The Story of Divine Child
-Kelvin Pierce, Founder

My wife, Susan, and I decided in 1995 that maybe it was time to expand our family. From the time we got married in 1986 to 1995, it had just been the two of us and our beloved friend Captain, a calico cat with the personality of a human. When Captain died in Feb. of 1995, we began wondering about what was next for us. Soon we had both come to the realization that there was probably more to life than spending all of our time working and hang gliding.

On Mothers Day in 1995, I was watching the evening news and saw a piece about an American couple who had just returned from Russia with two babies they had adopted. I turned to Susan and, half joking, said, “we should do that.” To my surprise, Susan responded enthusiastically, and within a few weeks we were well on our way with the adoption process. Our two girls were born in Tbilisi, Georgia on December 9 and December 12 of 1995. In March of 1996, we traveled to Georgia to pick up our children and to complete the official adoption process. We were in Tbilisi for almost three weeks and experienced first-hand the plight of the Georgian people. We lived with a Georgian family for almost two weeks during that stay and experienced frequent power outages, no heat, a devastated economy with massive unemployment, and a bleak outlook for the future. Many young couples were faced with the choice of abandoning their children or starving. The orphanages at that time were in terrible condition and had little to no help from the government. Unfortunately, the situation has not changed much as we found out on our recent trip in Feb. 2007.

After we returned home with our two girls, we heard that there was a flu epidemic at the very same place where our girls were before we adopted them. Several of the babies there died from the flu in the next few weeks. It could have easily been our girls who perished. The line between the lucky ones and the not so lucky ones, we learned, is a very fine one. We knew, right then and there, that we wanted to do something for the unlucky children of Georgia. But what to do? How could we possibly help with what seemed to be an impossible situation? It seemed to be an overwhelming task and we had no idea where to start. We wrestled with this for quite a while and allowed doubt and uncertainty to get the better of us.

Then one day a friend of mine gave me a copy of an article from the New York Times about an orphanage in Georgia and their bleak situation. I read the article that evening at the dinner table to my wife and girls. We then decided, OK, enough of this doubt and uncertainty. We will just take it one step at a time and allow whatever is meant to be.

Over the next year, we developed the Divine Child Foundation and applied for tax-deductible charitable status from the IRS. The IRS granted us 501 (c)3 status and we began putting a Board of Directors together, so that together we could start developing major goals for the Foundation. During our first few meetings, it became clear that everyone involved at this stage of the Divine Child Foundation was interested in making a difference and we jointly decided that it was important to do our work hands on.

Instead of just collecting money and sending it to Georgia, we decided that we would take the funds to Georgia ourselves and be actively involved in putting the funds to the best use possible, addressing not only the short-term needs but also the long-term needs of the orphanage. We are committed to making sure that every penny that is given to the children is spent in a way that makes the largest impact to their lives in a holistic way.

Instead of just concentrating on their immediate needs why not also put into place a model of programs that give these children hope for their future? That hope includes a future of becoming a productive, happy, and healthy part of the Georgian society. Why not develop ways to teach the children how to take care of themselves and have a livelihood when they reach adulthood? Why not look at ways of returning some of the children to their biological families, where possible, and help those families to thrive? Why not teach some of the children Georgian arts and crafts so that the artistic culture of Georgia can live on? With that goal, both the teacher and student benefit and so does society as a whole. Why not help these children with their psychological needs so that they have a better chance of developing into healthy functioning adults?

The need is great but let that not deter us. There are so many resources available and so many people who want to help. We are committed to putting those resources and the people who want to help together with the forgotten children of Georgia to paint a new future for these children. Would you be interested in helping? You can send a donation or get actively involved, the choice is yours, and the opportunity is there!