I am so grateful and excited to share with you what is currently developing at Saving Hearts Together. First of all, we have partnered with Kairos and received $10,000 through the Equipping Fund thanks to your gracious giving and trust that the Lord has a plan to help us move forward.
For those of you who do not know about Saving Hearts Together, we are a 501c3 dedicated to supporting the efforts to provide much-needed care to children who have been trafficked and removed from the sex trade in Costa Rica. As a tourist haven, Costa Rica has rapidly become the new Thailand when it comes to selling children to sexual predators.
The Problem: Currently, there are no residential safe houses operating in Costa Rica to provide the unique and specialized care that these children need, who are suffering from the trauma of commercial sexual abuse. We are dedicated to opening a safe place, that they can call home, which will provide life skills, education, and a loving environment. Saving Hearts Together and our expanded community of support, which includes you through your generous Kairos contribution, will walk alongside these children for however many years it takes to learn that they are loved and valued, just as God’s love created them before early life experiences erased that memory.
Here are the Facts:
· In Costa Rica, one out of three children under the age of 18 is sexually abused or trafficked.
· Approximately 80% of Costa Rica’s commercial child sex perpetrators are visiting from the U.S.
· The average life span of a child once forced into the commercial sex trade is only seven years.
With your help, we are literally saving lives by providing long-term support in a safe and loving family like environment while meeting their physical, emotional, spiritual, and educational needs.
The Program: A live-in program for up to 100 girls ages 8 to 18, with a minimum stay of 18 months on a 40-acre farm which, through the grace of God, we were able to purchase in July of this year. The site will have approximately 10 acres of building space, with the remaining acreage for equine therapy, farming, and exploring. Everything happens onsite so there will be a school, chapel, therapy center, physical education facilities, dorms, mess hall, and so much more.
With much gratitude and thanks to our amazing Peter Langham, who provided us with the conceptual design, we were able to present our comprehensive plan to the Vice President of Costa Rica, Epsy Campbell Barr, and was promised the government’s full support.
SO where do y’all come in? Well, through faith, this grassroots project has already obtained the 40 acre farm, the building plans, the Vice President of Costa Rica’s full support, and your generous Equipping Fund support to take us to the next step. We welcome everyone of you who feels called to participate in whatever way your various talents might contribute to this worthy cause. Through this church, you are already a part of a growing community, trusting that we can make this happen through God’s guidance.
We need your prayers and also your expertise, time, and contacts so that we can keep moving forward to begin construction. We especially need to build up a long-range sustainability program, so for this, we ask for volunteers who have successful experience with fundraising. There are so many creative opportunities, that I can’t wait to see how this congregation answers God’s call to care for his children. However daunting it might seem to us, we only need to remind ourselves that this is a cake walk for God!
Please reach out to me at maria@savingheartstogether.com or by phone at 404-719-2220. I would love to hear from you and share more with you about our past successful experiences as well as where we are headed in the future.
Blessings to all of you, and thank you again in believing in what we are called to do, and trusting that God has a plan for your gifts, as well as for each of us, as week seek to serve his purposes in the world.
In Peace and Love,
Maria Fejervary