Why We Call It Haven of Hope
Names matter. When we chose the name Haven of Hope in 2009, we weren’t simply looking for something that sounded beautiful. Those three words describe what we want this place to be for every child who comes through our gates. A haven is a safe place in the middle of uncertainty. And hope is the […]
Showing Up – a mama’s love
One of the hardest things we witness is the love between a mother and her children when life has placed impossible barriers between them. This mama comes to visit her babies. Her circumstances are difficult. She does not have stable housing and is working through challenges that make it impossible for her babies to safely […]
Safe Enough to Cry
I thought I had the happiest, easiest baby ever. When Julia came to us, she was almost a year old, though we were told she was only six months old. She was wearing 3–6 month clothing and was significantly smaller than she should have been. Yet from the very beginning, she seemed content. No, not […]
What You Don’t See Changes Everything
If you walked through our baby home on a normal day, you probably wouldn’t notice anything spectacularly remarkable. You would see babies being fed, held, and changed. You’d see aunties moving about doing laundry, taking babies on walks, delivering snacks to cottages or the play area. You’d see uncles slashing grass, playing tag with the […]
The Myth of “They Won’t Remember”
When a very young child goes through something difficult, a common reassurance follows: “They won’t remember anyway.” It sounds comforting.It sounds merciful. But it depends on what we mean by remember. We usually think of memory as stories — moments we can describe later. First birthdays, first homes, certain places. Babies don’t keep memories that […]