Morrell Family Charities

Amber and OSSO

Hi this is Cherish and I just wanted to add my little Amber plug. Amber is one of the MOST dedicated women I know to her passion. These children in Ecuador are her children. She loves them with her whole heart, she spends her days working for them and her nights worrying over them and has travelled hundreds of thousands of miles to be with them. She is a very efficient and hard worker and I really admire her.

Hey! It’s Jen. I have only known Amber for a few months, but I know that she is a wonderful and inspiring person who has an incredible job. She is a valuable asset to OSSO and has had many tremendous opportunities. Amber is very kind and cares deeply about the children that she helps provide for. I know that you will be just as inspired as I was in reading and learning more about her.

During my last semester at BYU before graduating I was trying to figure out what I was going to do after graduation, where to live, what job to take, and I had also been looking at possibilities of using my Spanish since I was minoring in it, but going somewhere and teaching English just didn’t seem to be for me. So one day I was in my Spanish class and the teacher put up an overhead that said something along the lines of “Want to work in orphanages in Ecuador? Come to this meeting to find out more information” and I knew I had to go to that meeting—I loved children (I’d babysat tons growing up) and I knew Spanish…it seemed like the perfect thing for me. The rest is history, and at the time I had no idea how much my life would change and take a direction I had no clue I was meant to take.

I went to Ecuador with Orphanage Support Services Organization (OSSO), www.orphanagesupport.org, in August 2000 to work in orphanages. I ended up staying for 10 months and fell incredibly in love with the children (and also OSSO’s program). How could I not? They were so cute and loveable and needed me, and I grew a ton down there. I had had a blast during my four years at BYU and had so much fun that I thought nothing would be able to top it, but Ecuador and my volunteer experience with OSSO far surpassed it.

Not too long before I was due to come home, I was offered my job by Rex Head (OSSO’s Founder and Executive Director), and I moved to Rexburg, Idaho from Ecuador! Never did I have any clue growing up that I’d be where I’m at doing what I’m doing, but I love it. I’m the Managing Director for OSSO, and I travel to Ecuador (to both cities where we have our program, Cuenca and Quito) three times a year to make sure everything’s going how we want it to be going. We help support 10+ orphanages between the two cities, and at any given time we have 28 volunteers (doing 2 ½-month stints) in Ecuador year-round working in those orphanages and loving those precious children. We also have a lot of short-term volunteers. We work with infants, toddlers, handicapped kids and some older girls, and those children will forever be different because of the volunteers who love them and the support OSSO provides them with, but our OSSO volunteers will forever be different as well. I often have parents tell me how much their volunteer changed during their service time with OSSO, and I know we’re doing good in the world. OSSO has affected thousands of lives in Ecuador as well as in the U.S. and Canada.

When you have the chance to rock a baby to sleep while singing them a lullaby, or feeding a special needs child who has an incredibly difficult time swallowing blended up food, or teaching a little toddler how to take their first step or blow you a kiss…all those things mean so much more because you’re doing them inside an orphanage for children who need you. It’s life-changing, and many tears have fallen down my cheeks as I’ve looked into those dark brown eyes and said “I love you”—and I knew it was reciprocated, and that makes all the difference.

In 2005 we decided we wanted to start our own orphanage, and from there the necessary partners came to us, and with Morrell Family Charities (Cherish) who paid for and built the orphanage in Cuenca and Todos los Niños Foundation who furnished the orphanage, we now have our own orphanage called Los Pequeñitos de OSSO (OSSO’s Little Ones). We care for infants and handicapped children, and these children are truly our children. But with the construction of our new orphanage, we didn’t decrease the support we give to the other orphanages in Cuenca and Quito, however, tough times with the economy have extended to tough times for OSSO. We’re being hit hard because donations have decreased, but volunteer applications have decreased as well. People are afraid to spend or give their money, but the children still need help, and they need more help than before because Ecuador’s economy is having hard times too, and the orphanages are struggling.

But there are things everyone can do to help! You can make a donation (either one-time or ongoing); you can sponsor a child ($30/mo.) or an orphanage ($1,000/year); you can volunteer in the orphanages (long-term or short-term; college-age or as a family); you can spread the word. Those things are what we’re needing right now to help during these difficult times. Can you help these children? I promise it’ll be worth it!