Close

Who We Are

Statement of Faith (click here)

Our Purpose, History, and Vision for the Future

Purpose:

The purpose of Project ChildHelp (dba Project Child) is to provide humanitarian relief to the forgotten children with special needs in the orphanages, streets and hospitals of the Dominican Republic and to bring them the message of the Gospel. We meet the most basic human needs (i.e., food, clothing, diapers, vitamins, medicines, immunizations, physical therapy, etc?). Through a cooperative effort with local churches and concerned citizens in the Dominican Republic, we help establish an ongoing support plan where local citizens are challenged to a deeper involvement. Project Child is a non-profit Christian foundation organized under the laws of the State of Florida September 1, 1999. We have acquired tax-exempt status under Chapter 501 (c) 3 of the Internal Revenue Code, Consumer Certificate of Exemption through the Florida Department of Revenue; Certificate of Solicitation under Florida Statutes 496 (Solicitation of Contributions Act) issued by Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs.

History:

The need for this project was revealed to us in 1999 when we visited an orphanage in Santo Domingo. Tucked away on the third floor of an orphanage in a dilapidated building in the center of Sant o Domingo, without working toilets, running water, or air conditioning, in the sweltering tropical heat, we found over 90 severely disabled children. This is a privately run orphanage, which has a reputation of neglecting and special needs children. These children were all suffering from neurological diseases, which prevented them from caring for themselves, and had their little bodies twisted and grotesquely distorted. When we first visited this orphanage we thought that the children were dying of AIDS. We soon learned that what they were dying of was hunger, lack of care and medical attention, and neglect. The children were taking turns eating every other day. Every one of them was malnourished and dehydrated, and many were literally at deaths doorstep. Many of these children were kept in cages, tethered to beds like animals, and they were all living in sub-human conditions. We knew we had to do something to feed and care for these children. We formed Project Child, a non-profit, tax-exempt charitable foundation in September of 1999. PCs operations rely on volunteers. We make about five mission trips per year to DR, taking volunteer teams of doctors, nurses and lay people to help feed and care for these forgotten children and to give them love. Given the poor hygienic conditions and lack of staff we found at the orphanage, but most importantly the lack of concern for the health and well being of the children exhibited by the administration at the orphanage, we decided to hire caregivers to help provide for the basic needs of these children. We started with three caregivers and today PC has fifteen (15) caregivers (four of them are nurses) a medical doctor, two part-time cooks and a maintenance person. The salaries of our staff are paid by PC from the United States, and they work at the orphanage as volunteers . All of the caregivers, the food, the diapers, the vitamins, food supplements and medicine given to the children today are funded 100% by Project Child. Today the children are fed three nutritious meals a day, given a daily bath, and medical attention, but there is so much more that needs to be done. Their health has improved dramatically. We have started an immunization program (these children had never been vaccinated) and our staff physician has started to do regular blood work on the children to identify health deficiencies that need to be addressed. Physical therapy for the children on an ongoing basis is our next step. We have organized networks of volunteers both in the United States and in the Dominican Republic to assist in feeding and caring for these children. In the United States our volunteers solicit dietary supplements, diapers, vitamins and medicines from hospitals, pediatricians, and health care providers, in addition to assisting with ongoing fundraising activities. In the Dominican Republic our volunteers have been organized from local churches and youth groups to assist with the actual feeding. God put it in our hearts to do whatever we can to feed these children, heal them, bring them comfort and relief, alleviate their suffering. The challenges we face in this task may seem insurmountable at times but they are actually a series of great opportunities disguised as impossible situations. Given the poor conditions at this orphanage, God placed in our hearts the needed to build a new home for these children, a home where they could live in comfort and dignity and be loved and cared for the way God intended. This new home will be called Casa de Luz (House of Light).

Casa de Luz:

We commenced construction on the facility November 2003. This will be a two-story building with 32 dormitories, each accommodating 6 children (180 children in total) as well as an industrial kitchen, employee lounge and locker room, nurse station, doctors offices, and rooms for physical, speech, and occupational therapy. The children will also have a terrace and playground with special equipment.

September 20, 2006 CASA DE LUZ CHILDREN'S HOME OPENS IT DOORS.

FIRST CHILD , MASSIEL, ARRIVES! MORE BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN TO FOLLOW.

Leaders of the Organization

Chief Executive Profile

Frank and Lourdes Valladares, Executive Directors, are the founders of Project Child.Frank is a practicing attorney and Lourdes is an elementary school teacher.They formed PC in September of 1999 and began organizing mission trips to the Dominican Republic, taking teams of Doctors and Nurses to care for forgotten children in several orphanages throughout the country.These children are severely disabled, with neurological disorders that have most of them unable to walk or communicate. The medical teams are comprised of local Pediatricians and Nurses, primarily from Miami Childrens Hospital.

Board of Directors

U.S.A. Board Members:

  • Lourdes M. Valladares
  • O. Frank Valladares, Esq
  • Paul Colbert
  • Fred Espro
  • Gensy Key
  • Jeremy Price

Dominican Republic Board Members:

  • O. Frank Valladares, Esq
  • Lourdes M.Valladares
  • Lucas Carvajal
  • Braulin Cuevas
  • Aquino Marrero
  • Tempora Perez
  • Josefina Veloz