Change is on the horizon… but will you be able to notice it?
Vision for Chile is on the road to change! We have been ministering in Chile since 1998, serving poor and needy children. We have worked in schools and churches but our main work has been at the Hogar la Granja in La Pintana. Our concern over the future of the older girls, who typically leave the hogar at age 18, led to our building the House of Hope. This house then led Vision for Chile to start a nonprofit in Chile – Vision por Chile.
In 2011, it was decided that Vision for Chile should become a nonprofit in the United States. We discussed what the “vision” of this new nonprofit should be. Should our scope be limited to our current ministry in Chile or should we look at the larger picture? We have been asked in the past to consider working with poor and needy children in Mongolia and Russia as well as other Latin American countries. These thoughts led us to realize that it would be best if the new nonprofit allowed for a more global ministry. The name selection was a natural – Vision for Children!
In March 2012, Vision for Children was officially incorporated in the state of Tennessee! On April 7, 2012, the organizational board met and voted to begin operating as of that date! Will you see any immediate difference in our ministry? The answer is “No” and “Yes” and “Maybe”. We will not stop our ministry in Chile nor will we expand into another country until we are financially able to do so. We will continue to do business as Vision for Chile. Through a series of circumstances, the ministry of Vision for Chile has expanded to include another hogar, a “charter” school and a neighbor ministry behind the House of Hope that ministers to poor and needy children, many without homes. We are going to be partnering in the future with the La Pintana Alliance Church with additional community ministries. We are excited about our future in Chile! We are equally excited about the increase in the financial support of Vision por Chile by Chileans and United States nationals living in Chile! Our goal has always been to have Vision por Chile be financially independent – even while expanding ministries!
Vision for Children will begin doing business as Vision for (fill in the country name) as ministries present themselves and as finances allow. Vision for Children will continue doing business as Vision for Chile! Our job at this time is to see what country we should go into next and when! We see expanding into additional countries only if our current ministries will not suffer. We want to be responsible in our growth.
Vision for Children will have no paid staff until such time as growth or circumstances require. We envision a time when Tom Orme will “retire” and we will most likely have to hire someone to replace him. We will continue to have a contract bookkeeper as we did as Vision for Chile to help ensure that our funds are fully accountable and spent wisely.
Please contact us with any questions you may have! We have teams scheduled to GO to Chile during October! These trips can be life changing! Please consider coming! Be sure to check out the flyer for the October 2012 trip here. Send us a letter describing how your life was changed by traveling with Vision for Chile!
Tom Orme is the Director and Founder of Vision for Chile and is on the board of Vision por Chile. He is the incorporator and the registered agent for Vision for Children, Inc.
Brenda Davenport is the Director of Operations for Amazima Ministries International and a member of the Advisory Board of Vision for Chile. Brenda is the secretary of the organizational board of Vision for Children.
Bob Howen is the President of the Advisory Board of Vision for Chile and is on the board of Vision por Chile. Bob is the President of the organizational board of Vision for Children.