As the holiday season approaches, the spirit of giving becomes more profound, and there's no better way to embrace it than by participating in Giving Tuesday! We hope you’ll join this worldwide movement to give to causes that you love. When it comes to orphan care, one organization stands out above the rest - Orphanage Support Services Organization (but you can call us OSSO for short)! This Giving Tuesday, let's explore how OSSO is making a difference to children in Ecuador and why your support matters. Since 1999, OSSO has been dedicated to providing love, care, and support to orphaned and a ..read more

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to volunteer in an orphanage? Ashley, one of our most recent volunteers, tells about her experience volunteering with OSSO in Ecuador! Check out her story below. Please note - children’s faces are not shown to protect their privacy according to Ecuadorian law. “A little over a year ago I had seen a billboard in Rexburg, Idaho that said, ‘OSSO’. I had remembered hearing stories that my aunt told me about her experiences during her college years when she went down to Ecuador for a few months and helped children in orphanages. I never thought that it could b ..read more

We are not your typical volunteers.  I am a parent of an adopted child from Quito. When we adopted our son in 2011 we briefly met these really nice young people who were there volunteering.  We ran into a few different volunteers while traveling around the area and everytime we did our son ran up and hugged them so tight.  I could tell that these young people were so very special to the children. From that time on I have wanted to be one of those volunteers and give back to other children what my son received ..... unconditional love and my time.  I later found out that these volunteers were f ..read more

This blog is brought to you by alumni, Brooke Johnson "You’ll never forget this experience. I’m going on 12 years since I volunteered in Ecuador and I STILL think of those kids, pray for them, relive my memories, and count the whole thing as a huge life-altering blessing." Although you may feel 'done' when you get home, we have many options for alumni to continue supporting the children that they love. You can become an orphan advocate, a sponsor, volunteer again at a discounted price or help us spread the word to family an ..read more

Equestrian therapy is a form of therapy that makes use of horses to help promote emotional growth. [It] is particularly applied to patients with ADD, anxiety, autism, dementia, delay in mental development, down syndrome and other genetic syndromes, depression, trauma and brain injuries, behavior and abuse issues and other mental health issues.(source:https://www.equestriantherapy.com/equestrian-therapy/)   From our director "The children go each week.  It really was a miraculous blessing that it happened.  Keenan happened t ..read more

We have had multiple volunteers ask, "Do you accept male volunteers into your program?" The answer is YES! Although the majority of our volunteers are women, we DO accept men as volunteers and LOVE having them! Although women make great volunteers, we realize that the impact men have on children is a very different and special type that cannot be duplicated. We researched and found some outstanding facts about having a male presence in the orphanages.   "No matter how great a mother is, she cannot replace what a father prov ..read more

Trinidad, or Trini, as it is known here at OSSO, is an adorable daycare up in the mountains of Cuenca. The children who go to school here come from poor, hardworking families. The kids come here during the day to learn and play and occasionally spend time with our volunteers! None of the children at Trini are orphans or looking for a new home. You will usually go to Trini only once during your time at OSSO, but you may have a chance to go again the longer you stay! An average day at Trini might sound something like this. "A ..read more

HOGAR PARA TODOS (HPT) Location: Neighboring city of Azogues Hogar Para Todos “A Home for All” is the name of this orphanage but we call it HPT.  This orphanage is for children generally ages from infant to early teens.  This home was started by the sweetest women, Nancy.  She opened her own home up to a few children who needed one and her home grew and grew until it became this “home for all”.   What your journal entry may read like after a shift here: Dear Diary, we were a little worried when we arrived because we saw the ..read more

REMAR Location: Neighboring city of Azogues Remar is an orphanage run by a Christian group. There are various young adults that live there and work there taking care of the children.  They call them tias and tios (aunts & uncles). There are 20-40 children who live here. Remar’s other missions include providing drug and alcohol rehabilitation to poorer people in the area and providing a home for young single mothers. As a result, many of the children living at Remar have alcoholic or drug-addicted parents and some of the older girls have children of their own ..read more

HOGAR MIGUEL LEON (HML) Location: Near the center of Cuenca Hogar Miguel León (HML) is an orphanage run by Catholic nuns for about 30-50 girls (and many of their brothers too!). You have to remember that instead of a foster care system, when children are removed from their homes and families, they go into orphanages. Therefore, every child has a different story and most have difficult backgrounds. Many of the kids have the opportunity to visit parents, aunts and uncles or grandparents during holidays and vacation times.  Mo ..read more