A few years ago, American adoptive mom Tamara Hillstrom, founder of the Guatemalan orphanage El Amor de Patricia, visited a farm close to the El Amor orphanage, where she noticed that the farm’s caretakers slept on straw mats in barn stalls designed for animals. This wasn’t the first time Hillstrom had observed families in such dire circumstances: In her work for El Amor, she had visited homes where many poor parents and children slept on twigs or pallets or cinder blocks, or on nothing at all. “How can anyone function after a night like that?” Hillstrom wondered. “Doesn’t everyone deserve a comfortable sleep?”

Thus, the Bunk Bed Project was born. The concept is simple: raise funds from the American adoption community and other interested donors, use the funds to build bunk beds in Guatemala, and deliver the beds to families in need. Since the project’s inception, more than 1,200 bunk beds have been installed throughout Guatemala.

Yesterday, Mateo and I helped deliver and build bunk beds for two families.  The beds we installed, like every bunk built through the Project, are given in memory of Gabby Lewis, a child adopted from Guatemala who died too young.

I rarely ever promote nonprofit organizations, but if you’re looking for a service opportunity especially meaningful for children, consider the Bunk Bed Project. Sweet dreams. ~

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