BORN INTO HOPE
After Jorge’s birth, Casita staff rented Velkis a nearby apartment and took turns caring for Jorge while Velkis recovered and worked. When Jorge was old enough for the Children’s Center daycare program, Velkis returned to her old jo
The program that supported Velkis after she aged out of foster care, Adelante or forward in Spanish, was completely funded by a 2025 RetailROI grant. By supporting the transition to independence for Casitas residents after they turn 18, Adelante provides the guidance and practical support for them to break the cycle of neglect and abuse and learn to successfully navigate life in the larger community.
But Velkis and Jorge’s success also launched the other recipient of your RetailROI support in 2025- From the Very Beginning.
Casita Copán was founded on a simple conviction: every child deserves a home, and every mother deserves support. For fourteen years, this Honduras-based ministry has lived that conviction out in the most practical ways possible through quality childcare for working mothers, family-based foster homes for abandoned children, prenatal care for underserved women, and a program to walk young adults into independence long after the system has stopped watching.
Velkis was one of the original 13 children removed from a failed orphanage and brought to Casita Copán in 2014. When she aged out in 2019, Casita staff helped her find housing and work caring for an elderly resident. Velkis flourished. Then the call came: she was six months pregnant, the result of abuse by an older married man. The staff believed she was incapable of even fully understanding what was happening to her own body.
The Casita community rallied to provide prenatal care. They fundraised to ensure Velkis could deliver at a private clinic and Daysi, the executive director, was there the night Jorge was born —feeding him his first bottle, changing his first diaper, staying through the night.
Daysi holds the infant Jorge
ADELANTE- FROM THE VERY BEGINNING
Impacting A Generation
Launched in February 2025 in partnership with a local health clinic and library, From the Very Beginning is made possible solely by your generous support. The program offers prenatal classes twice a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays, when the clinic reserves appointments for pregnant women. An experienced physician leads each session in the library next door, where small groups gather with privacy for questions, a patio for sharing a meal, and space for children who come along. Twenty-five percent of participants are teenagers.
The curriculum covers seven topics: pregnancy care and warning signs; hospital delivery; newborn care; postpartum recovery; nutrition; and breastfeeding. Each woman leaves with a take-home kit including hygiene items, medications, or a welcome-to-the-world baby pack with clothing, cloth diapers, and supplies, depending on where she is in her pregnancy.
By the Numbers: From the Very Beginning
450+ vulnerable pregnant women served in the first year (February 2025–February 2026)
864 prenatal classes delivered and essential newborn care kits distributed
900+ nutritious meals provided to mothers and their children
What began as an educational program became something else: a community. A safe circle where women talk about exhaustion, fear, and the overwhelming love that arrives with a child nobody told them how to care for. Phase Two of the program is being planned now: postpartum support groups at Casita for mothers and newborns, focused on early stimulation, healthy eating, and community. Phase Three, effective intervention for teenage mothers, is still being shaped.
Because of your gifts!
NEXT STEPS
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