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Rancho Santa Fe, Honduras, January 2005
Dear Friends,
Many tragedies have brought suffering to the world this past year. The numbers of
dead and victims from man made violence and natural disasters seem to have
reached proportions that we haven’t seen for years.
Looking at what we do day in day out seems like the proverbial drop in the ocean
compared to the staggering need for help and assistance world wide. Therefore, we
have to keep our focus on where we do make a difference. And for us at NPH, we
sure do make a difference in many children’s lives.
I recall a family of four that joined our NPH family recently - one older boy and three
little girls. They had just arrived at the Ranch and right away we offered them food.
It was quite a sight to see a delicious meal in front of four malnourished and hungry
children. Yet they were too scared to eat. Fortunately their anxiety quickly gave way
to their natural impulses. Now, about two months later, they are well integrated into
our NPH family, smiling and giving hugs to everyone who crosses their way.
Jose* and Sofia* came to NPH from a government institution. After the children’s
mother passed away, the children initially lived with an alcoholic and violent uncle.
The uncle had become so abusive that the government intervened and sent the
children to live with an aunt. Unfortunately, the aunt was even more violent than the
uncle. She used to punish Jose by hitting him with a hammer on the head. She broke
Sofia’s hip by tying her to a chair, placing a full case of soda bottles on top of Sofia’s
lap, and then sitting herself on top of that soda case.
After a year with our NPH family, both children are now quite well adjusted. The
physical damage they suffered has become invisible, but it will take a long time for
the emotional wounds to heal.
We deeply care about each individual child God sends our way. We know that you
do, too. Be it your generous financial support, your prayers, your work as staff or
volunteer; these allow us to continue our mission to bring love, peace and hope into
a world where it is much needed.
Thank you. Many hugs and smiles from your NPH Honduras family.
Sincerely,
Reinhart Koehler
National Director
2
The year 2004 was mixed year for
Honduras. The year usually begins with
the dry season and tremendous forest
fires all over the country. This year it
just rained enough to keep the
grounds sufficiently moist so that
very few forest fires started and
could be extinguished fast. This is
the first time in our almost twenty
years in Honduras that we did not have a
fire at Rancho Santa Fe.
In spite of economic woes and high fuel prices which seem
to especially hurt poor countries like Honduras, the economic
development in Honduras took a turn for the better this year. The
government kept inflation at bay at about 9% while economic growth is
estimated at 4.5%.
Teacher strikes that turned at times violent created chaos in the middle of the year.
The public school students lost six weeks of schooling - two of which were made up
by offering classes on Saturdays and by prolonging the year - cutting the vacation
time short. From February through August, it seemed that between bus and taxi
drivers, medical personnel, teachers and university professors, or students, at least
one major group had been on strike.
No major natural disasters such as floods, hurricanes, or landslides hit our small
country this year. However, crime and violence seem to be on the rise. Although the
government has been able to control kidnappings and car robberies, the situation
with the youth gangs, narco-criminals and organized crime seems to be getting out
of hand. In response to tough crime and anti-gang laws, gang members, apparently
sponsored by organized crime, attacked at random a city bus, firing AK47s at the
passengers from outside and inside the bus, one day before Christmas Eve. The
death toll rose to 28 and left many more seriously wounded. The interpretation of
this senseless act is that the organized crime together with gang members are trying
to intimidate the government and the population in order to be able to continue,
more freely, their evil doings.
During this past year, NPH has enjoyed a cordial relationship with the presidential
couple, Ricardo Maduro and his wife, Aguas Ocana de Maduro and received support
directly from them. The year 2005 will be their last year of a four year term, as
Honduran presidents cannot be reelected.
The outlook for this coming year is that we are to expect a drought. The economy is
supposed to do well. On the political level, presidential elections will dominate with
the interest groups pressuring candidates for favors in exchange for votes. Crime
and violence will continue to persist. Our main wish is for peace in Honduras and in
the world. We hope for a calm and prosperous year as there is already enough to do
as it is. We at Rancho Santa Fe will continue to be of service to the Honduran
orphans and the poor in general as best as we can.
Reinhart Koehler
National Director
3
The educational programs at Rancho
Santa Fe includes pre-kinder through 9th
grade. We had another year of major
improvements in our education
department.
We have recently revamped our reading
assessment
program.
It
is
now
organized to more easily track and
improve the reading skills of our
students. We also hired a bilingual
Honduran to coordinate the ESL
program and teach English.
We are continuing to outfit our new
science laboratory. Hopefully it will be ready for the
beginning of the school year in February.
We expanded our library and cataloged many new books, displays, and reading
areas. We congratulate Oscar Paz, who served in his Year-of-Service in the library,
for all of his hard work.
In previous school years, Kelin didn’t participate in class, rarely read, and didn’t
seem to have any interest in school. After we introduced Kelin to our resource room
program, where she received individualized attention, Kelin started showing drastic
changes. She now mixes more with her classmates and seems to really enjoy school.
It seems that she needed only a little bit of personal attention to interest her in
school.
Goals:
x Support the academic progress of the children in every way possible.
x Amplify the individual attention given to the children.
Statistics:
x 20 teachers
x 159 primary students
x 55 secondary students
x 18 primary graduates
x 15 secondary graduates
Lourdes Salgado
School Principal
4
The Rancho Santa Fe School Special Education
Department offers an array of programs for
children that need one-on-one tutoring and
therapies. Our programs include resource rooms
which serve for tutoring classes. The volunteers
that work in this department have 10-13 children
that they tutor throughout the school day. The
volunteer removes the child from their regular
grade classroom and works with them individually
on a subject in which the child experiences
difficulties. Each year these volunteers help our
students tremendously with their most difficult
subjects.
This year we added tutoring for the children in the
Vocational Workshops area. Previously the children
in need of tutoring who studied in the Vocational
Workshops had to come all the way down to the
school to get tutoring. Now we have a volunteer and
an employee who provide tutoring in a new
classroom built in the workshops.
It is clear that the tutoring has helped. Wilmer was in 3rd grade last year. When he
came to us needing tutoring in Spanish, he had a 63%. After tutoring with Elsy, an
employee, he raised his grade to an 82%. He was very proud of himself.
We were also very lucky to receive new volunteer therapists. Over the year we
acquired one new art therapist, two physical therapists, and a speech therapist. They
continue to provide the children with essential therapies. The therapists also continue
to step beyond the bounds of their specific job. Carrie made posters describing the
sign language for Joel, one of our mute Pequeños, so that people are aware of what
he is trying to communicate.
Goals:
x Continue to improve our records system, noting the services received by each
and every Pequeño from our department.
Statistics:
x 7 employees
x 7 volunteers
x 1 2nd Year-of-Service youth
x 53 tutoring students
x 63 in therapy
x 29 in the special needs classrooms
Saily Sanchez
Special Education and Therapy Coordinator
5
The boys’ home or “El Marañon” is home to 248
boys and adolescents of ages 7 to 26. There
are eleven individual homes where they sleep,
eat, study, and play. Each of the homes has
four house parents working with the boys plus
an international volunteer that helps out 2
hours each weeknight and on the weekends.
Another year has passed in our boy’s home.
We’ve
had
many
accomplishments,
achievements, and over all a great year. The
best part is that we have been able to see
all of our young men grow up one more year
towards adulthood.
We have had lots of changes to the physical face of the Marañon this year. We
opened an office for the new psychologist. She works daily giving attention to those
in need in the boys’ home. We were donated a new computer that is used for
homework. We also built new medicine cabinets and finished an ambitious project
from our metal shop to furbish all homes with new lockers.
We are very excited to start a new pilot project this year. We have a group of
younger boys – from 7 to 12 years old - who seem to be constantly getting in
trouble. We will gather these boys in a small group with a maximum of twelve
individuals, and give them special attention in our new home, Casa San Andres. We
completely remodeled this house for this project. We expect the home to open in
January or February of 2005.
At the beginning of the year, Isaac Gomez was having a lot of difficulties. He was
often misbehaving and regularly sent to the gardens to work. However starting at
the beginning of this year, with the help of his teachers, caretakers, and a
psychologist, he began to make huge improvements. He now spends much more
time in the classroom learning instead of in the fields working. In fact he was one of
the best in his class for the year. Whenever he has an opportunity to speak in public,
he always thanks and blesses everyonever gonn in the audience. He seems truly
grateful for everything that NPH has given him.
Goals:
x Attend to all of the needs of the youth in El Marañon.
x Improve the academic performance of the youth.
x Motivate the caretakers so that they give more to the boys.
Statistics:
x 28 employees
x 4 Year-of-Service youth
x 9 volunteers
Roger Funez C.
Coordinator
6
The girls’ home or “El Rancho” is home to 228
girls between the ages of 7 and 29. There are
eight individual homes where they sleep, eat,
study, and play. Each of the homes has four
house parents working with the girls plus the
international volunteers that help out 2 hours
each weeknight and on the weekends.
We had another successful year in the girls’
homes. In scholastic affairs we tried to
emphasize the importance of reading and studying
at night in the homes by expecting two to three hours of
studying daily. We saw a drastic increase in scholastic success
rates from last year. We congratulate everyone involved, especially the
students, for such an impressive accomplishment.
There have been some new additions to the girls’ home. We built a mini-library and a
study room. We are grateful for the support that we received from the house director
to realize these projects.
A success story from this year involves one of our girls named Kendra. Last year, she
was having behavioral problems at school and at home. She was even expelled from
school for a month and asked to work in the gardens. At that time, we didn’t know
where this wayward behavior came from. All of the traditional methods for improving
her behavior were not working.
The change came this year with the discovery of her birth certificate. The NPH Social
Work office had been looking for her birth certificate and had finally found it. At that
point we were calling her Kenia. In the certificate, they discovered that her name is
really Kendra. This is when it all came together. We were always a little suspicious of
her old name because she loved to ask us what her name was; she must have
known that Kenia was not her real name.
When Kendra “changed” her name, she also transformed her life. Since then, her
school performance and overall behavior have improved immensely. It is amazing
how something like a name can mean so much to a person. A name is an identity.
When Kendra was called Kenia, a part of her individuality was missing.
Goals:
x Continue to foment the values of NPH to the caretakers so that they are able
to transmit those same values onto the children.
x Start a sexual education program that conforms to the values of NPH.
x Instill respect and love for God in each and every one of the girls.
Statistics:
x 17 employees
x 8 volunteers
x 4 Year-of-Service youth
Belinda Bonilla
Coordinator
7
The Babies’ house, Casa Suyapa, is home to 61
girls and boys aged a few months old to seven
years. The house is split by gender into two
dorms: one for the girls and babies and another
for the older boys. Each of the homes has seven
house parents working with the babies plus an
international volunteer that helps out two hours
each weeknight and on the weekends.
We have had another great year in Casa
Suyapa. Our year has been filled with watching
many of our babies grow up while getting to meet some
new ones. As always, the children make all of our hard work very
much worth it.
We implemented some new programs this year. They turned out to be very
successful. First, we kept 11 of our Pequeños who went into first grade in Casa
Suyapa. Normally we would have sent them to the older boys’ and girls’ homes. We
decided not to do this because we did not want them to lose their sense of
belonging, nor the stability that they were receiving in Casa Suyapa. By having them
stay, we have seen them attain more autonomy, independence, and better academic
performance.
We had some needed renovations done on Casa Suyapa this year. The psychologist
received a special area for her sessions with the children, and we built a new office
for the director of Casa Suyapa. We also created some vegetable gardens for the
children to work in. We refurbished half of the dining hall with new tables and chairs.
We received many new children in Casa Suyapa over the year. One of them is Maria
(name changed), who came in March of 2004. At the time she had some major
physical problems. Because of abuse, her leg was so weak that she had difficulties
walking. Thanks to physical therapy and a stable environment, she is now walking
with a healthy stride. She is a happy little girl who constantly with a smile on her
face.
Another Pequeño who has made incredible strides is Angel, who came in September
of last year. When he came he displayed very few positive habits or manners. Most
things he got his hands on ended up destroyed. He didn’t know how to use a toilet
nor silverware. He didn’t say please or thank you. Over a mere 4 months he has
improved astoundingly. He is turning into a polite, well-behaved young boy.
Goals:
x Remodel the dormitory.
x Paint the dormitories and dining room with more children’s images.
Statistics:
x 13 employees ,1 volunteer, 4 Year-of-Service youth (2 part time)
x 3 Helpers (who clean and wash clothes)
Victoria Madrid Anariva
Coordinator
8
Casa de Los Ángeles is our home in Tegucigalpa for
severely disabled children. The sixteen child
residents live here and receive 24-hour care by the
house parents, Pequeños attending high school,
and a nightly nurse. Only one child in the home is
completely mobile, another three can slowly
crawl, and the rest are completely immobile.
The majority of disabilities affecting the
children are forms of Down Syndrome,
Hydrocephalus or Cerebral Palsy.
We have progressed a lot since last year. We are
participating in a program that utilizes the Doman-Delacato
method for five of our Pequeños. (This is a method of therapy for
neurologically disabled children.) Also, we have started a program of hippotherapy (therapy on horses).
We have given informational workshops to the student workers about such themes
as the medicines our children use, the common disabilities that affect our children,
and lessons to read basic tests of blood and urine. We have also solidified our
relationships with the hospitals where we take our children. And lastly, we are very
lucky to continue to count on the help of the therapist volunteers that come three
times a week to give therapy to our children.
This year we were given many material items like new furniture, a new roof, fans, an
industrial blender, new pots and pans, and a microwave. We also built a new room
for cranial-sacral therapy.
Many of our Pequeños at Casa de Los Angeles make little progress each year
because of their severe disabilities. Even so, we continue to be hopeful of progress in
part because of the positive changes that we saw in some of our children this year.
Reniery (hydrocephalic) has begun to show his displeasure of going to school or
taking a bath by closing his eyes. Raquel (Down Syndrome) has begun to show that
she has needs; she now will go to the freezer to look for a soft drink by herself.
Goals:
x Expand the Doman-Delacato Method and Cranial–Sacral Method.
Statistics:
x 10 employees
x 12 youth (6 Year-of-Service youth, 6 high school students)
x 3 part time volunteers
Carmen Yadira Rivera
Casa de los Ángeles Coordinator
9
Casa Eva is our elderly home here at Rancho
Santa Fe. At Casa Eva we try to offer our
Abuelos (translated as Grandparents) sources
of entertainment, a safe environment, medical
care, and as much love as possible. We
currently have three men and four women.
The health of the elders has never been
better. Much of this is attributed to their
younger than normal age and the care
given to them. One of our oldest, Camillo,
at 82, seems to be staying very healthy.
There have also been many improvements in relationships
between the Abuelos and the Pequeños, the employees, and
between the Abuelos themselves.
We continue to promote that our Abuelos integrate themselves as much as possible
into the life on the Ranch. Two of the elders, Corina and Dortea, are taking classes in
ceramics. Also, this year two of our therapists took all of the Abuelos to a park in
Tegucigalpa to spend the afternoon. Whenever there are Ranch functions, we try to
always bring the Abuelos.
One of our newest Abuelos is Pascual – who came in May of 2004. In spite of his
advanced age, he continues to be energetic and fun. He constantly manages to make
everyone laugh as he is always cracking jokes.
Our oldest Abuela, Engracia Sevilla at 84, is paradoxically also the most active and
energetic. She always helps in the kitchen and with the sewing necessities. The most
impressive part is that everything that she does for us is done voluntarily; she does
this because she wants to help and give back to NPH.
Goals:
x Bring in another 2 Abuelos.
x Continue providing good care to all of our Abuelos.
x Continue the art activities with the Abuelos in the ceramic workshop.
x Maintain promoting reading out loud activities.
Statistics:
x 1 employee
x 1 Year-of-Service youth
x 2 part time volunteer therapists
x 6 total Abuelos (3 men, 3 women)
Lidia Dolores Romero (Lolita)
Coordinator
10
The Youth Leaders program, which coordinates the Year-ofService Youth, is designed to give work experience to the
youth that graduate from ninth grade and then again after
high school. It also provides the opportunity for each
Pequeño/a to give back to NPH. These young adults are
placed in areas, according to personal interest and program
needs, throughout the Ranch. After completion of three
years of high school in the city, students who want to
move ahead to the university then complete another two
years of service. There were 49 youth in the Youth
Leaders program this year.
Our Pequeños had another successful year in their
Year-of-Service. Our greatest achievement was that all
of our “Aspirantes” (those students who are in the
Youth Leaders program and still in school) passed
their academic year, and at the same time, served NPH for a
year.
Goals:
x Ensure that all of our youth are more independent, assertive, and skilled in
decision making. Also guarantee that they serve as role models to the rest of
the youth at the Ranch.
Onilda Witty
Youth Leaders Coordinator
Our NPH higher education programs allow the youth - who have completed ninth
grade and a Year-of-Service at the Ranch - to study in high school or in a specialized
technical training program. The chance to study is offered in Tegucigalpa and other
large cities of Honduras. The students live with their peers in one of five student
homes scattered throughout the capital, or are rented a room with a family. This can
be a challenging, exciting time for these Pequeños/as, living in the city and adjusting
to a new school, home, responsibilities and classmates.
This year we were able to have more high school students on the same budget. We
will have even more high school students in 2005. In order to keep up with the
increasing numbers, we built new rooms in three of our students’ houses.
Currently fifteen of our Pequeños/as are enrolled in various universities studying
various careers. We also were able to provide scholarships for many of the university
students.
Mario Lagos graduated this year from the university. He is the first Pequeño to come
to NPH at an early age (at six years old) to graduate from college. With Mario’s
graduation, we have reached a major stepping stone in the development of NPHHonduras. We hope to continue to see our Pequeños becoming university graduates.
Goals:
x Have another year where 95% or more pass their school year.
Statistics:
x 17 high school graduates
x 72 students in high school and the university
x 95% of the students passed
Lic. Jose Augustine Alvarez
High School and University Students Coordinator
11
In the year 2004 we were able to realize a
number of construction and infrastructure
projects:
The house for the special needs girls at
Rancho Santa Fe finally came to fruition
and is ready for the girls to move in. We
added two rooms for staff housing. We
put in a large storage area to replace the
storage area in the kitchen basement,
which over time proved to be too moist
to store clothing. All storage areas that were
equipped with wooden shelves were refurbished with metal
shelves as termites had pretty much destroyed the wooden ones. In the
kitchen we also replaced the large mosquito screens.
We finished the new science lab building at the school, which is larger and better
equipped for science lessons than our old lab. We are converting the old science lab
into a first grade Montessori class room.
With funds from WereldOuders and the Wilde Ganzen Foundation from Holland, we
added rooms for our high school and university students at three of our student
homes.
As a result of a special donation from Father Frank Colaccico of California, we built an
amphitheater for religious celebrations and other special events such as concerts,
plays, or readings.
The farm staff worked diligently to develop more of our land into pasture land for the
milk cows.
We remodeled our internal clinic to make better use of the space. We also remodeled
Casa San Andres to house a small group of boys with behavioral problems with aims
of giving them more individualized attention.
The expansion of our library has created more space for our children who engage
increasingly in reading. Our wonderful librarian, Yolany Recinos’, enthusiasm
continues to motivate our children to participate in the many events and special
programs she organizes around the library.
We did a lot of maintenance and repair work. As we enter our 20th year in Honduras,
most of our buildings need extensive overhaul. This year, we repaired most roofs and
replaced various wooden structures damaged by termites with metal structures.
A most exciting addition to our Ranch is [email protected]. This is not our
new e-mail address. It is the name of our new Internet Café (with a satellite
connection) that allows staff, volunteers and adult Pequeños/as to communicate with
the world. There are many advantages to having an internet connection in house.
The parents of our volunteers are especially pleased to have more direct contact with
their loved ones. Direct access has been a major improvement for our daily
operations as it allows us to communicate quickly via e-mail, to research items we
need to purchase over the Internet, and do bank transactions; all of these can be
12
done without having to drive 22 miles each way into town - not to mention sitting in
bad traffic and standing in long lines at the bank.
At the school, we refurbished a large classroom into a computer lab and added 25
new computers (for a total of 30 computers). This was made possible through a
generous Christmas gift from the Lawinger family in Minnesota. The lab also includes
a work area for classes in hardware lessons (repair and maintenance).
Finally, we continue to work on our surgical clinic. The building is about 60%
finished. Through the generous contributions of the Daly family, their friends, and
other benefactors, we have also secured 60% of the funding.
Besides finishing the projects that are still under construction, we also anticipate
these following major capital projects for the upcoming year:
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
Classrooms and multipurpose room at the vocational complex.
Paint and drying area at the vocational shops ($9,000).
Additional classroom at the school complex ($7,500).
Greenhouse for growing plants at the school as part of the agricultural
classes.
A place to make cheese from our milk production (we still need more research
and a good feasibility study).
An area for cranial-sacral therapy ($4,000, $1,200 already received).
Purchase of two new mini-vans ($18,000 each).
A writers’ project bringing well-known Honduran writers to our classrooms to
teach our children the art of creative writing. We are working with a former
volunteer to secure funding for this project.
A program for teaching music and art as many of our children are very
talented in both areas (received $5,000).
A guest house for visitors (several rooms of different sizes, small kitchen and
one common area (no plans and cost yet). We continue to receive more and
more visitors - including groups for which we do not have adequate housing.
Once the surgery clinic is finished, we hope to receive entire medical brigades
that can provide specialized surgeries. These teams alone may bring as many
as 15 people at a time.
Thank you for your most generous support.
Reinhart Koehler
National Director
13
NPH Vocational Workshops help each
student learn a trade while they attend
academic classes. Some students are in
the secondary school and take vocational
classes in the afternoons. Others study
in the vocational academic programs
which includes studying a vocational
trade.
The
vocational
academic
programs are for older children and
youth who entered school late. These
final two academic programs provide
a student, who has had little or no
formal education when they arrived
at NPH, with the chance to earn their
primary or secondary school diploma while
concentrating on a learning a trade. The vocational workshop
program is unique in its design and in its challenges because each
vocational student has only two to three hours daily to learn and participate
in the production of goods. This occurs when he/she is expected to be certified in
his/her trade over only three years. This year 90% of the eligible students for
certification passed their certification exam. We congratulate them all for the hard
work done.
We received various donations and bought many new items for our workshops. Two
examples of these items are soldering machines for the metals workshops and
industrial sized irons for the tailors workshop. The electricity workshop received tools
and materials worth almost $10,000.
Goals:
x Achieve a higher level of certification accreditation with the Honduran
Workshop Accreditation Organization CADERH.
x Continue with the Vocational Internship Program.
x Have a 100% retention rate in the Workshops.
x Improve our Adult Education Programs.
Statistics:
x 14 graduates (Elementary School), 32 graduates (Middle School)
x 4 volunteers
x 20 employees
x 17 Year-of-Service youth
x 24 external students from the surrounding communities attended classes at
our school and shops
Jorge Guadron
Vocational Workshop Director
14
Seventy two students participated in six
week vocational internships at businesses,
factories or small shops in Tegucigalpa. This
experience gave many of them an
experience of life outside the Ranch. We
took advantage of this time to place our
youth and young adults with relatives
whenever possible, so that the students
can identify first hand with the
struggles a poor family experiences to
simply put food on the table. After
years of living within the security of
NPH, it’s easy to forget how difficult life
outside our NPH home can be.
The internships also teach our youth about the professional
environment, the demands an employer puts on the employee, and the
speed and quality of work expected. Many return to Rancho Santa Fe realizing that
they need to hone their skills substantially in order to compete successfully in the
Honduran job market.
This year, we worked with 38 companies in Tegucigalpa and in a few in other cities.
Besides giving our youth work training, some of these businesses gave the interns
free informational lectures on safety in the workplace.
After completing the internship, the students seem to have acquired more selfesteem because of what they have learned from the excursions in the city, the
internships, and the personal outings. They feel good about themselves and that is a
motivation for them to improve themselves.
We also started a Youth Council. It is a committee of youth that discuss between
themselves their perceived problems of our home. Next, they bring their results to
those in charge. It is a great way to provide fresh critique of the home within an
organized forum.
Dixi Marbely did her internship at a sewing workshop. Even though she was the
youngest, she did better than everyone in her internship group. She received an
evaluation of 98-100. She was also totally self-sufficient during the internships. She
walked to work and she managed her own money. Her boss offered her a job at the
end of the 6 weeks, but Dixi decided to continue with her studies instead of entering
the work world. We congratulate her for working so hard. We are also very proud
that after being offered a job (a powerful temptation because the monetary benefits)
that she decided instead to continue her studies with us at NPH.
Goals:
x An Internship program that lasts more than 6 months. (Now there are 5
months of preparation and 6 weeks actual internship.)
x Include an orientation class about the NPH Vocational Internship Program in
the study plan at our school. (2 hours a week)
Ibrahaim Ender Arslam (Ibo)
Vocational Internships Director
15
This is the second year which I have run
this program. We are making many
changes and starting some new
exciting
programs
for
our
ExPequeños.
Lisa, a volunteer, and I started a
major new project this year called
the Mother’s Project. It consists of
giving support to the single ExPequeña mothers. This project will
center around a house that will be rented in
Tegucigalpa within the next few months. We want
the home to be a combination small business/meeting
space/refuge for the mothers. The primary goal of the project is
that the women can eventually start a micro-business in the home to help
them earn money for themselves and, at the same time, help pay for the costs of the
program. Within the safe environment of the home, we also plan to give talks to the
women about health and security.
I especially want to thank our Director Reinhart, and former volunteers Vera
Dinkelacker and Elizabeth Dart Caron for giving us so much support in starting the
Mother’s project. I would also like to give my thanks to Lisa for putting so much of
her time into this project and helping get it off the ground.
Our Ex-Pequeños can have it very hard outside of Rancho Santa Fe. For example we
have been following Juan, who left the Ranch to help his father when his father was
sick. At this time, the father was suffering from soemthing that was probably
tuberculosis. Juan stayed at his father’s bedside for many months. After his father
passed away, Juan became sickly from not eating. Even though he had had a drastic
change in diet (or lack there of), Juan became convinced that he was sick because he
had tuberculosis and that he was also dying.
We kept in contact with him and gave him counseling and support through this
ordeal. Over the past year he made major recoveries. He even decided recently to
start his first year of secondary school. We wish him the best of luck in school and
hope to keep in touch with him for as long as possible.
Goals:
x More scholarships for the Ex-Pequeños.
x That the Mother’s project is carried out to its full potential.
Statistics:
x 5 scholarships given to Ex-Pequeños for study (There were none last year)
x Stay in touch with about 800 Ex-Pequeños
x 1 employee and 1 volunteer
Patricia Gámez
Program Coordinator
16
Every year I am continuously pleased with the
spiritual progress of our young ones here at
Rancho Santa Fe. I see this advancement
everyday
in
their
participation,
with
outstanding composure during and outside of
religious
activities.
I
am
continually
reminded that each and every one of our
Pequeños is a child of God.
Our year was filled with many successful
religious
celebrations
and
retreats.
During Holy Week I saw a very active
participation from the children which helped
everyone celebrate our faith with much more vigor.
We also participated in “la Campaña Infantil”, or The Children’s
Campaign. It was a festival put on by the Catholic Church that emphasized
the production of the arts with religion as the common theme. The children
really got into the Campaign. It seemed to bring out all of their diverse talents.
The religion department was given much material help this year. Benefactors
contributed a new computer, a TV, and a VCR. Father Frank Colaccico, from
California, made the construction of a new church on Ranch property possible. It is
an outdoor amphitheatre that is almost finished. We are only missing the roof. It was
first used during our Christmas Mass. We are very excited about such a venue in
which to celebrate our masses.
Our religious programs continue to thrive. This year we worked on the musical
aspect of our faith; we changed and amplified the format of the religious musical
education program on the Ranch.
We also started a youth group of 15 girls. We now have an altar boy/girl group of the
same size and a choir that sings at all of the masses. There are classes of religion in
almost every level of primary and middle school, as well at our vocational schools.
Farid Morel, one of our Pequeños, is very interested in the work of the religion
department. He helps every week with the altar boys and in the sacristy. He also has
hopes to do his Year-of-Service in our department. This would be the first Year-ofService youth to do this! He has even voiced possible ambitions of becoming a priest.
We all hope that if Farid continues to seek such a religious calling later in life that he
will follow that path.
Goals:
x Finish the construction on the amphitheatre and finish the chapel.
x Move the Pequeños/as closer to God through daily exposure to our work in
catechism and religion classes.
Statistics:
x 1 priest, 2 employees and 1 volunteer
x We had 34 Baptisms, 82 1st communions, 37 confirmations
Father Reynaldo Galindo
Coordinator of the Religion Department
17
NPH Honduras has two clinics on its premises.
The external clinic serves the population of the
surrounding communities while the internal
clinic is for the children and staff. There is also
a dental clinic that serves both the internal
and external populations.
There were some new additions since last
year. We were donated another computer.
A Year-of-Service youth now helps us in
the pharmacy. Also for improved and more
efficient work, we have begun to have
departmental meetings each week.
A very important construction project that should be completed in 2005
is the Surgical Center. We are building the Surgical Center to invite surgery
brigades and specialists to the Ranch. The surgery brigades will serve the Pequeños
and those of the surrounding countryside that are in need of surgery. It is a clinic of
550m² (5920 ft²).
Other
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
Achievements and Improvements:
Improved supervision of special medicines.
Better control of arriving medicines to the two clinics.
Performed a screening and fumigation of the Chinche or “Assassin” Bug (the
carrier of Chagas Disease).
Gave informational lectures about the use and abuse of medicines.
Discontinued the use of expired medicines.
Reactivated regular service by the Pequeños and the volunteers to Ciudad
Blanca. We now go two or three times a week.
Were donated 30 pairs of glasses with more to come in January of 2005.
Started the screening of kitchen cleanliness.
Revised the prescriptions. Now we are using only WHO recommended
medicines.
Implemented a system of charts for each patient.
Gave the first audiovisual test to all of the Pequeños.
Goals:
x Install ophthalmologic office and a lenses bank in the annex of the external
clinic. It would serve both internal and external patients.
x Provide additional training seminars for the nurses.
Clinic, Laboratory, and Dental Statistics:
x 15 employees and volunteers, 1 Year-of-Service youth
Clinics:
internal patients: 1219
external patients: 8108
brigade patients: 1189
Laboratory:
internal patients: 524
external patients: 1001
employees: 124
Dental:
internal patients: 619
external patients: 308
employees: 67
Dagny Henning
Health Coordinator
18
General Administration is responsible for the daily
operations of the Ranch. It offers a variety of
services including seminars, spiritual activities,
excursions, event planning, and educational
classes with guest speakers. These services
are available for the house parents, staff,
volunteers, and children. New last year were
seminars for the care takers with themes
like “teaching study skills.”
Under
the
direction
of
General
Administration, there is a new Boy Scout
program at the Ranch. It has been an incredible
success. We have noticed a huge positive difference in
the children who have joined the scouts. They seem to be
more active, have developed leadership qualities, and have much
more self-discipline. There are scout troops for both the boys and girls.
There are 60 youth currently participating; the Scouts get together two times a
week with a scout troop leader.
With the scout program, our track and field team, and our excursions to Ciudad
Blanca and the Crematorium, we hope to continue to give our youth opportunities to
leave the Ranch and experience the world outside of our home.
We have just started a Human Resources department that will be part of General
Administration. Eventually this department will provide us with one centralized
process for recruiting, selecting and training employees. It will also develop a manual
that describes the duties of all of the employees.
We do not have an adequate system of accounting. The current software (by a
Mexican software developer) does not work within our current needs. The problem is
that we are occasionally losing information, and this makes our whole system
completely untrustworthy. (A list has been created to document the errors in the
system.) We are not sure if the problems have to do with the network, the
computers, or the software. Our current repairman – who is not trained in the
program - charges $22 and hour and has not been able to fix the problem.
Goals:
x Develop a set of plans to reduce spending.
x Create manuals for the internal control department.
x Guarantee quality and efficient work from each of the different departments.
x Amplify and fully implement the Human Resources Department.
Statistics:
x 14 employees in total (in purchasing, internal control, accounting, human
resources, and the warehouse)
x 2 volunteers and 1 Year-of-Service youth
Maria Lilian Irias Romero
Administrative Director
Alfredo Benitez
Director of the Ranch
19
The Psychology Department has had a very
successful year. The most important change in
the department was the introduction of a
team
of
three
psychologists
to
the
department. With more personnel we are
much more able to attend to the child,
youth, and adult population of the Ranch.
This is an important addition as we only
had one psychologist last year.
We were also given material supplies. New chairs, desks, and
other office furniture have blessed our office.
We have had many successes this year working with our children. One of our biggest
successes has to do with a Pequeño named Mario. With the help of the psychology
department and the school, Mario learned to read and write at 15 years old. The
department was able to help him work through some personal issues which gave him
the strength to move forward academically.
Goals:
x Continue attending those in need at the Ranch. (Children, Youth, and Adults)
x Develop educational programs in sexual education, morals and ethics, selfesteem improvement, and long-term goal setting.
Statistics:
x We currently are attending: 53 children and youth, 20 women, and 33 men.
Bertha Grádiz Müller
Chief Psychologist
The Social Work Department has finished another year helping to integrate some of
the neediest children of Honduras into NPH. We were able to do this with the help of
great staff and with much support from the general administration.
There are some of the new children integrated into the Ranch this year. One of those
was a family of four: Jessica, Giovanni, Yorleny, and Elizabeth. They were supposed
to come in last June, however their father refused to sign the appropriate papers for
their release into NPH. They returned to living on the street begging for food and
looking through the trash for things to eat. We in Social Work knew that the only
way to get these children to NPH would be by going through the Honduras judicial
system. Finally in the autumn of last year, we got the necessary judicial orders
issued in order to have the children come to NPH. They came to the Ranch in early
November.
Goals:
x Accept a larger number of abandoned children for next year (Minimum of 70).
Statistics:
x 37 new children to NPH-Honduras in 2004
x 39 children and youth left NPH
x 541 total children at NPH-Honduras
Silvia Elizabeth Reyes
Social Worker
20
The farm and gardens expanded greatly in 2004. We
started a project to export Japanese and Chinese
eggplant to foreign countries. They will complete
their life cycle in February. We will know by then if
the program was financially viable.
The fruit tree project goes well. The trees are
healthy and growing as expected. The banana
trees we planted in 2003 are already
producing.
We have new tractor implements to prepare plots of
land, a new storehouse, and a new tiller. We have also
constructed a new pig slaughter house.
We will have some major new help next year. One of our Pequeños, Mario
Lagos, graduated in December from the Zamorano University, a prestigious
agricultural engineering school in Honduras. He will be working in our farm for his
Year-of-Service next year. We are all very excited about this new development.
Goals:
x Open up more fruit tree fields.
x Start a fishery project to have another stable source of meat at the Ranch.
x Open up more land for food and feed production.
x Grow enough corn for the needs of the farm and the kitchen.
x Augment the milk production (with 80 cows) to be able to support the needs
of the Ranch.
x Improve the genetic quality of the cattle.
x Renovate many of the buildings.
x Give the Pequeños working in our department classes in agricultural science.
Statistics:
x 12 Employees
x 5 Year-of-Service youth
x 4 youth in their “Year of Reflection”
x The farm produces 70% of the kitchens’ needs
x We have 28 nance, 35 mango, 40 tamarindo, 17 papaya, 90 citrus, and 33
avocado trees
x 15 female calves were born this year
x $16,000 earned from selling chickens
x List of vegetables produced: (* means total self sufficiency)
Tomato*, Cabbage, Cilantro*, Green Pepper*, Lettuce*, Corn*, Carrot,
Cauliflower, Broccoli, Cucumber, Celery, Onion
Oscar Humberto Cruz
Gardens Coordinator
Gustavo Adolfo Gonzáñez Zapata
Farm Coordinator
21
The volunteer program continued to prosper and
expand in 2004. We again had a plethora of
nationalities giving a year towards NPH. There
were two groups that came: one in January
and one in July. We are expecting another
group in the beginning of January, 2005.
We had many successes and triumphs
in the last year. 92% of our volunteers
stayed on to complete their 13 month service.
This means that 22 volunteers were integrated
into the program. We attribute much of this success to
a very successful orientation program in January and July.
Our volunteers continue to work hard in and outside of the job. They
continued a program called The Family Project. This is a program where a
volunteer spends an evening with a specific family of children on the Ranch.
We find this program indispensable because the Ranch is split up into different age
groups, and many of our children do not always get to see or spend a lot of time with
their siblings. This program tries to help remedy this issue. Every night there are one
or two families in our Volunteers’ House playing, conversing, and eating with their
family and one volunteer.
We have also recently overhauled the library in Casa Personal. One of our
volunteers, Rebecca, has started a card catalogue system where the children can
come and check out books. A Reading Club was also started for some of our lower
performance readers. This meets once a week on Saturdays for two hours. We hope
the practice and the opportunity to read will help our children in their scholastic
performance and help pass on the very important love for reading.
Our volunteers also did some public service for the community this year. About 5 of
them went out with a medical brigade and translated for a group of American doctors
in August.
Our volunteers often do service projects for the Ranch. Some of the highlights are:
x Volunteer Dagny Henning is making the arrangements for a sick Honduran
boy to travel to Guatemala for heart surgery.
x Volunteer Stephen Feuerstein accompanied Pequeños to visit their families
around the country.
x Teresa had a cooking night with her boys. She had certain foods for her
children to cook and there was a competition based on the quality of the food
produced. It was a grand success.
x Gabriel started giving a series of speeches for the caretakers on studying and
proper study skills.
x Fred and Andrea visit a project for elderly disabled men on a regular basis.
Goals:
x Improve the volunteers’ work with the children even more.
x Integrate each group of volunteers into the daily life at the Ranch.
x Involve the volunteers with the weekend plans.
Etienne Röder & Fred Rockwell
Volunteer Coordinators
22
The sponsorship office went through a lot of
changes this year. I Lena became the director
of the office after Wendy Ryerson returned
to Canada.
We have had a great year at the office.
Throughout the year I saw Pedro, Jenny,
Sandra, Donald, and I learn to work
more and more together as a team. We
will be sad to see our volunteer,
Sandra, return to Switzerland in midFebruary.
We were propelled into the 21st century this year with some
changes in technology. Most importantly, we acquired a high speed
Internet connection. Since so much of our work involves communicating with
the offices in the U.S. and Europe, this new connection has changed – for the better
– the face of our work. We are also working with a godparent database that is
accessed online through the NPH Intranet. It connects us to all of the offices, keeps
us more organized, keeps the Pequeños data current, and gives us instant access to
the sponsors.
We continued to celebrate birthdays once a month for the Pequeños. We changed
restaurants in Tegucigalpa from a Pizzeria to a Chinese restaurant. We wanted to
give the children a sense that they were going out to eat instead of only going for a
quick slice of pizza. We have also hired a clown for the birthdays of the younger ones
who are not old enough to go to the restaurant.
Lastly, through a generous donation to NPH from a US government economist,
Fransuaz Melez, all of our children were invited to the movies in Tegucigalpa once
this year. We thank him for this special gift.
Goals:
x Give the children as many if not more chances to communicate with their
godparents.
x Make the office even more efficient and effective.
x Pass on the values of NPH to our clients, co-workers, children, and
acquaintances.
Statistics:
x 3 employees, 1 volunteer, 1 High School student
Organization, # of Sponsors, # of Sponsorships:
Forderkreis, 4, 4;
FOTO-AZ, 50, 62;
FOTO-CAN, 27, 30;
FOTO-IL, 46, 47;
FOTO-MN, 156, 161;
FOTO-NW, 95, 103;
FRSF German, 12, 13;
Honduras, 3, 6;
NPFS-FR, 18, 24;
NPH-IT, 255, 262;
NPH-SP, 85, 88;
OKW-NL, 304, 379;
OLBS-Virginia, 173, 188;
UKBS-AUS, 239, 271;
UKBS-CH, 115, 138;
UKBS-DE, 394, 478,
TOTAL, 1973, 2248
Lena Zuniga Rivera
Sponsorship Coordinator
23
Social Work
x
A telephone/fax for the
Tegucigalpa office
Casa de Los Ángeles
x
Large Pots and Pans
Health Services and Administration
x
A visit by a medical specialist every
15 days
Elderly Home - Casa Eva
x
Wheel chairs
x
Living room furniture
Sponsorship Office
x
Digital Camera
Girls’ House – El Rancho
x
Urgent repair of each home
x
A change to metal lockers in each
home
x
Teaching material in the minilibrary
x
Remodel some of the bathrooms
Youth
x
x
x
Leaders
CD Player
Television
VCR and DVD
Vocational Internships
x
A permanent internship sponsor
x
A full time program coordinator
Boys’ House – El Marañon
x
A computer in each of the homes
for homework purposes
x
Wood or Metal doors for the boys
stalls (now there are only shower
curtains for privacy)
x
Study Cubicles
x
Bookshelf in each home
x
Update the leisure and text books
x
A washing machine for the younger
boys’ homes
x
A photocopier for the homes
Vocational Workshops
x
A room for technical drawing
x
Showroom\storeroom for the
finished products
x
Painting room
Farm & Gardens
x
Farming implements and supplies
x
A mixer (for chicken and cow feed)
x
A computer
General Administration
x
Funds for The Boy Scouts program
Volunteers
x
A new picnic table
x
A wheelbarrow
x
Games and books for The Family
Project
High School and University
x
Computers for each house
x
Updated books
x
Kitchenware
Babies’ House – Casa Suyapa
x
The other half of the tables and
chairs for the dining room
x
Sandals for the next school year
x
Children’s books for the library
Therapy and Special Education
x
A speech therapist
x
Fix the floor of the therapy rooms
Follow Up Pequeño/a Program
x
Machines for the Sewing workshop
for the Mother’s project
x
Furniture, pots and pans, and other
items to equip the new house.
Furniture for the living room,
kitchen, dormitories, clothes and
other items.
x
Vitamins for the children of the
mothers in the Mother’s Project
Psychology
x
New Test Materials (We are still
actively looking for the funding for
some psychology tests and games.
This project can be accessed on the
NPH Intranet.)
x
Educational Videos (on Values,
Sexual Education, etc.)
x
Toy Room for different therapies
24
x
3