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The REFUGIO INFANTIL SANTA ESPERANZA (Children’s Shelter of Hope), also known as RISE has given children in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico, hope for a better life.  RISE is a NON-PROFIT shelter for babies and children up to the age of 14 who have been turned over to us by DIF, a Mexican government organization that protects the rights of children.

RISE opened its doors on March 1, 2001.  Some of these beautiful children have come from unbearable situations, having been abused, neglected, or simply abandoned.  In the beginning, some of these children were transferred from other facilities because of overcrowding and many have been in institutions for most of their young lives.

RISE’s main objective is to reintegrate these children with their families but this is not always possible.  We have children that have been with us since birth or from a very young age.  RISE  is “their home”.

As we have grown there has been a need for added staff like nannies, cooks, tutors, a driver who takes them to the different schools since they are of different ages, and of course we count on the wonderful people who volunteer of their time and effort to take the children on outings and other activities to help keep them mentally stimulated and happy.

Our mission is to receive and care for children in need.  Here, at the REFUGIO, the children feel protected and loved and hopefully will heal from the painful experiences of their past.  We do our best to give them a loving home atmosphere.  We are also dedicated to providing proper nutrition, education and health care.

We now have a staff psychologist, Betty Flores, who is a wonderful asset to the Refugio. We also have  a visiting nurse, Anne Boughn and many other  health professionals in different specialtys  that offer their services at no charge to us.  Luis Carbona, another new staff member has taken on the responsibility of taking the children to their doctor’s appointments and/or to the hospital when needed. 

Hospitals like Medisist, Amerimed and Orthopedic Vallarta contribute greatly by allowing  doctors  to operate on our children, when necessary, to use their operating rooms at no charge.