We are committed to modeling a Christ- centered family for each child entrusted to us. In La Finca, children live in settings where a mom and dad (and their biological children) serve as family role models and welcome the children into their home for whatever period of time deemed necessary by the court system.

Each home does life together- work and play- and serves in a local church as a family unit. There are no more than six to eight children living in each home so that we can provide an environment of love, security, hope and encouragement for children to heal and grow.

La Casa de mi Padre provides Christ-centered individual and group counseling to help heal the deep wounds in hearts. Individual sessions help the child address the trauma they have experienced, and group sessions help the children learn how to live together in a healthy way. Each child has their own Individual Therapy Plan.

Counseling extends out for all our staff as well. Weekly house meetings help specifically address problems which may a raise in the home. Our staff participated in bi-weekly training times designed to help each staff member serve as a life coach as they interact with our kids hour by hour.

Children come to us with varying educational backgrounds. Some have never been enrolled in school, or started and dropped out. Many have difficulties learning due to past trauma. We provide an on-site schooling program which provides small group instruction while identifying each child’s strengths and weaknesses and working to fill in learning gaps. Our desire is for each child to engage in the learning process so that they are able to reach their full potential.

Currently, we work under the supervision of a local private school, but we are working towards becoming independently accredited through the Ministry of Education. Our desire is to be able to build an education center in the near future.

We have the privilege of having an equine therapy for the children on the property. Therapeutic Riding in its simplest form is teaching children to ride horses. However, what many people do not know is that these riding lessons can be used to achieve other goals: educational, physical, and/or emotional. Some areas that the children at La Casa benefit from include increasing confidence, learning to trust, recognize and control emotions, serving to reinforce and teach academic skills in a new way, as well as teach responsibility.
Aside from teaching lessons to the children at La Casa, the program reaches out to children with disabilities in the community, offering them this unique therapy. For additional information about our equine therapy program, you may go to communications@mfh-elsalvador.org

La Casa de mi Padre attempts to break generational patterns of abuse and abandonment through its family program. Working with the biological family to identify the root cause of separation and then working with the family to find the appropriate resources and counseling to set them on a new and different course for the future is an emphasis of our program. La Casa de mi Padre focuses on the restoration and reunification of families when at all possible.

Family members who have permission through the courts visit the children monthly and participate in child care classes as well as group and individual counseling sessions. We share conversations, recreational activities and a meal together as we model family life.

Our social workers and psychologists dedicate time weekly to making family visits to monitor progress of the Family Intervention Plan created with each family. By working with families, we have a better chance of breaking negative generational patterns and increasing opportunities for more positive family interactions and futures.

The Bridge is a program for young adults who have aged out of care in the Child Protective System. In El Salvador, children age out of children’s homes at the age of 18, but we believe it is important to support our young adults as they finish their studies and transition into independent life. Whether it be finishing high school, getting a college degree or vocational training, our desire is to help each young person to reach his or her full potential.

We own a large home that was donated to us where the young adults reside. The home operates much like a dorm setting in the United States where a resident assistant lives in the home and serves to guide and support the young adults in decision-making, independent life skills, and the development of interpersonal relationships. Our young adults learn to plan and cook their meals, manage their money, ride public transportation, do their own laundry, and take care of the home while studying and/or working. Each young adult is encouraged to acquire either an internship or part-time work to be able to begin saving for whatever the future holds. Our desire is to help prepare them academically and/or vocationally, emotionally and spiritually to step out into independence successfully.