Virginia family's project helps Guatemalan children

Jody and Vicki Dalia started out donating to a village in Haiti. Now, they've opened an orphanage in Central America.

Six years ago, the White Top, Va., couple found themselves inspired after reading in Luke 5 and knew that was just what they needed to do with their extra money.

The aspirations of an orphanage soon became a family project, and with a daughter home from a mission in Chile who spoke fluent Spanish, the location of Guatemala for the project seemed perfect.

"We felt like we were to become fishers of men," Vicki Dalia said. "So we took our extra money and went down to Guatemala to complete the paperwork."

__IMAGE1__Since that time, the Dalia family's orphanage and continuous donations have grown exponentially to help the people of Guatemala.

Two years ago, the family opened a new orphanage in Guatemala for the Mayan people of Atitlan. This area is in extreme poverty where people live in places with dirt floors and have little access to food.

To aid in combating this poverty, the family has started programs that help students with academics and funds for education, mothers with formula, and feeding for everyone.

The Dalia family is currently working on extending the work to other communities and opening up a small clinic for mothers who are having children to have a clean facility.

The Dalias, who put in about $100,000 of their own money, are currently doing presentations all over the United States asking for donations, including shoes and school supplies, to the program.

To find out more information about the Dalia family's project, visit www.safehomesforchildren.org.

E-mail: jmiller@desnews.com