Gardner-Webb Alumna Caroline Leitten, ’17, Cares for Orphans in Peru

Go Love Peru Provides Homes for 24 Children Abandoned on the Streets or Placed in Foster Care

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C.—In Iquitos, Peru, one in 12 children under the age of 15 is abandoned to live on the streets or placed in foster care. The main reason is poverty: Parents simply don’t have money to care for their children. At times, the situation becomes overwhelming to Gardner-Webb University 2017 alumna Caroline Ashley Marvin Leitten. The needs are great, and her ministry, Go Love Peru, is only equipped for 24 orphans.

Because of the immense challenges, Go Love is unable to help everyone in need. They have to turn away up to three orphans weekly. Caroline said it’s difficult to say no, but she focuses on improving the young lives the ministry has rescued. She and her husband, Nick, started the mission in 2021 and have accomplished much with the support of family and friends. Everyone on Go Love’s team shares a passion for sponsoring and supporting the children.

When Caroline came to Gardner-Webb in 2013, she had not been to Peru and her goal was to become a nurse, but that was her second choice. “I really always wanted to be a teacher,” she stated. “I just chose nursing because it was still helping people and caring for people, but it was more money.”

She decided to come to GWU, because it was one of the few schools that accepted freshmen into the nursing program. Additionally, she received scholarships and was attracted to the University’s close-knit community. At the end of her first year, she was struggling in her nursing courses and anatomy. She switched into the elementary education program and began to thrive. She also took a work study job as manager of the softball team.

“The atmosphere and community at Gardner-Webb was rare and such a gift to find,” Caroline shared. “I heavily value the opportunity that I had to be softball manager and be involved in the athletic department. Not only did it teach me so much, develop me, and give me an incredible community, but it also connected me to the staff and University in a powerful way. I had such great relationships with my professors and the staff in the Department of Education, to the point where I am still in contact with many of them today.”

In 2014, she took her first short-term mission trip to serve at a boys’ orphanage in Peru. She cried when it was time to come back to the U.S. “That first trip changed the trajectory of my life,” Caroline reflected. “Most importantly, my eyes were opened in a way that I could have never prepared for, and my heart was heavily burdened by the orphan crisis. I witnessed firsthand the desperate need for the Gospel, a hope that can only be found in Jesus and the love that these children were so eagerly pursuing. Ultimately, that is the reason that I decided to become more involved, and continued visiting and serving every summer throughout my college years.”

When she graduated from Gardner-Webb in December 2017, she was offered a position at the elementary school where she completed her student teaching. She decided to go to Peru until her job started in January. During that trip, she distinctly felt God calling her to pursue ministry full time.

Caroline came back home and fulfilled her time at the school. In June, she told them she was moving to Peru. “I had all of the hard conversations with family and friends and began fundraising and planning for my move to Peru in December of 2018,” she related.

At first, she worked for the organization that coordinated the short-term mission trips she had taken. They hired her to develop outreach programs, lead mission teams, and plan events and fundraisers.

Caroline met Nick when he came for a short-term mission trip. He returned the next summer. They started dating and were married in September 2020. “It was through that godly partnership that God revealed to me that it was time to start Go Love,” Caroline reflected. “He gave me a very specific vision for non-industrialized, family-styled homes for orphaned and abandoned children here. This idea and concept are foreign here, and there is such a need.”

Once they had the funding and documentation needed to open a children’s home, they started two homes in a year. The Leittens serve as foster parents, and they employ several women from their church, who are called aunts, to help care for the children. “Due to the demand and need in the city, we are striving to grow exponentially over the next several years,” Caroline acknowledged. “Last year, at the close of 2023, Go Love was able to secure permanent property, and we are currently fundraising to build permanent homes on the property, as the homes that we currently operate are rental spaces.”

The couple also has a vision to build apartment housing for the children who age out of care at 18. A school and karate facility are also planned for the complex.

Sharing her story with Gardner-Webb friends and alumni reminds Caroline of the many ways that Gardner-Webb developed and prepared her to lead Go Love. “First and foremost, my degree and background in elementary education equipped me with the knowledge and resources needed to best advocate for, teach, and lead the children in our homes,” Caroline described. “I am so thankful for my expertise in this department due to the lack of resources and training in the education system here in Peru. I find myself referring to techniques, trainings, and skills learned through this degree on a daily basis when equipping our local team of teachers, caregivers and support staff in Peru.”

She continued, “Additionally, even the extra-curricular activities that I was involved in through Young Life and the Athletic Department ultimately developed skills that helped prepare me for event planning, leadership, logistics and fundraising that comes with operating these children’s homes and a ministry. Not to mention the relationships built and friendships made during my time there and the community at Gardner-Webb that are still a huge part of my life to this day, and dedicated supporters of the mission. It is so neat to see how God placed so many people around me at Gardner Webb 10+ years ago that I could have never imagined would play such an important role in Go Love and my life, even here in Peru!”

Gardner-Webb University is North Carolina’s recognized leader in private, Christian higher education. A Carnegie-Classified Doctoral/Professional University, GWU is home to nine colleges and schools, more than 80 undergraduate and graduate majors, and a world-class faculty. Located on a beautiful 225-acre campus in Boiling Springs, N.C., Gardner-Webb prepares graduates to impact their chosen professions, equips them with the skills to advance the frontiers of knowledge, and inspires them to make a positive and lasting difference in the lives of others. Ignite your future at Gardner-Webb.edu.