| Calling all Missionaries!!
Missions Vision
Cadanino's mission is:
To provide a meaningful and spiritually enriching experience
for international missionaries that have a passion for Jesus Christ
and a commitment to meet the needs of profoundly challenged
children. What is CadaNino?
CadaNiño is a ministry that serves the profoundly mentally and neurologically challenged orphans in a government owned and operated facility in the capital Guatemala City. The Center is home for 70 children and young adults that are wards of the State. The CadaNino ministry works as a small focussed team within the support of the much larger government staff. We currently provide physical and play therapies for the 15 smallest and most vulnerable children. We have one physical therapist and four Nannies (play therapists).
In explaining what CadaNino is and by implication what we are not, we sometimes refer to our tiny ministry as glorified Candy Stripers (auxiliary hospital volunteers); lots of joy and laughter, but limited line production inside of a complex hospital orphanage. Our Our primary focus has been on los Niños iniciales*, the four children who are completely disabled and that live in the infirmary and eleven other young children with limited independence.
Current Open Missionary Positions
1) Physical Therapists -Three month Interns should have experience working with profoundly disabled children. No actual experience or education is required, but strongly recommended that participants have experience working with this profile. Spanish helpful: if no Spanish language skills, participant would take intensive 2 week language course. Room and board provided at discount rate. Partial Scholarships available.
2) Short term missionary position available for passionate believers who want to serve the neediest of the needy. Room and Board are available at discounted costs and partial scholarships available.
3) Social worker/Psychologist or Physical Therapist Internship. Our center works closely with the local University of San Carlos and has had success with local interns receiving academic credit for their internship at the center.
Footnotes:
1) Room and Board: Guatemala City is a dangerous city. The neighborhood where we work is relatively safe, but still extreme caution is required. We choose to strongly advise people of the potential risks rather than gloss over them. We believe that our procedures and policies dramatically reduce local on ground risks, but it is important that we all work together to insure safety and positive experiences.
2) Language : Spanish is the only language spoken in the center. Our director is the only english speaking person present most days. Many of the children that we work closest to are not yet verbal and of minimal traditional speaking interaction. Therefor, some Spanish is helpful, but it is not required.
3) Infrastructure of Center: CRPN (Centro Residencial Psiquiatrico y Neurologico). The Guatemala runs this orphanage/hospital for nearly 70 residents. These are the lucky ones. Kids whose families are unable or unwilling to care for their child end up in this center with ample food, clean housing and adequate medical attention. Nearly all the children take psychiatric or anti-convulsive medicines. Almost half of the entire population wear adult diapers. Most of the residents are extremely kind and loving. Occasionally, some have episodes and exhibit anto-social behavior. Though there is no fear or physical threat from the residents, it is not a place for the timid.
Testimonials
"First Rate Inc." Misionaries Visit CadaNiñoIn 2010, a group of ladies from First Rate, Inc. in Arlington Texas, had the opportunity to visit CadaNiño! The team members included: Ann Lane, Bridgit Stone, Audrey Whitesides, and Katherine Brown. Their time was spent at the CRPN*, a special needs orphanage in Guatemala City, where CadaNiño Ministries works to support daily activities and the development of children with extreme disabilities.  The group spent most of their time getting to know the four children, los Niños iniciales, that Jamie has worked with over the past year. Those children include Anahi (7), Angelito (14), Ingrid (10), and Suzi (11). The primary goals were to spend "face time" with the children, discover the immediate needs of the orphanage (what can we do now?), and begin planning for creating a sustainable ministry (how can we make a lasting impact?). (Pictured: Bridgit and Suzi) * CRPN ( Center for Residents with Physical and Nuerological disabilities) - is the government center for orphans with mental and physical disabilities. CadaNiño currently focuses on a smaller group of children within the larger population at the government center. Ann's Lane
Terrific feedback and memories from our good friend Ann...
So it's been two weeks since we returned from Guatemala and the 4 of us can think of little else. What a profound experience, and as we had anticipated, life changing. That said, an anticipated experience reminds me of this: when parents are expecting a baby, they anticipate that they will love their child more than anything, but they cannot imagine how much or really what that kind of love represents until they experience it first hand. So - the experience in Guatemala was kind of like that. We expected something, but we could not have anticipated that there were so many emotions that would change in hue and intensity. A few of those feelings for me were sadness, gratitude, compassion, despair, fear, self-evaluation, God-ness, joy and of course, love. We knew that it would be an important experience, but I'm not sure any of us could have imagined how important. We've each said it is important that we capture (or try to capture) these experiences. I've been slow to do so, but it's time I try.
(Pictured below:  Ann, Francisco, Anahi)
Bridgit's video captured the images of what we saw and with each image is an intense memory. When we arrived, and for the 4 days we were there, it was sensory overload: smell, sights, sounds and cognitive accompaniment of wondering 'what can we possibly do to help?' It truly was overwhelming. Bars on the doors, self inflicted injuries, unusual behaviors, autism, Spanish that I couldn't understand, non-words that I couldn't understand, hands reaching through bars for a brief moment of contact, but ultimately I was overwhelmed by the universal language of love, touch and kindness. It was in a sense 'shock therapy' for us to re-calibrate our brains and try to become more aligned with what's important. I'm thankful that those children and adults can remind me how much we are all alike and how much we need each other. Again, we were and are overwhelmed with the question: 'what can we do?' Jamie for sure has answered the call and is navigating through custom and politics to help, and we are blessed enough to have stumbled (coincidence? - probably not) onto the work he is doing. We're hopeful that we can support his efforts and if you visit, I don't doubt that you will be overcome with the desire to help as well.
While I continue with my own spiritual journey which includes navigating around and through my own questions and religious conflicts, I do trust that I'm being lead to discover more about what God and what Love really mean. There are New Testament words that continue to play frequently in my mind and I believe them...they probably sum up my response to Guatemala: Suffer the children to come unto me for such is the Kingdom of God. To him who has been given much, much is required.
All things are possible for those that love God and are called according to his purpose...
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind. -Ann Lane
Please send questions and resumes to management via
email: cadaninogt@gmail.com
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