How years of careful planning helped Forever Changed respond when our children needed it most

In 2007, only six months after Dr. Castro began working with Forever Changed, an adenovirus outbreak left 48 children with pneumonia. Three children needed to be hospitalized, and for 17 days and nights, Dr. Castro worked alongside three nurses to care for the children. The children recovered, but the experience changed the way Forever Changed approached infection prevention.

When many children and adults live and work together, illness can spread quickly. Protecting the community means having clear procedures in place before there’s a crisis. Dr. Castro helped strengthen protocols for prevention, isolation, and response, systems that would become even more important years later when COVID-19 arrived.

Forever Changed went seven months without a COVID-19 case. By then, the organization already had procedures for screening new arrivals, isolating those who were sick, and responding quickly when someone showed symptoms. Eventually, 14 girls became infected, but they experienced only mild symptoms.

It was a difficult season, but the preparation and systems already in place helped the team care for the girls and protect the rest of the community. Still, when Dr. Castro talks about his years at Forever Changed, it’s clear that the medical challenges aren’t what have kept him here. “The children are the most important thing,” he said. “They’re so energetic and positive. They give you energy, and because they’re so vulnerable, they call you to care for them and protect them.” For him, that responsibility belongs to everyone. “All our efforts should be directed toward them. First come the children, and we’re all here for the children.”

That simple conviction captures something at the heart of Forever Changed. Caring for a child means more than meeting a need when it appears. It means paying attention. It means preparing before there’s a crisis. It means bringing together the right people when a child needs help. And it means creating an environment where children have the care and support they need not only to be healthy today, but to grow into the future God has for them.

For more than 20 years, Dr. Castro has been one of those people. Through his knowledge, experience, and commitment, he has helped strengthen the systems that protect our children and give our team a clearer understanding of how to care for each child who comes through our doors. But his story also reminds us that changing a child’s life rarely happens through one person alone.

It happens through caregivers who show up every day, teachers who help a child discover what they’re capable of, sponsors who choose to invest in their future, staff members who make sure the details are cared for, and doctors like Dr. Castro who use their experience to protect a child’s health and give them a stronger start.

Every one of those roles matters. And every child deserves to have people willing to step into those roles for them. We’re deeply grateful for Dr. Castro and for the many years he has chosen to serve our children. His work has helped make Forever Changed a place where children aren’t simply cared for when something goes wrong. They’re surrounded by people who are committed to helping them grow, heal, and move forward.

You can be part of that care, too. Whether you give, pray, volunteer, or simply share the story of what’s happening here, your involvement can help make sure a child has what they need when they need it. Because changing a child’s future takes all of us, and there’s a place for you in that story.