It was the baby’s body hitting the boards that did it for her. Caroline Boudreaux didn’t like the corporate scene. When her friend Chris suggested that the two of them quit their jobs and take a trip around the world, they spread out a map and began plotting their journey. Chris wanted to go to India to meet an Indian boy she’d been supporting through The Christian Children’s Fund. Although she thought Chris might have been scammed, she agreed to go.

When they arrived in India the temperature was 119 degrees. When they got to the boy’s remote village, the villagers were very welcoming, but Caroline thought, “This is the bottom of the pyramid.” A social worker invited the two women to his home for dinner. It was Mother’s Day.

One-hundred-ten underfed, bald, filthy children stared at them with empty eyes. The children began clinging to the women. One baby girl held onto Caroline. When she picked her up, the child pushed her body into hers and clung to her.

Caroline rocked the little girl to sleep. When she went to take her to bed, she found the room filled with hard wooden beds with slats like picnic tables. She laid the baby down and heard her bones hit the boards. The fact that it was Mother’s Day wasn’t lost on her. She thought, “somebody’s got to help these kids.”

The Miracle Foundation

That somebody was going to be her. She started the process right away to open a nonprofit called Miracle Foundation. Through Miracle Foundation, she raises funding to partner “with existing orphanages to slow intake of orphans, deinstitutionalize children and raise the standard of care” for the orphans.

Miracle Foundation’s goal is to have “a loving family for every child by 2050.” In many cases, that means children will return to their families of origin or relatives, if possible. Caroline adheres to the Rights of Every Child based on the UN’s 1989 convention. In 1989, the UN established the Rights of Every Child, which the United States signed but has not yet ratified. These rights include providing a stable, loving, nurturing environment, healthcare and nutrition, clean water among others.

Miracle Foundation also implemented a “benchmark thrive scale,” to see how the orphanages were doing in these areas. After one month, the average orphanage had only reached 30 percent of the goal. But after the Foundation worked with the orphanages for 15 months, the children were thriving and the orphanages had reached 98 percent of their goal.

Caroline’s organization had helped reduce the number of children living in institutions by 25 percent while providing the care the children who are left in the orphanages need. The Miracle Foundation also assisted in achieving a 100 percent school attendance rate for the orphans as compared to 55 percent of all Indian children.

The Miracle Foundation has transformed 24 orphanages in India. The organization also partners with organizations in Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya.

Partnering with the Vatican

Most recently, the Miracle Foundation has partnered with the Vatican. Through a relationship with the Prince of the Netherlands, Ambassador to the Holy See Jamie de Bourbon de Parme, Caroline was able to present her organizational model in Rome.

The orders were very interested in her model and eager to implement it in their orphanages. Caroline expects to partner with 10-20 Catholic orphanages by the end of 2017, bringing her total partnerships to 75.

Making a Difference

Caroline has seen tremendous change with the children, usually in just months. A two-year-old came into one of the orphanages after his mother died. He was bone thin and bald from a lack of protein in his diet. He was very sick and couldn’t keep food down.

But when Caroline returned after only four months, she hardly recognized him. “He looked so good, so healthy,” she said. The boy “actually threw a fit because he wanted to wear a yellow shirt to have his picture taken. He was doing something normal for a two-year-old!”

She wants people to know they can make a difference. “It’s so easy to get caught up in life and live in a bubble in America. … Someday our kids will look at us and say, ‘Are you crazy? You went on with your happy little lives and let kids suffer?’ Give to the least of these.”

For more information please visit The Miracle Foundation.