Although the overwhelming majority of our children stay throughout the program, there are those wrenching times when we are forced to let a child go.  This is never easy for us, and is usually an occasion for tears.  But it is part of our life here, and I would like you to understand that aspect of things.
 
We recently had a difficult fight to keep a brother and sister at El Hogar.  Their mother and father are separated.  The father has chosen to be very supportive of El Hogar, and has become a big help here.  The mother decided months ago that she wanted her children back.  Her situation is not a good one.  She lives in a very dangerous neighborhood in a single room with 8 other people.  She herself has an alcohol problem.  She is gone during the day, so the children would be left without anyone to care for them.  There is no place for the children to sleep in her shack, and some of the other adults living there have been abusive in the past.  Still, judges tend to side with parents, and she showed up at El Hogar with an order from the judges to reclaim her children.  Claudia, in response, went immediately to the judge and protested.  The judge told her that it was up to her to prove that the children were potentially in danger.  She went to the house and took pictures, wrote a report, and went back to court.  This whole process took a large amount of time and effort during a busy season at El Hogar, but Claudia was determined to fight for the welfare of the children.  However, the judge ruled in favor of the mother.   Both her children were in tears about this, and begged Claudia not to let them go.  The father was also distressed, and went to the judge himself to try to get the opinion altered.  Another hearing was set.  Again the judge sent the children home with the mother. Once we have come to love these children, it is heart breaking to see them lose the opportunity to stay at El Hogar.  It is a sad day for us when they leave.
 
Most of the time when we lose children, an irresponsible parent is behind it.  I pass one of our former children on my way to the grocery store.  His mother forced him to leave El Hogar several years ago, because she wanted him to be earning money.  He sells snacks on the street.  He is working for a man who the taxi drivers regard as a thief.  So far, Mario seems to have kept himself free from anything illegal.  He is personable, energetic and intelligent.  But, having not completed grade school, he has no future.  Years from now he will probably still be selling bags of peanuts and chips on the street.  His mother traded his future for a few Lempiras to make her life a bit easier.
 
There are some other children that come to us so psychologically damaged that we are ultimately unable to work with them.  These are children that have seen their parents murdered, or have been repeatedly beaten or sexually abused, or have suffered some other trauma.  They are in desperate need of love and attention.  And we try to give it to them.  Our staff gives untold extra hours to some of our most difficult children.  When, however, these children lash out and become a danger to the other children, or when they repeatedly run away, or when there are problems like chronic theft, and we are unable to break through to them, sometimes for the sake of the other children we are left with no conceivable alternative but to let them leave.  This also is wrenching.  These children are in desperate need of help, and there are few alternatives for them in Honduras.  And yet, to keep them puts the rest of our children in jeopardy.  It is not an easy decision, since we fear what will happen to them when they leave.  It is a heavy thing to decide a child will leave, and have that child's future on one's conscience.  
 
There are other times when a child's family situation has improved and they are given unexpected opportunities.  Those are happy times for us, because we always prefer for a child to have a good life with his or her own family.  We miss those children, but also rejoice with them.
 
I write about this because some of you, as sponsors, have had your children leave El Hogar.  Please know that we have done everything conceivable, and some things I never imagined, to try to have that child stay.  "Home of Love and Hope" is not just a name for us.  We try to provide love and hope for the children who are living with us.  But part of life here is also experiencing defeat at times.  I tell the staff here that the only way to avoid losing kids is to stop taking children from desperate situations.  But that is why we exist.   We are happy that you have been willing to share in our life here through your interest or sponsorship or prayers or contributions.  Please hold us in your prayers for those times when an answer cannot be found, and when we see children we love leave this safe haven for an uncertain and difficult future.
 
                                                                                       Rich Kunz
                                                                                       Executive Director, Honduras