Rafael - House 7
Rafael was born December 3, 1997. He comes to us with another 5 brothers and sisters. He is the third oldest. In their case both parents were in jail. The father, a drug addict, escaped and had tried to live off of relatives but stole from them so is currently in hiding. He has shown no interest in the children. He is also accused of sexually abusing 4 of the 6 children, including Rafael. The mother has had visiting rights but shows no affection and has nothing to talk about when they visit her at the jail. These visits rarely last more than 20 minutes with everyone getting agitated and either crying or fighting. Both sides have shown no more interest in these visits, so they have been discontinued. The extended family has been visited but there are no places for these children and they are generally unwelcome among the relatives.
All the children were placed together in a Christian half way house in Porto Alegre. They are now at Chain of Love because the courts want them to stay together in a family setting.
All the children suffer from low self esteem, attention deficit, need psychological and in some cases neurological attention, as well as help in bringing their formal education up to speed. The real need that they have and that they show a desire for, is to have a real mother and father figure in their lives.
Rafael is being placed in house number 7 where Marco and Fabiane are house parents. He loves to laugh, but is insecure around adults. When he is around adults he is quiet, but he also loves to be hugged. Rafael is presently in Grade 2.
2009 Update: Rafael makes friends easily and is now reading. However, he finds schoolwork difficult and at times is timid, afraid to give the wrong answer. Please pray that he would pass his year at school and behave well.
Birthday: December 3, 1997
Photo: Jul 2010
Sisters: Amanda, Ellen, Cintia de Souza
Brothers: Vitor, Gabriel