Motivated by love for Christ and the desire to follow God's will, Vincent and Zulena Pescatore founded the first Farm of the Child in the remote rainforests of El Petén, Guatemala in 1987. After establishing an orphanage, clinic, and school in El Petén, Vincent and Zulena felt they were being called to begin an orphanage in Honduras. In 1993, they began construction outside of the town of Trujillo on the northern coast of Honduras.
By the fall of 1995, with the essential buildings nearly completed, the project was nearing its opening. That fall, three volunteers from the University of Notre Dame arrived to help Zulena and Vincent launch the project.
In January of 1996, Vincent planned to finish construction on the chapel roof with the help of his brother-in-law, Wayne Schultheis, and friend, Scott Camp. On January 3, he flew to San Pedro Sula to pick them up at the airport. That afternoon on their way back to Trujillo, due to terrible thunderstorms and low visibility, Vincent's plane crashed and all three men were killed.
Zulena, a widow and mother of five young children, strengthened by the Holy Spirit was determined to overcome the challenges and follow through with the vision that she and Vince had held for the Farm. With the help of US volunteers and local Hondurans, the primary school, St. Peter's, opened in February of 1996. In May of that same year, the orphanage officially opened with the acceptance of five brothers and sisters whose mother had recently died of cancer.
Over the past five years, the project has blossomed and grown under Zulena's directorship. She gave much of her time, love, and energy. Amidst the constant demands of running the growing project while single-handedly caring for her five children, Zulena decided she needed to turn the project over to someone else. In 1998, she petitioned the congregation of the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, based in Central America, to take over the leadership of the Farm of the Child. The Franciscan sisters have been strong supporters of the project since the beginning and share in the vision. They graciously accepted this petition and in March of 2000 sent a sister to make the transition. In the remaining months of 2000, Zulena prepared to depart with her family while training Sr. Doris to take over as the director. Now these Franciscan sisters, with the assistance of the volunteers and staff, are managing the day-to-day needs of the Farm of the Child. Zulena continues to be involved with this project from her new home in Guatemala, where she is a full time mother of five.
Pescatore Children
Clockwise from top left: Pamela, Montsy, Vinchenzo, David and Johnny