The Story Behind Homes of Life

Hogar de Vida began in Guatemala in 1992 as a simple step of obedience. While serving there, the founders encountered children whose needs went far beyond hunger. They needed safety, stability, love, and someone who would stand in their corner. God used those moments to make it clear that the calling was not just to feed children, but to create homes for them. In 1995, that calling led to Costa Rica, where Hogar de Vida opened its first children’s home and welcomed its first child. What began as one small home in the hills of Atenas grew into a ministry focused on long-term care, stability, and healing for children who had experienced abuse, neglect, and abandonment.

Through the years, the ministry has grown, but the mission has remained the same: to follow Christ by loving and caring for children who need safe homes, consistent love, and the opportunity to build a different future. Today, Hogar de Vida continues to serve children in both Guatemala and Costa Rica, trusting God to guide and sustain the ministry just as He has from the very beginning.

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A Calling That Continues

Hogar de Vida Today In Costa Rica, operates family-style children’s homes for children who have been removed from unsafe environments. We partner with the national child welfare system and provide both short- and long-term care. Children attend local schools, receive medical and emotional care, learn life skills, and grow up in a stable home environment with consistent caregivers who become like family.

In Guatemala, Hogar de Vida cares for children in a smaller home setting, operates a nutrition program for local children, and provides a weekday home for girls who live too far away to attend school. These programs help children receive education, nutrition, and care that would otherwise be out of reach. Though the programs are different in each country, the heart of the ministry is the same: to serve children in the name of Christ and to show them through daily life that they are loved, valued, and never forgotten by God.

Our Approach to CareHogar de Vida

Hogar de Vida was never meant to be an institution. From the beginning, the vision was to create true homes—places where children could heal within the stability of family life, routine, and unconditional love.

Children live in small, family-style homes with consistent caregivers who become like family. They attend local schools, receive medical and emotional care, learn responsibility, and grow up in an environment focused on faith, stability, and preparing for independent adulthood.

Our goal is not only to care for children while they are with us, but to help them grow into healthy, independent adults who know they are loved by God and created with purpose.

What began as a small step of faith in Guatemala in 1992 has grown into a ministry serving children in both Guatemala and Costa Rica. While the locations and programs have grown and changed over the years, the heart of Hogar de Vida has remained the same: following Christ by loving children, creating homes where they are safe and cared for, and helping them grow into the people God created them to be.

a man in a yellow shirt cooking in a kitchen

What Makes Homes of Life Different

Homes of Life was never meant to be an institution. From the start, the vision was to create a true home—a place where children can heal within the stability of family, routine, and unconditional care.

Today, Homes of Life:

Cares for about 35 children at a time
Partners with Costa Rica’s child welfare agency (PANI)
Provides both short- and long-term placements
Maintains small, family-style homes
Supports children’s physical, emotional, educational, and spiritual needs

Children attend local schools, receive medical and psychological care, and grow with the support of consistent caregivers.

Above all, Homes of Life offers something many have never known: safety grounded in love.