By Elizabeth Jenkins
Casa Feliz is Spanish for happy house. It is also the name of an orphanage in Guatemala City, but the conditions at this orphanage are not exactly 'happy,' and one man is doing something about it.
Guillermo Rangel, a 24-year-old return missionary living in Guatemala started working for Casa Feliz when he returned home from his mission. He immediately loved his job and the kids he worked with. They loved him too and called him 'Pappy Guillermo.'
Rangel discovered orphanage owners were embezzling money that was intended for the children. When he confronted the orphanage owners about the money, they told him it was 'none of his business.'
Rangel went to work Feb. 16, after receiving a frantic phone call from a sobbing girl at the orphanage.
'There are men here taking our things and they''re going to take us away!' she said.
What he saw after he arrived forever changed his life path. Twenty-five screaming children were being taken from the orphanage to a different orphanage in a city nearby. Rangel was left alone on the porch of the orphanage crying and wondering if there was anything he could do.
The orphanage, in the nearby city, was unfit to house 25 additional children. They were forced to sleep on the floor with inadequate clothing, food and school materials.
Rangel and a close friend of his, Omar, went to speak with a judge and received permission to start an orphanage in Chimaltenango, Guatemala.
They found a white house that would be big enough for 10 to 25 children to live comfortably. The rent was far more than they could afford, so the landlords, recognizing their need, reduced the rent by half. Rangel eventually found enough donors to cover the rent payments, but to cover the expenses for the first couple months he sold several of his most valuable possessions, including his computer, guitar and architectural supplies.
After about three months of praying, petitioning courts and receiving a lot of help from generous people, the new orphanage was ready and Rangel and Omar traveled to Guatemala City to rescue the 25 children they considered family.
Generous people have come to Guatemala to help and have provided Rangel with appliances for the house and beds for the children. Rangel has worked hard to make a new home for the children. He has named the orphanage Clara Fantasia, which means clear fantasy.
H.E.L.P. International, a non-profit organization that takes BYU students to do service in other parts of the world, worked to provide volunteers for Rangel''s endeavors. Nicholas Hopson, a pre-med student at BYU got to know Rangel while he was in Guatemala with H.E.L.P. International. He said Rangel is running the new orphanage on LDS beliefs.
' developed six lessons for the parents of the abused and neglected children,' Hopson said.
The lessons come from 'The Family: A Proclamation to the World.'
Hopson said Rangel''s desire to help these children comes from one thing: his desire to follow the teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Doug Wendt, a pre-med student at BYU and H.E.L.P. International volunteer, has worked with Hopson and Rangel to raise money for Clara Fanatasia.
Wendt said Rangel''s love for all of mankind has shown through in what he is doing for the orphans. Rangel searches for the parents of the children he has staying at the home. Once he finds them, he teaches them how to be good parents and tries to get them to take their children back if they are able to. With the practice of human trafficking on the rise in countries like Guatemala, Rangel is providing children with the opportunity to be reunited with their families rather than sold.
'The children attend the LDS Church and learn good Christian principles in Family Home Evening and scripture study,' Wendt said. 'Guillermo seeks out their biological parents and, after locating them, provides them with the emotional and spiritual support they need to heal their families.'
Rangel believes the family is important and wants to do everything he can to preserve the sense of what a family is in the minds of the children he cares for.
'I believe that the family is the fundamental unit of society and that no institution can replace the parents'' duty to teach children to be honest and honorable citizens and to be loyal to pure and true principles that only a family can teach,' Rangel said. 'This is why reuniting the children with their parents is the number one priority of the orphanage.'
Rangel''s great love for all people and sincere desire to change the face of adoption in Guatemala is an endeavor that could not have been possible without the faithful donors that commit to helping Clara Fantasia operate.
Wendt and Hopson have kept in contact with Rangel and have worked to raise awareness about his situation. They arranged through donations for Rangel to fly to Salt Lake City. While he was in Utah, he spoke with people who were interested in donating money and supplies to the orphanage. Their efforts were successful and Rangel left Utah with a lot more than he arrived with.
Wendt said he hopes people will recognize the example Rangel is setting.
'He does everything out of love,' Wendt said. 'He has a very intense love of the gospel and for the kids, and for everyone in need.'