Today we are interviewing Caroline Boudreaux.  Caroline is the founder of Miracle Foundation a charity that servers orphans in India.

Caroline, how did the Miracle Foundation start?

In 1999, my close friend Chris Monheim and I took a pleasure trip around the world together. One of the places we wanted to visit was a remote village in India where Chris had been sponsoring an orphan named Manus through the Christian Children’s Fund (CCF). Chris and I wanted to find out if Manus really existed and had been receiving Chris’ financial support for the past five years.

We landed in India in the midst of a 108 degrees heat wave. After a ceremonial village welcome, we were introduced to little Manus, who had, indeed, received every letter and picture Chris had sent him. She was thrilled to find out her money was helping this child with food, clothing, shelter, and an education. However, poverty was everywhere. Manus’ family of five lived in a two-room, mud hut about the size of an average American bathroom. Everyone seemed grateful that organizations like CCF were providing assistance, but Manus’ family was one of the lucky ones.

Later that evening, a little girl named Sheebani slid up to me and put her head on my knee. I took the orphan into my arms; the little girl was so tired that she pushed her body into mine. I sang Sheebani a lullaby and rocked her to sleep. When I took Sheebani upstairs to find her crib, I was horrified to see a room with 30 wooden beds, much like picnic tables. There were no pillows, mattresses, or blankets. The overwhelming stench of urine and feces could make a grown man collapse. The scene was like that from a concentration camp…chilling and incomprehensible. When I laid Sheebani down on her bed, I heard the child’s bones rattle against the wood. I was simply heart-broken, and that’s when I knew that I had to do something about this tragedy. In our world of Starbuck’s, the stock market, and Neiman Marcus, there was no reason why a little child in India had to live in such squalor. When I returned from my trip, I put all of my life savings together and created the Miracle Foundation. Our vision is to empower children to reach their full potential, one orphan, like Sheebani, at a time.

When was Miracle Foundation founded? Mothers Day of 2000

Can you tell me a bit about the your mission?  Who does the Foundation serve?  The mission is to improve the lives of orphans living in India by developing, implementing, and monitoring best practices for orphanages.

What makes your charity unique from others who serve the same need? The Foundation is not a charity, rather a rights-based organization focused on protecting children. The goal is to change the life of one orphan at a time by maintaining incredibly low overhead costs and creating partnerships with surrounding communities and organizations to keep children out of orphanages.

Tell me about some of the projects the Foundation has done? So far, the Miracle Foundation has acquired seven orphanages in its network by adopting existing orphanages and building new ideal villages of orphanages. In addition, the Foundation also provides a safe haven for pregnant, un-wed mothers, who are often forced to abandon their children because of societal pressures.

What specific impact has the Foundation made this year?   The organization has housed, fed, and educated hundreds of children this year. In addition, the Foundation has created a “Lunch and Learn” program at one of our orphanages, where village children who have families can spend the day while their parents work to earn a living. The Foundation has also hired widows and single mothers to become house mothers at the orphanages, which has given these women a purpose to live and no longer makes them outcasts in society.

Are there any projects that people can help out with? The Foundation is always looking for volunteers to help with small or large projects. We also encourage people to take part in our IMPACT Travel Program focused on “volun-tourism.” People who travel to India with us become “ambassadors” for the children we serve. These ambassadors then establish contact with the sponsors of the children and send the sponsors emails, pictures, and letters directly from the children. Finally, we would like people to sponsor one of our many orphans by paying a monthly stipend of $45, $100, or $200, which will pay for the child’s food, clothing, shelter, inoculations, and much, much more.

Where would they sign up?   www.MiracleFoundation.org

What is the greatest need the charity has in its efforts to make a difference?  Our greatest need right now is for sponsorship. A $45 a month sponsorship pays for a child to participate in our “Lunch and Learn” program, which serves as a daycare for young children while allowing their parents to earn a decent wage. A $100-a-month sponsorship pays for an individual child’s food, clothing, shelter, and education needs. A $200-a-month sponsorship helps with an infant’s inoculations, administrative costs, teachers’ salaries, etc.

Where can people go to donate money?  www.MiracleFoundation.org

What’s instance that occurred in the course of your work that made it all worthwhile? When you see a child grow and learn after the nourishment our orphanages provide them, it makes it all worthwhile. We have improved the quality of life for many emaciated, malnourished children who are thriving now that their orphanage is part of the Miracle Foundation Network. Finally, the magical moment occurs when hundreds of smiling faces and outstretched arms greet you when you visit one of our orphanages in India. Our miracles don’t just happen…we MAKE them happen!

The Miracle Foundation, Charity Address: 1506 West Sixth Street, Austin, Texas 78701,  www.MiracleFoundation.org, (512) 329-8635