Cape Girardeau woman opens Guatemalan orphanage

Since she was teenager, Ana Morales knew she wanted to adopt children.

"In my heart I have wanted to adopt since I was 13," she said.

When her plan to adopt two boys fell through, she adopted 15. Partnering with her adoption lawyer in Guatemala, Morales opened God Bless the Children Home on Nov. 28 in Guatemala City.

Morales grew up in Guatemala but has been living in the United States for 14 years, the past six in Cape Girardeau. She and her husband decided to adopt from their native country more than two years ago.

After they started the legal process, international adoptions from the country soon stopped. In 2008, Guatemala was reprimanded for not abiding by the Hague Adoption Convention. The convention regulates adoptions between the United States and the 77 countries that signed the agreement.

Once the adoptions ceased, money coming from other countries also stopped, making the problem worse, she said.

"There is so many children that get left everywhere," she said.

Morales' lawyer, Cinthya Vallejo, founded the not-for-profit God Bless the Children Association in 2002 to help facilitate adoptions. It is now the organization under which the orphanage operates, but it also provides support to two outlying villages.

Morales said she is lobbying for financial support locally through sponsors. She said she is starting small by contacting neighbors and churches.

The orphanage, a single-story rented house, costs $10,000 per month to operate. Its staff includes four women who oversee the children and a maintenance person. She said a doctor and dentist have donated services to the project.

Allen Basham, the mission director at Cape First Church, traveled with Morales to the country during the summer. It was part of the church-sponsored trip to provide medical care in Guatemalan villages.

After 22 years of mission trips, including 32 to Mexico, it was his first journey to the Guatemala.

"It just stole my heart," he said.

He and Morales will return next year to install a water purifier in a village outside Guatemala City. He said he is also looking forward to meeting the children of the orphanage.

"To me any place is ideal to establish a place like that," he said. "I'm just glad to help her."

When she told him about the project, he said encouraged her to pursue it.

"I have a tendency to think if we can dream it, God can do it," he said.

Morales will host an open house from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday at 802 Caribou Court in Cape Girardeau. She can be contacted at godblessthechildren@live.com.

abusch@semissourian.com

388-3627

Pertinent address:

802 Caribou Court Cape Girardeau, MO