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ABOUT US
WHO WE ARE
His Children (Sus Hijos) is a registered NGO (nonprofit 501c3 organization) created to help children and adolescents in the government and private orphanages in El Salvador. We implement projects to reunite families and show them the love and grace of God. We provide humanitarian aid to communities, families, and the Salvadoran people through projects and activities.
Mission: Provide love, hope, and a foundation in Christ to orphaned and abandoned children in El Salvador.
Vision: A healed generation free from orphanages and prisons, where children have strong families, education, and a loving relationship with God.
Goals:
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Meet the spiritual and physical needs of children in orphanages.
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Offer education and job training for a secure future.
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Promote healthy families through transition homes and community building.
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Reduce reliance on orphanages by strengthening families.
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Inspire future missionaries to continue the work.
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To no longer be needed in El Salvador!
What We Believe:
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The Bible: We hold the Bible as the word of God, guiding our faith and actions.
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Jesus Christ: We believe Jesus is God's Son, who died on the cross for our sins, offering forgiveness and salvation.
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The Holy Spirit: We believe in the Holy Spirit, guiding and empowering us.
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The Trinity: We believe in one God, existing as three distinct persons: Father, Son (Jesus Christ), and Holy Spirit.
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Prayer: We believe in God's power to act through prayer.
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Grace: We believe in God's grace, offering undeserved love and forgiveness.
What We Do:
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Helping Orphans: We provide spiritual and physical care for orphaned and abandoned children in El Salvador's orphanages.
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Sharing God's Love: We share the love and grace of Christ with these children, teaching them and nurturing their faith.
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Transition Homes: We offer transition homes for children leaving orphanages, supporting them as they transition into adulthood.
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Strong Families: We support families by building homes, fostering healthy relationships, and preventing separation.
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Fighting Poverty and Gangs: We keep children off the streets and out of gangs, offering opportunities for a safer and brighter future.
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Spreading the Gospel: We train and equip others to share the message of hope and love with the world.
Our Hope:
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Education and Skills: We hope all children have access to education and job skills to build a fulfilling life.
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Healthy Families: We hope for strong, healthy families, both mentally and physically.
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Relationship with God: We hope each child develops a personal and loving relationship with God.
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A Healed Generation: We ultimately dream of a future where orphanages and youth prisons are no longer needed, signifying a healed generation.
Overview
We give hope and love to orphaned and abandoned children in El Salvador's orphanages; we teach them how to prepare for a job and how to build a relationship with God. We focus on helping the vulnerable ones. We run transition homes for children aging out of orphanages. We feed communities and keep families together by building houses. We keep children off the streets and out of gangs. We teach others to be missionaries to the world.
IMPACT AREAS
TRANSITION HOMES
The project began in 2010, as one of the projects for Sus Hijos / His Children Foundation, supporting young adults and teenagers from both public and private children protection centers across El Salvador. When these teenagers turn eighteen, they are required to leave the centers where they have been most of their lives, forcing them into independence and a reality very different from what they are used to.
ORPHANAGES / CENTERS
We work with the main government orphanages in El Salvador, like CISNA, San Martin (Special Needs), San Vicente de Paul, Guirola and others including private centers. We share the word of God with them, we do activities, sometimes take them out on a fun outing, like the beach, bowling, movies, and parks.
EDUCATION / EMPLOYMENT
This is our biggest program so far, is a culinary school which includes States Diner restaurant, States Bakes Bakery, States Cafe Cafeteria that allow us to provide a job and most of the times a first job experience for these young boys and girls between the ages of 18 to 22 at risk who aged out of ISNA care (government institution)that are interested in culinary skills.
The cosmetology school project, born in the heart of our founder, was named to honor his mother’s salon: “You’re someone special” in Hampton, Virginia and was named after the phrase she always used when evangelizing.
This project teaches 6 different foster care centers. They receive classes throughout the week in 8 different classes, depending on the level of practice they have. They start from the very basics from how to use a hairdryer, wash hair, cut hair to a lot more.
FAMILIES / COMMUNITIES
We provide a wood House or a concrete House for a family at risk of separating; when the government determines that a family doesn’t meet the minimum criteria for good living conditions for the Child, he or she is considered to be taken away from their family to live in the orphanages.
We build houses thanks to the donations we receive from our donors, which God has always used to bless these lives.
Our foundation prepares different events during the whole year, one day we would be making animal balloons with the kids or another day we would be all dressing up to celebrate a special moment. While most of these events are for the orphans in the centers, we would also have special celebrations for specific times of the year where we would have the States Diner restaurant prepare something special for its customers.
PRISONS / GANGS
Many of the activities we do with the children’s centers are done at juvenile prisons, including Bible study.
We also volunteer with organizations working with reformed gang members.
HOMELESSNESS
It is our desire to see this ministry nourish not only the physical needs, but the spiritual needs of those who are often forgotten. Many of these are children who have run away or have reached the limit age to remain in the government centers.
We provide 150 meals to everyone on the streets including prostitutes, children, and individuals facing addiction.
MISSIONS TRIPS
So, you have a Church, Organization or group of friends that you want to bring to El Salvador? Or you have been praying about being a short-term missionary? We always can use medical missions and any other skill you may have to work with the communities and orphanages where we serve.
Why El Salvador?
El Salvador is the size of the state of Massachusetts. It is a heavily densely populated city in Central America. With the onset of the civil war that the United States help fund, left the country with distrust amongst its own people and left many children as Orphans because of the families fleeing or being killed because of the war. The government did not and does not have the resources to take care of the children adequately and many of the children fall between the cracks. With the new government crackdown on gangs, over 70,000 people have been arrested and incarcerated. The president also change the constitution so he could run again, and he won, now controlling the congress with 58 out of 60 seats, most of the mayors’ offices and the supreme court.
EVENTS & CELEBRATIONS
Throughout the year, Fundación Sus Hijos hosts various events for the communities, orphanages, and individuals we serve. These events strengthen relationships, bring joy to participants, and showcase the transformative power of our mission.
During the year, we make smaller events, beach trips, volcano trips, museum visits, parks with different communities, centers and the local mayor’s office.
Many people benefit from these events are from communities, Orphanages, and clients / beneficiaries of the State Diner culinary program. These events are a huge opportunity for us to make a difference in their lives, let them know about the name of Jesus so that they know there are people that really care about them.
Donations for all the events are always needed. Children and families are thankful for these celebrations. For that reason, we continue to show the love of Christ to these people.
FEBRUARY
Valentine's Day
During Valentine's Day, we partner with Pastor Rene to bring a fun-filled day to children in Ahuachapán. This event features games, food, gifts, and a message of love and hope.
JUNE-AUGUST
Quinceanera
A highlight of our year is our Quinceanera, where we celebrate the 15th birthdays of girls from orphanages and communities. This special event includes dress fittings, hair styling, and a grand celebration with dancing, presentations, and a special cake.
JULY
4th of July
We celebrate the 4th of July with a car show and family day in the heart of San Salvador. Filled with live music, dance performances, and engaging activities, this event fosters community spirit and raises awareness about our ongoing projects.
OCTOBER
Day of the Child
We celebrate the Day of the Child by hosting parties in orphanages and communities. Featuring games, snacks, and gifts, these celebrations bring smiles to children's faces.
NOVEMBER
Thanksgiving
Our Thanksgiving Day event at States Diner is open to the public and promotes a spirit of gratitude and togetherness. Attendees bring a dish to share and enjoy a warm, family-like atmosphere. It is also the day that we start our Angel Tree project for over 2000 children, to get a gift specifically what they asked for.
DECEMBER
Christmas / Angels Tree
Christmas Beach Community Party: This longstanding tradition involves a lively celebration with a nativity play, fun activities, pinatas and gifts for children in La Libertad communities.
Angels Tree: This Christmas tradition allows individuals to choose gifts for children in our care, in the orphanages, in the communities, ensuring they feel loved and remembered during the holiday season.
These events, alongside numerous smaller outings, and activities, provide opportunities for connection, growth, and celebration. We are grateful for the generous donations and teams that make these events possible and allow us to share the love of Christ with those we serve.
Timeline - Kurt Ackermann, Founder/President
2000
I came on my first mission trip to El Salvador. We started working in San Miguel. My heart broke for the Orphaned and Abandoned children in this country. I kept coming back over the next 3 years and worked with the government and private orphanages. We still did not have a permanent impact only short term, because no one was here in El Salvador to oversee the projects.
2003
Our family moved to El Salvador and make a permanent change in our programs. Since our moving here as a family, we have consistently worked with the government trying to make the lives of the Children better here in the country working with ISNA. By improving the physical as well as spiritual lives of the children that have no one to love them.
2009
We started building homes in the rural communities of El Salvador to make a difference in the Childrens lives who families have lost custody of their children because of poverty, to restore families and keep them together.
2012
We started our transition home program to help children that turned 18 years old and were forced out on the streets because they had no family to go to.
2014
We started the States Diner to give our kids work from the transition homes and government centers because they could not find stable work with below high school education. They receive full salaries and benefits.
2017
We Started States Bakes to be able to expand the skill set of the young adults that work here at the States Diner. We have a contract with a local restaurant baking all the bread for them.
2018
We started Your Someone Special Too hair training facility which is a full functional hair salon/school with local people running it.
2019
We started 2 States Diner Cafes in Parque Cuscatlán with a partnership with the local mayor of San Salvador and the Warren Buffet Foundation
2020
We moved the location of the States Diner and also started a separate location for the offices and States Bakes.
2021
We started a second location called the States Diner Station with the help of the German Embassy, we have since shut down that location due to low sales.
We started our Next Step program for kids finishing the Transition homes.
2022
We moved our 2 Transition homes, Mission Home and building program into one location in Escalon. The HOME.
CENTERS WE WORK IN
GUIROLA
About 75 special need children under the age of 18, some children with HIV. Some of the kids do get physical and are strong. They are so full of love and no expectations.
Needs: clothing all sizes, bibs, shoes, underwear, socks, onesies pajamas, soccer balls, and baby wipes.
CISNA
18-25 teenage boys from 12-18 years old. They love soccer, card games and interacting. We usually try to take them some sort of snack/pizza with them. Needs: jeans, socks, boxers (no tighty whiteys), t-shirts, shoes, tennis shoes, and soccer balls.
SAN MARTIN
“The happiest place on Earth” approx. 80 people in this center all special needs adults over 18. They love to dance, love stickers and band aids. Love music. We will sometimes go house to house when they are not allowed or can go out of the house and sing to them. This may be a step out of your comfort zone. Needs: adult diapers, wipes, shoes (adult sizes) overalls (adult sizes), pajamas, clothing, and soccer balls.
SAN VICENTE DE PAUL
This center has approximately 175 kids of all ages. We typically work with the smaller group of Teen Moms and their babies. They have 8-12 teen moms, some have babies, and some are still pregnant. We sometimes get the opportunity to feed and love the babies and toddlers and other children in the center. Needs: clothing of all sizes and ages, cloth diapers, shoes, flip-flops, baby ointments, and baby stuff.
PRISON: FEMENINO AND EL ESPINO
This is always a tough one. We work with 2 sectors in the Girls Prison that house about 85 girls. In the young man prison, we work with over 200 boys. They have committed crimes ranging from robbery to murder, most all are gang members and all need Jesus. Needs: Socks, bras, underwear (men and woman), flip-flops (all white in color) and soccer balls.
TRANSITION HOMES
These are our kids.10-16 boys and girls over 18. These are the ones that are tough to love. You will get a tour of the homes and meet the staff that run them. If we have time, you may have dinner with them and have an opportunity to share a devotion with them. Needs: deodorant, socks, bras, underwear, board games, shoes, and clothing.
OTHER CENTERS WE WORK IN
Love Garden, Cambia tu Vida, Los Pequeños Hermanos, Children’s Home, Hogar Infantil de Zacatecoluca, Marillac, Mi Casa, and SOS.
