We are the Alvarez family: Emanuel (Manny), Shannon, TJ, Izzy, Sarai, Abigail, Anaiah, and our grandson Santiago. We run a small children’s home/orphanage for children with special needs in Guatemala and are part of a larger organization called Hope For Home Ministries. Our home is known as Hogar De La Esperanza #3 (Home of Hope #3).
Through the continued support of our donors, and the faithfulness of God, we are able to serve these children here in Guatemala. If you are interested in supporting our ministry, click the donate button below!
Emanuel “Manny” was born and raised in both Mayagüez and Bayamon, Puerto Rico until he moved to Indiana in 2001. Shannon was born and raised in Connersville, IN. In 2004, he and Shannon met, married, and began their lives in Indianapolis. In 2006, they began fostering and were quickly placed with 3 siblings. In 2009, they were able to adopt TJ, Izzy, and Milly. In 2010, they were able to adopt Abigail and Anaiah.
Several other children came and were reunified during that time, always to hold a special place in their hearts. To read the full story and history of our journey, visit our about page by clicking the button below.
The children in our home come with various disabilities and needs. Although at this time, none of them are eligible to be adopted, because of their ages and disabilities, it will be very hard to find a family willing to adopt them in the future.
Due to current laws here in Guatemala, we are not allowed to adopt them ourselves. We are committed to providing a loving and safe home for these children until they turn 18 and well past that as well. They forever have a place in our home.
David Arturo has a diagnosis of microcephaly and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). His biological family is unwilling to care for him. He has some learning challenges that make it hard to find an educational setting that will accept him and his unique needs.
As of January 2024, we’ve found a school that has been willing to make accommodations for him and he is accompanied by a shadow teacher. This is a fairly unheard of type of assistance given to children here in schools, so it is a learning experience for us all, but so far, we are happy with his progress.
Ana Lucia has a very complicated medical condition and is the 3rd generation of special needs in her family. Both her biological mother and grandmother have developmental disabilities. She has been in the child welfare system since birth and her biological family is unable and unwilling to care for her.
She has been with us almost 4 years and has made huge gains in that time. She is blind in her right eye and has a sensory processing disorder, possibly autistic. She has very limited verbal skills, although she is making gains and learning/speaking new words all the time. She is not able to attend a regular school because of her needs, but we have found a center focused on children with disabilities, where she attends one day a week.
Isabella is 100% deaf in both ears. She has a condition called Cornelia de Lange Syndrome (CdLS) and possibly FASD as well. She has been in care of the courts from the time of her birth and was abandoned at the hospital at birth. There is no known family willing or interested in reuniting with her.
She joined our family at 8 months old and has continued to prove to be a tiny but mighty warrior! We are currently learning Guatemalan Sign Language so she has a way to communicate and we are hopeful one day we will be able to get her Cochlear Implants (roughly $30,000 each ear). There is a possibility of Isabella attending the same center where Lucia goes, but at this time, we are not able to afford the tuition.
Nicolas has suffered from physical abuse that has left him with severe disabilities. He was shaken and underwent significant brain damage that has left permanent damage to his tiny body. Nico has severe Cerebral Palsy (CP) that has affected his entire body. His retinas were severely damaged and he is completely blind in both eyes.
Nico went without oxygen for quite some time which has left him with permanent brain damage. Although he can hear and will smile and laugh, there are significant cognitive impairments. He is unable to control his head/neck, or any part of his body. He cannot sit up, roll over, etc. Nico will be wheelchair bound for his entire life along with the many health risks associated with being non-mobile.
It takes approximately $6,000 a month to run this home. From each child's personal expenses, to the salaries of our staff members, there are a lot of expenses. Unfortunately, we have been underfunded for the past 6 years. If you'd like to help change that, we would love your support.
We have a team of professionals that help us to run this home, both to meet the needs of the children, but also fulfill the government’s requirements to run a children’s home. These professionals are an asset to our team, but also require a large financial commitment.
We have approximately $2,500/month in expenses to cover their salaries. We expect this to increase to $3,5000-$4,000 within the next year due to some changing factors coming to our ministry. As I mentioned in the beginning, we are not funded by the government or any entity here in Guatemala.
All the funds raised to run the home and support our family are privately raised through individual donors and churches. It takes approximately $6000 a month to run the home, which does not include personal support for our family. We have consistently been underfunded the past 6 years we’ve been in Guatemala and there is always a constant threat of having to close down our home and relocate the children. This is absolutely the last thing we want to do as we truly love these children.
If you are interested in partnering with us please feel free to reach out. Thank you for reading and learning more about who we are and the ministry we are doing here in Guatemala. These children are true gifts from God and we are blessed to have them in our lives. We wish everyone could see their value and worth despite any disability they have.
Donation Information! Note that a portion of your donation is withheld by Paypal to cover processing fees. If you would like to avoid these costs, or use of a third party for your donation, we also accept checks and ACH deposits.
Checks can be made payable to “Hope for Home Ministries,” with “Alvarez Family” written in the memo line, and mailed to: PO Box 393, Troy, OH 45373
To set up an ACH deposit, please contact Emily McFadden at emily@hopeforhome.org or give her a call at our U.S. Office, at 937-216-1300. Donations are tax deductible and will be receipted in January of the following calendar year.
All contributions designated for a specific missionary or program shall be applied as requested, and we may use up to 5% of each donation for administering the gift.
We can now accept tax-deductible donations from Canada!
E-Transfers can be made to canada@hopeforhome.org
Paypal donations can be made to canada@hopeforhome.org or by searching “Hope for Home Ministries Canada”
Cheques can be made out to “Hope for Home Ministries Canada” and mailed to 6563 Delisle Crt, Prince George, British Columbia, Canada, V2K 5B1
*Donations are tax deductible and a Canadian tax receipt will be issued.
**Contact canada@hopeforhome.org with any questions.
We have big plans for the future of our ministry, and we will continue to share them on this website. If you'd like to be a part of them, join our growing list of supporters!