ORPHANAGE IN BAJA FUNDRAISING FOR BABY NURSERY, TO HIRE STAFF
Rancho de los Niños is home for orphans and abandoned children
An orphanage in Baja California is working on building a baby nursery and is raising money for construction and caregivers.
The Rancho de los Niños Orphanage, which opened its doors 55 years ago in Valle de Guadalupe, about 70 miles south of the Tijuana border, provides a home for more than 80 orphans and abandoned children under the care of 21 staff members.
The orphanage, formerly called Casa de Paz, is run by two former orphans, Jorge and Ely Fonseca, who were raised at Rancho de los Niños and returned six years ago after having professional careers to support the home where they grew up.
The idea for the nursery project came up because the orphanage needs to expand its infant caregiving capabilities, so that it does not have to turn away orphaned babies. At the same time, the orphanage wants to have more trained staff to teach the children and boost their development.
“It is heartbreaking when a baby is brought to us and I know the need but I have to say no because
we do not have a big enough nursery and enough people to care for them,” said Jorge Fonseca, director of Rancho de los Niños.
The fund drive to build the nursery is spearheaded by Carlsbad resident David Steel, a San Diego solar and clean energy entrepreneur, and San Diego resident Amar Harrag, a restaurateur in Southern California and Mexico, to benefit the Irvine-based nonprofit Corazon de Vida Foundation. The foundation, established nearly 30 years ago, supports
10 orphanages in Baja California, of which Rancho de los Niños is one. The foundation also provides orphans with scholarships to attend college or a technical school. Harrag started the foundation’s San Diego chapter.
“Corazon de Vida has built baby dorms in the past, but not to the level of what we are seeking to achieve with this project,” said Hilda Pacheco-Taylor, CEO and founder of Corazon de Vida. “The goal of this project will be to recruit qualified caregivers with
significant experience caring for infants. We also aim to implement a formalized staffing training program to ensure specific education and enrichment goals will be fulfilled.”
Pacheco-Taylor and Harrag are working closely with Celine Theano, founder of La Petite Etoile 360 Preschool in San Diego, on the education and enrichment programs that will be offered at Rancho de los Niños.
The orphanage, which sits on 15 acres of land, has plenty of room to build the estimated 1,200-square-foot nursery that is expected to serve 12 infants and toddlers. The campus currently includes six dorms, or “houses,” for newborns to older teens and kids with special needs.
The children in each house are cared for by an onsite family who makes sure the children feel loved.
“Caring for infants and toddlers is difficult because of the amount of care that it takes to meet the children’s developmental needs,” Pacheco-Taylor said. “Because of this, very few orphanages in Baja are set up to take in infants. Of the 10 orphanages that Corazon de Vida supports, only three are set up to take infants.”
“For infants that can’t be placed in an orphanage, the only alternative is to hold them in the state-run shelter, which is almost always beyond capacity, with two to three babies to a crib,” Pacheco-Taylor said.
The estimated cost of the nursery project is $150,000, including $110,000 for building costs, $24,000 for one year of supplies, such as formula and diapers, and $16,000 for one year of staffing. A GoFundMe campaign started in December and has raised a little over $12,400 so far.
Steel, a longtime supporter of Rancho de los Niños, started the GofundMe campaign after his Facebook post last fall sparked an outpouring of Christmas gifts of clothing, books and toys for the children along with monetary donations that are earmarked for a new nursery.
The orphanage is proud of its many miracle stories — about children who came hungry and scared, but who were cared for and eventually thrived. There is the story of Samantha, who was transferred to Rancho from another orphanage in Tijuana and is now an architect working on housing projects in Ensenada.
There is the story of Yohana, who was brought to the orphanage with her siblings because of extreme neglect. She is currently in her fourth semester in the education program at a university and will soon be a teacher contributing to her community.
“We hope that one day, each child will be able to live independently and contribute to society in a meaningful way,” Jorge Fonseca said.
For more information, visit the GoFundMe page at gofundme.com/f/rancho-de-losninos-orphanage-nursery.