Casa viva

Casa Viva is a non-profit organization based in Wheaton, Illinois and San Jose, Costa Rica. Casa Viva is working to place children whom have been separated from their families into a safe, caring family. Casa Viva is Spanish for “Living Families” or “Living Homes.” The model of international child care that Casa Viva has created:
*Doesn’t rely on ongoing American funding
*Is nationally based
*Uses the social network of Christian churches to identify and train familiesCasa Viva primarily cares for social orphans, but does care for true orphans as well.

Casa Viva’s History

In 1998 Phil and Jill Aspegren moved to the Dominican Republic to build an orphanage and train nationals to care for the children there with Kids Alive. Six years and nearly 1.5 million dollars later 40 children were in care. But there had to be a better way: a less expensive, less institutional, quicker way to care for children internationally. It was then that they began to dream of a childcare model that does not require new buildings and that places children in families rather than in homes. Moving to Costa Rica in 2005 they began to network with local churches, recruiting families belonging to those churches to care for children. Children who have been separated from their biological families are placed in families on a short term basis while their family is identified and counseled. Children are also placed in Casa Viva homes long term when it is impossible for the child to be reunited with their biological family.Children placed in a Casa Viva home have the advantage of growing up in a home that is surrounded by extended family, local church, and the support of the Casa Viva center.

Casa Viva Today

Casa Viva is currently hard at work in Eastern San Jose Costa Rica, but in partnership with the Viva Network and Toybox they have identified Bolivia, Peru, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Mexico, and Paraguay as the next sites of multiplication.

Developing Family Based Child Care International

Alternative to Orphanages

Orphanages, whether private or government run, are institutions that are expensive to run and the good ones often become inundated with children sent there by the authorities. This consequently reduces the quality of care and leaves the institution and its staff overworked and under equipped. While the physical needs of the child are met, often psychological needs of a child, the privacy of a child, and integration into their home culture are found to be lacking [ [http://www.savethechildren.net/alliance/resources/last_res.pdf Save The Children: A Last Resort] . This lead Casa Viva to begin creating a program, similar to England and the United State’s foster care model, but with two primary differences:
*Church based
*Little financial incentiveUnfortunately, in some cases, the financial benefit of already-established government-based fostering has become a primary motivator for families to be host foster families [ [http://www.liftingtheveil.org/foster07.htm Lifting the Veil on Foster Care] . Casa Viva does help families cover the cost of caring for the child but relies heavily on Biblical motivation and mandates to care for the orphan in need.

Children Raised in Families

It has been shown that children raised by orphanages simply do not integrate as well into their native culture as well as those who are raised in families. This is especially true in Latin America and Africa where the culture is much more family centered compared to the individualistic societies of Western culture. [ [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2005/is_4_38/ai_n15338080 The House, The Street, Global Society: Latin American families and childhood in the twenty-first century] ]

Related International Child Care Organizations

*Casa Viva http://www.casaviva.org
*Viva network http://www.viva.org
*Toybox http://www.toyboxcharity.org.uk/
*Kids Alive http://www.kidsalive.org

References