Each day at San Ramón Home is an adventure. The children are full of surprises. At times, they give one a headache. Nonetheless, there is great satisfaction in watching them grow, learn, mature confront challenges and overcome difficulties. As a Home, our task is to provide the children with tools for an integral human development: health, education, recreation, spiritual growth and development of their individual gifts and talents … in the case of the old children, we prepare them for an autonomous life when they leave our home.

San Ramon Hogar was established in 1998. The first building was damaged during the earthquake of 2009 and has not been utilized since that time. Since 2016 we have a new building that is located with the complex known as Social Works of Saint Vincent de Paul.

The Home was established as a response to the problem of street children. The first years were very difficult, but the work of many people has produced results. Today, most of the children who have been part of the Home are fully integrated into society … they have families and work.

Presently, the Home, under the supervision of DINAF (Directorate for Children, Adolescents and Family: an official entity that protects the rights of children), works under the criteria of “violation of rights”. The children who come to the Home have experienced abandonment, abuse and many other violations of their rights. Some have families but those family members are not prepared to take care of their children. Therefore, the Home engages in work with family members. At times we attempt to look for family members who are closely related to the children (grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc.) and other times we become involved in strengthening the family bond and/or in helping the family understand their responsibility so that they can take charge of their children. The results of this work are not always visible and yet it is very important for the children to maintain a bond with their family.

Recently we have focused on the educational problem. Since the beginning of the pandemic the educational system has experienced an alarming deterioration. Many Children abandoned their studies and have not returned. Others had no access to the virtual platforms and other have been passed on from grade to the next but learned nothing. Furthermore, the financial crisis led many parents to make a decision against sending their children to school (parents were unable to pay for books, uniforms, school material, etc.). In our two parishes there is a functioning program that has responded to this situation. Still there are cases that need special attention. Here at the Home we are supporting some children who have never been to school or who do not receive their support of their family in order to continue their studies. The lack of schooling is a violation of the rights of these children. Some of those children are interned here at our home and others come here during the day but return to their homes at the conclusion of classes.

Our desire to promote education (the foundation for the future of our country) has led us to accept (on an experimental basis) three children from the rural area who have no opportunity to continue their studies and to lodge them in our House.

At the present time there are 22 children in the House: 8 are in the first phase (minors under the age of 12) and 14 are in the second phase (minors older than 12) … 14 of these children are full time residents, 3 of the children reside at the residence from Monday to Friday and 5 are day students. We have one more student this year than we had last year, but they are not the same students that we had last year. At the end of 2022 seven children left the residence. Four of them were older than 18 year of age or approaching that age (those four children, however, were reintegrated with some family member or with a family that welcomed them and several of them continue to receive our support as they continue their studies. Two other children (15 years old) left the residence. Both of these children were able to become employed with their family and after an evaluation and in dialogue with the children the decision was made to reintegrate them with their family. Also another 13 year old child was reintegrated with his family. This year, eight new children have entered our residence and thus there are now 22 children in our house. At the same time we are following up on three other children who may qualify for our residence.

The educational team is composed of eight educators (four for each level), a coordinator (with a degree in education), a director (Sister Marizabel, DC), and a psychologist who work part-time. We have an additional psychologist from the municipality who works with three children. We also have a cook. The team is dedicated and enthusiastic … they meet monthly to evaluate and program activities and to continue their formation.

In addition to classes, the children’s study efforts are reinforced at the residence. As extracurricular activities, they participate in the municipal soccer school and in the Boy Scouts. Recently, thanks to the support of the parish of the Our Father in Mendillorri (Navarra, Spain), we have also started guitar and music classes.

Likewise, with the support of  some donor in Spain, some repairs have been undertaken in the Home: repair of the fence, painting, ceilings, etc. And with the help of Father Rogelio Vences, C.M., a recreational area for younger children has been set up, with a swing, trampoline and spinning wheel … this area has been named “Erika Misera “, to honor a great benefactor who resides in Germany and is recently deceased.

The project is exciting, and there is no better way to prepare for the future than to be concerned about our children and young people, especially the most abandoned. This year our residence will celebrate 25 years of operation. We have come this far thanks to the help of many people. In addition to those mentioned, we have the unconditional support of the Municipality of Puerto Cortés and the men and women of our two parishes. However, hands are always needed. May we never lack the vision, strength, hands and help we need. It is worth all the effort because these are our children.

Iván Juarros, C.M.
Source: http://pauleszaragoza.org/