WADO - Rosenvaldo Gonçalves Santos
Supervisor das Casas Lares do MPCF
My name is Rosenvaldo Gonçalves Santos but my nick name is Wado.
I am married and have a son called Miquéias.
I have a degree in Theology, Arts and Sciences. Presently I am graduating at the UFMG.in Social Sciences.
I got baptised in 1982. but after a few ups and downs I really decided to become a disciple of Christ in 1995 .
During my working life I have served in the Armed Forces and for a while I worked in a bank. For the last sixteen years I have been involved with some form of social work whether this was working with children and young people or orphans and drug users.
I came into contact with Happy Child through a friend whose sister worked for Happy Child. She had asked her brother if he would like to work with the mission but he didn’t have experience with children. He suggested I applied for the vacancy instead.
The moment he mentioned this opportunity my heart leapt and I felt a door was opening for me. I started part time in the 24 hour emergency centre Emaus. Then I was still working in the bank so the days were long. As a I served in Happy Child I felt such a joy in my heart and that I was in the place God wanted me to be.
I served for three years in Casa Emaus working every day with the children who came into the refuge. They often arrived high on drugs and quite out of control. In this house the children are very difficult and have suffered from many traumas and bad experiences.
Today I live at the Happy Child Farm and am fully resposbible for the supervision of all seven houses in Happy Child. This is an enormous responsibility but I love it. My greatest joy now is that all my family are with me living in the Happy Child community. My wife is a volunteer with Happy Child. This is the time that God has appointed for our family. Since we have been here our family life and relationships have really improved. We as a family are so thrilled to be here serving God in this way.