Monthly Appeal - October 2011

Dear Pan y Amor Sponsor, Salomon Klein is a home for children in Cochabamba, Bolivia that receives children who have been abused and/or abandoned, as well as orphans, between the ages of birth and six years. This is the story of Juanito, one of the children who lived until recently at Salomon Klein. Juanito arrived at Salomon Klein when he was eight months old and very sick, suffering from malnutrition, anemia and bronchitis. He was underweight, and the condition of his skin and hair demonstrated that he was malnourished. His face showed a deep sadness, and he cried all the time. It was obvious from his physical condition that he was neglected, and there were signs of maltreatment. His mother worked at night and left the child alone in the room in which they lived. The mother had four other children, all of whom were in care: one in an orphanage and the others in foster homes. She did not visit her children, claiming that she had no money to do so. Once in the care of the educators and medical staff of Salomon Klein, Juanito began to recover quickly. After three months, Juanito’s parents went to the State Child Care Agency, asking that their son be released back into their care. In order to ensure the well-being of the child in situations where there is evidence of parental neglect and/or abuse, the Agency requires that various evaluations, including that of socio-economic status and psychological state of both parents, be done before they release a child to parental care. Having been informed of this the parents never returned to the agency. Juanito continued to grow and became a sociable, communicative and cheerful child who, from a very young age, liked listening and moving to music. Seeing other children leaving to live with adoptive families, Juanito started to ask when he would have adoptive parents; but because he was known to have living parents and a birth certificate, all that could be done was to wait for them to reclaim him. Efforts were made to try to locate his parents, including visits to the address they had left at the Child and Adolescent Protection Agency, but they were never found. Juanito continued insisting that he wanted an adoptive family, so emancipation processes were started to remove parental authority, a process that took two years. Meanwhile, Juanito attended the Montesorri pre-school at age three, followed by pre-kindergarten and kindergarten. He learned easily and liked to dance in the festivals. A month ago Juanito was finally assigned to an adoptive family. He has established a very good emotional relationship with his new family and even resembles his adoptive father. He and his sister get along very well. Juanito is very happy there. Unfortunately, not all the children in Salomon Klein are as fortunate as Juanito. Because of the ban on international adoption by Bolivia’s President, there are not enough families for all the children who need them. There are usually around 150 children from just after birth to six years old in Salomon Klein. Donors to Pan y Amor help provide a significant portion of the expenses to feed, clothe and care for these children. Emma Rojas A., Director of Salomon Klein, sends you her deep thanks and appreciation for your support of the children. Gratefully in Our Lord, Monsignor Francis X. Blood Director, Pan y Amor