Moody and I were allowed to accompany the social worker.
Four “families” were reported to have taken in children from neighbors because their parents/grandparents had died.
The visits really touched me, because these are stories and situations that we only know from television.
For example, a mother of two children had an accident and her leg was so badly damaged that she can no longer work and has no money for the hospital. She can't even afford 2.- per month for school meals. Since children shouldn't be taken away from a mother, Moody and I are now paying her hospital costs and food for the children. After a successful recovery, she will be able to look after the children herself again.
Another woman was left by her husband because she was expecting twins and he thought that was a bad sign. The little ones are now 1.5 years old and the older ones are 5 and 8 years old.
The mother has no job and begs on the side of the road with the children. She lives in a 7 square meter "apartment". She can barely afford the rent of 10 Swiss francs a month.
Here the older two children will come to us and Moody and I will help the mother set up a small business (selling fish) and pay the start-up capital and four months' rent.
Another visit was to a 104-year-old woman who lives with her great-grandchildren, aged 9 and 11. We found the woman working in the fields (!!!). She can feed the children by selling milk from her cow (which she milks herself!) and bananas from the garden. We would take the children immediately, but they do not want to leave their great-grandmother alone. So the local social worker will keep an eye on this and contact us if there are any changes.
We can simply feel blessed.