Orphans are VIPs to their supporters

Victor Valentin did not grow up an orphan, but he knows what it's like to be without a parent.

“I grew up without a father. I identify with the little ones,” Valentin said.

The local man is the founder of the Yuma-based VIP For Christ Orphans Ministries.

Valentin, 32, explains that he was inspired to begin his work after visiting several orphanages in Mexico. He was impressed by what he saw and met many children living without their families. But not all the children are orphans.

“Some children have been abandoned or taken from families that abused them, or their parents are in jail, or the government took them from their families because of drugs,” Valentin explained. “They touched my heart. I said, ‘I'm going to dedicate myself to helping children like this.' They need a family, everyone needs a family. It's so important.”

The orphanages serve as that family. “What I saw in their faces, even though they don't have parents, they are happy,” Valentin said.

For his own childhood, he and his sister were raised by their mother in Puerto Rico. He joined the Marines in 2002 and was stationed in Yuma. After four years, he left the Marines but decided to stay in Yuma, where he and his wife, Yomary, and their two children, Gilmary, now 11, and Alejandro, now 5, had put down roots.

Although he has worked in law enforcement since leaving the Marines and putting away the “bad guys,” he wanted to help children. He said that was especially true for children without parents, whom he calls the “waiting children.”

“It's always been in my heart,” Valentin said.

His job too often allows him to see the results of not having a good role model, someone to guide children through their early years, he said.

After listening to a Christian radio program about orphans, he made up his mind. He would create an orphan ministry.

In June 2009 he succeeded in establishing VIP For Christ Orphans Ministries, a faith-based, nonprofit organization dedicated to “serving orphans and waiting children in our community and around the world.”

He chose the name because “children are very important for Jesus, right?” he explained.

Valentin then looked for orphanages and organizations he could help.

“There are many places out there saying ‘We have children,' but we were looking for a place that actually cares. We were looking for the proper places.”

A pastor referred him to Fundación Emmanuel in Mexicali, Baja Calif. He later learned about Agua de Vida, an orphanage in Ciudad Morelos, near Algodones, Baja Calif.

He also realized that there is a need close by.

“Some help in the other side of the world, but we have a need here, a few hours from home. I know there are needs everywhere, but these are our neighbors.”

Very quickly he got busy planning and holding fundraising activities, such as carwashes and donation drives. He asked the orphanages for their needs and set up a website (www.VIPforChrist.org) outlining those needs.

He bought food and an air-conditioning unit, which he installed at Fundación Emmanuel. “It was summer, really hot weather, and they didn't have an A/C.”

He also held a carwash fundraiser for Haiti earthquake victims, but it poured on the day of the scheduled event. Nonetheless, people still stopped by to donate and he ended up raising $600. The following Saturday, on a sunny day, another carwash netted donations of almost $1,000.

He and his family spent Christmas at Agua de Vida, which houses 30 children and operates solely with private donations.

It was the first time Valentin and Yomary took their children to the orphanage, and they were excited to meet the kids. Now every time they give her a gift, their daughter insists on giving it to the kids at the orphanage.

“She has a beautiful heart,” Valentin said proudly.

His priority right now is helping the orphanage complete a new two-story dormitory to house another 40 children.

“The most important thing is construction of the dorm. The place is going to give a house to someone who doesn't have one. It will give a family to someone who doesn't have a family.”

Valentin's website lists the needed materials, ranging from doors and frames to windows.

Valentin says he realizes a lot of people would like to donate but they're not sure if their money will be used appropriately.

That's why he invites people to visit the orphanages with him and see how their money is being used. He notes that the orphanages are close by.

If someone feels uncomfortable donating cash, he is also willing to accompany them to the hardware store and help select items needed for completion of the dorm. They can pay for the materials and even help him deliver the supplies, he said.

His goal is to raise enough money to finish the dorm and then continue supporting the orphanages.

“They get no help from the Mexican government. They need to pay the electric, water, buy food, school supplies and uniforms. Imagine the electric bill for 30 children and the people who help them. It's more than $1,000,” Valentin said.

He's convinced the children are worth fighting for.

“Places like this one provide a family for the little ones that don't have one. They provide a home and people to take care of them.

“The people running these places were willing to leave everything - their lives, their homes - to care for these little ones, who had no one to take care of them. We will continue working and helping them.”

When these young children grow up to be men and women, good citizens, Valentin said, then he will have known it was worth it.

But he's not waiting for that time – he's already reaping the benefits.

“It works like this: You go bless someone but you end up blessed.”


FOR MORE INFORMATION

* Go to www.vipforchrist.org

* Write to orphans@vipforchrist.org or P.O. Box 25675, Yuma, AZ 85367

* Call 726-9593 or 580-9050