Give Trauma-Informed Care to Orphans in Macedonia

As we reflect on 2025, our hearts are full of gratitude for you!

Because of your generosity, Lighthouse of Hope MK has been able to continue providing vital therapy services to orphans with special needs in Bitola, Macedonia. Your support has helped the JOY Home children receive consistent, compassionate care that nurtures healing, builds skills, and restores hope where it is deeply needed.

Every therapy session, every reached milestone, and every precious smile is possible because you chose to give. Many of the children we serve face significant physical, emotional, and developmental challenges. Through your partnership, they are not facing those challenges alone. You are helping them experience dignity, encouragement, and the knowledge that their lives matter.

We wish you could see firsthand the progress your generosity facilitates. Please know that your gift is making a lasting impact, not only in the lives of these children, but also on the JOY Home team and the nurse-caregivers who walk alongside them.

2025: A Year of Consistency and Collaboration
Thanks to you, we’ve seen tremendous progress in our work with children and families in Bitola and beyond. Here are just a few highlights from the year:

• High Medical School Partnership: Through our partnership with the High Medical School in Bitola, we welcomed nine physical therapy student interns who both volunteered their time and learned alongside our team, gaining hands-on experience while making a meaningful difference in the lives of our children.
• In-Person Training and Seminars: Traci, a physical therapist with more than 25 years of experience, and Kelli, a professor of occupational therapy, traveled from the U.S. to spend an inspiring week providing hands-on training and seminars for our therapy team, strengthening skills that directly benefit our children.
• Life-Changing Milestones: We saw so many first steps, goals reached (and surpassed), and mountains moved. One unforgettable moment this year was watching a three-year-old (pictured with the teddy bear), who has many health struggles and surgeries, learn to sit up independently for the very first time.
• New Afternoon Shift Added: To better serve our school-aged children, we added a new Monday afternoon shift focused on academic support and cognitive therapies, meeting a growing and important need.
• New Families: This year, five children from The JOY Home were placed with adoptive and foster families, an incredible gift that represents love, belonging, and new beginnings - and is why we do what we do!
• Therapy Sessions Held: In 2025 alone, our team provided 2,425 physical therapy, play therapy, and life skills sessions - each one a step toward greater independence and joy.

Thank you for standing with us in 2025 and for being a light of hope to the most vulnerable. We are deeply grateful for your trust, your compassion, and your continued partnership.

We are so happy to be back at The JOY Home again, after a great summer vacation!  We got off to a rocky start when an unexpected storm knocked down four electric poles on the Via Egnatia (the road The JOY Home is on), so we were without power for several days this week. Thankfully, the electric company worked continuously and we were able to have kids three and a half of the five weekdays!

During the month of September, we will concentrate on: helping the kids (and the therapists) get back into the swing of things; doing FloorTime, physical therapy, and Portage assessments; and creating goal sheets for each of the children who will be coming for therapy.

We are excited about all of our plans for the 2025/2026 school year, and are looking forward to huge successes for all of the kids!

We also want to welcome one of our new part-time interns, Marija, who will be joining the team on a more consistent basis, as her college schedule allows. She is studying Occupational Therapy at the High Medical School in Bitola. She's great with the kids and will definitely be a huge asset to The JOY Home team! (A picture of Marija working with one of our little ones is located below).

We can't wait to share more about The JOY Home, the therapy we do, and the children we love! Thanks for being part of our work in beautiful Bitola, Macedonia!