Ines Update - A special child

Photo: Little Ines

Photo: The HBI team takes a tour of the area around where Ines and her family live

Photo: Reconnecting in Neuva Espranza with Little Ines

Ines is a very special little girl. Her story has touched the lives of so many HBI supporters. In fact, her story and the complex medical, social and advocacy needs that her condition represents helped HBI to forge a greater relationship with the Anglican Church of Peru.

During our team's most recent trip to Lima, we went to visit with Ines and her mother. She continues to grow at a rate that has ever one of her medical providers over joyed. Her mother tells us that she is enjoying her classes in school and has started talking "non-stop" (not that we would have know this - she is a bit shy).

We are continuing to work with the Anglican Church and Reverend Pat Blanchard to identified a model that will not only aid and assist Ines, but develop a clear methodology for helping a multitude of special needs and medically fragile children in the peri-urban communities around Lima. Reverend Pat feels that one of our best options to really assist the family is to engage Ines' mother in a job skills program. The idea is that we can help to train members of the family in more employable trades that will eventually lead to greater economic leverage for their needs.

To date the support that has been provided to Ines and her family from the Carmelites Prayer Group in Panama City, Florida has gone to: assist in purchasing medications and bandaging supplies, help to supplement food and nutritional calorie sources for Ines, provided for the tuition needed to send Ines to a small private "school" (day-care center) each day, and been used for transportation and ancillary expenses related to taking Ines to her medical care appointments.

Our goal is that the money will be used in a more macro-level manner. We are working with Reverend Pat and Father Aurelio to develop a model for the funds that can be replicated in a number of different circumstances. Our next step is to sit down with Reverend Pat and determine how the "Ines Project" can fit into the other models of care and advocacy run through the Anglican Church. Our next step is to build the next "bridge" of collaboration.

We will be posting on-going updates on our work with Ines and our collaborative efforts with the Anglican Church of Peru. Thank you for your continued support of HBI.