“I’m not a fan of orphanages,” says Peterson. “The reason they exist on our planet is profound and utter poverty, the stigma of unwed motherhood, conflict, and HIV AIDS. But you find that when women have resources and women have empowerment, all those dynamics shift.

So when I designed the program, I wanted it to go way beyond just supporting the children in the orphanages. In fact, I wanted to support communities.”

Today HHI trains and employs disadvantaged women in impoverished communities to act as nannies and fill the gap of care in overcrowded, understaffed orphanages. This win-win situation not only results in children who are healthier, physically and emotionally, mentally and spiritually, but also serves to empower disenfranchised women. With training in caretaking they become better mothers to their own children. They grow in confidence and contribute to the local village economy and gain social stature. They can also afford to send their children to school and give them the opportunity to break out of the cycle of poverty.

Sujatha Balaje Sujatha, was HHI’s first certified local trainer. Thirty years-old, with two children of her own, her mother runs an orphanage and a home and school for street children. Although far more educated than many of the women HHI trains, Sujatha nonetheless has found her life has changed because of the training.

“My life is very busy,” writes Sujatha. “I am more interested to give more training for all the organizations. This job is very challenging for me, and I am putting more efforts in, to bring the children (through) with flying colors.

“This has changed the lives of the children very much. We were able to see the difference in milestone developments.”

To pay for the training and employment, HHI works with a local adoption agency near Cheenai, which funnels the one-time $3000 adoption fee that comes from the placement of a child with an adoptive US or other western family, into the HHI program. Astonishingly, the annual cost of running the training and employment program for a single orphanage with around 50 children is only $10,000 US. A bargain to say the least. Yet the payoff is even greater.