Adelina M. was born in 2006 and became a part of our family in September 2020. After giving birth, her mother developed a severe health condition and had to move in with her mother to be cared for. Adelina remained with her father (she was only eight months old).

The father did his best to raise his daughter and keep her in school. Adelina's paternal grandmother also helped whenever she could, providing a maternal sensibility her father lacked.

As his occasional drinking episodes turned into an addiction, Adelina's life took a turn for the worse; she would often leave the house at night after her father fell asleep and would walk for hours to find refuge in her grandmother's home. Her grandma refused to get involved in the family's problems but was kind to Adelina and the only person who could offer some semblance of warmth and care.

Years passed, and Adelina turned 14. Since her grandmother was unwilling to help, she would often take shelter in their neighbors' homes, who would try to protect Adelina as well as they could. Finally, after numerous incidents, they decided to call the local Child Protection Agency. The agency resolved to offer the family a time of monitoring and counseling, hoping that the father would change. Since the situation went unchanged at first, they asked us to offer Adelina a temporary new home.

After years of living off her small allowance and taking care of herself, Adelina was welcomed into the House of Peace at the Hand of Help Orphanage. One of her first events at Hand of Help was celebrating the 18th birthday of one of our girls. Deeply touched by the family environment, the strong bonds between the children, and their beautiful relationships with the staff, Adelina started to open up. From the very beginning, we could see the love she had for her father and that her greatest desire was for him to change and enable her to return home. She even said that the best birthday gift she could ever wish for was her father to come home sober.

Adelina has learned a lot in her short time with us. She made great progress in her education, attended classes specializing in the textile industry, and developed multiple life skills. Her father has finally taken the necessary steps to get better, and the local authorities and the judge assigned to this case agreed that Adelina could return home. Adelina told us she wanted to go back and live with her father.

We pray that God will be her guide and make her relationship with her father stronger each day. We also pray that the Gospel seeds planted in her heart will take root and that she will become a child of God.