years now.
As local interest has grown, so too has the organization overall. Children of Hope now continues its work with children's homes but also has ministries in Mexico and soup kitchens.
Kalansky estimates that one thousand people from the Pembina Valley have visited one of the orphanages or soup kitchens to offer their services to those who need it most.
It's a noticeable impact.
With files from Ty Hildebrand