MG2010 East: House of Blue Hope Foundation, Inc.

House of Blue Hope has pulled dozens of kids off the streets and put them in to a safe living and learning environment. With access to one of the top schools in the country, the current and future residents of the House of Blue Hope will be provided with top-notch educational opportunities in a country in which only about 12% of the population receives a secondary education. Furthermore, the facility has become a large part of the local high school's community service program, as well as a catalyst to keep alumni involved and connected after graduation.

Housing Program

The House of Blue Hope's main program is our housing program. We support a minimum of ten of ten boys at a time and they live in our facility with the support of several staff members and volunteers. The housing program not only includes the basic necessities such as shelter, food, water, clothes, and school fees. We have also set up educational programs in addition to school learning such as hygiene, computer class, testing for STDs/HIV (which may have been transmitted from the child's mother), sports and recreation, and additional English classes. Our goal is to provide all the necessities for these children to obtain the future they wish for.

The house also has a library which is cataloged so that children in the outreach program and other local homes for street children may check out the books. These books are primarily used for learning and practicing the English language.

Blue Hope also has an aggressive re-homing project in order to help street children reconnect with their extended families. Many times street children are not actually orphans, but live on the street because their families cannot finacially support them. Our social worker does extensive research to find the street children's families and then, if found, we work with the family to have the child live with them and still go to school. Multiple studies have shown that this practice of reconnecting the child with his/her family is more beneficial for the child and the community than just running an orphanage.

Outreach Program

The House of Blue Hope outreach program supports street children that have family, but are still in need of aid to be successful in school. We provide the necessary supplies for schooling: books, pens, pencils, workbooks, uniforms, and solar powered study lamps. We also provide the support of our staff and volunteers. In some instances, we also will pay for the child's school fees.