Because You Said Yes | July Round Up For Orphans Report

Day Center and Family Support Center

Liepaja, Latvia

Latvia is a seaside country dotted with beautiful beaches, art museums, and concert halls. But in the vacation destination of Liepaja, you’ll find a different kind of beauty tucked away in a former Soviet naval port. Families living in the community of Karosta have little beyond the social housing provided them in rundown apartments that once housed military personnel. The incidence of abuse, neglect, and addiction is high, and government resources are slim.

But at the Day Center in Karosta, you’ll find Nadia. A local pastor asked if she might want to take her love for cooking and use it to serve children living in a part of town everyone ignored. Nadia is the cook at the Day Center, a place where children receive food, clothing, mentoring, and the hope of the Gospel. She says she can't imagine being without her kids, and she has seen God's miracles time and time again. Now Nadia can't see herself doing anything else. "It's not just cooking; it's seeing the eyes of those kids as they look at you as an important part of their lives."

Next door, the ministry team at the Family Support Center works to strengthen families by providing training, counseling, and advocacy. Parenting classes are offered to help young moms connect to and care for their children. Slowly but surely, hope is growing, and lives are changing. And that is beautiful.

Your continued support helps ensure each child at the Day Center receives a healthy meal every day, and that the powerful work of the Family Support Center continues in Latvia.