Nuestrns Pawn-26:15 Hem-1mm

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
LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR
Dear Friends,
When I look at life in Haiti, I must say that it is so sad what people have to do to
survive. I thought Haiti was going to get better with the presence of the UN. Now
after a year, I don’t see much positive change. In fact, it seems to be getting worse
everyday. With no security, no justice, and no work for a lot of people, all the
businesses are at risk.
Life seems not to be worth much these days in Haiti. Port-au-Prince used to be the
place where people went to take a walk in the park or go to the movies in the
afternoons after work. Now Port-au-Prince is empty by 5 o’clock because of the
security problems in the country. Everyone has to rush home before it gets too dark.
By 6 o’clock all the stores are closed.
When I look back on 2004, it seems a sad year for all of us in Haiti: lots of people
lost their lives in the flood, and as a result of the political conflicts, a lot of people are
being kidnapped for ransom money.
I hope this year will bring peace for all of the people in Haiti so that they can live a
normal life, and all of the children will have a chance to go to school without fear.
Thanks to our donors and friends, we were able to get a lot of supplies for the
orphanage and the hospital. They made it possible for us to help a lot of people that
lost their belongings in the flood.
I will ask everyone to keep us in your prayers. We are doing a lot in a country where
there is no justice, the cost of living is terribly high, and the unemployment is
rampant. Pray for us because while we work for the good of this country we could be
easily assailed by desperate people.
May God Bless you,
Ferel Bruno
National Director - NPFS-Haiti
2
GENERAL REPORT ON NPFS HAITI
It is not easy to ignore the political situation here in Haiti. In the end, it drastically
affects our mission and only increases the work that needs to be done in the country.
Unfortunately for our children, what happens around us does affect them. Most of
the schools did not open on schedule last school year since even children were killed
on their way to school. With luck this year, we were able to open our school on time.
At times, we had to deal with the absence of some of the teachers who were unable
to leave their houses because of the horrible violence around them.
Most of the children living with us have never
attended school before and suffer the repercussions
of traumatic experiences in their past. This affects
their ability to learn and grow at the pace with
which normal, adjusted children are able to learn.
We have made an attempt to respond to the
problem by creating a special group sensitive to
their needs. (There are limits to what we can do as
we do not have access to consultants or trained
personnel.) Our problem has yet to be completely
solved; however, we were lucky this year to have a
Mexican volunteer who has just graduated from the
university with a degree in special education. She
has already started working with a group of 12 girls
and soon will start with a group of 16 boys. I hope
that this will be the beginning of a much needed
program in our home as we will always have
children coming to us burdened by these troubles.
We have always struggled with finding enough personal space for the children within
their living quarters; this year was not an exception. Fortunately, our childcare
workers are open to adjustments, and manage to always make room for one more.
This was the case this year; we were able to accept more than 80 children before the
school year started.
We have about 200 children in our "Externe Program”, which is geared to continue
helping our young adults who have not completed a trade or profession, are older
than 17 years old, and have some relative with whom they can live. For those who
have absolutely no extended family, NPFS rents a home in the city close enough to
their school so that they can continue their education. I hope that this year we can
find better solutions for the constant problems that we face with regards to
education. We have created a committee that keeps close communication with the
school and the social work agency in order to make better education based decisions
for our children.
Our children always participate in activities that we organize the summer vacation. I
encourage them to make things that we can share with sponsors and benefactors,
like small souvenirs. This Christmas we had prayers every evening at 6 at night.
After prayers we had some entertainment that the children themselves organized:
3
singing Christmas songs that they composed; on the 24th, three of the best were
selected.
Piñatas are not a Haitian tradition, but our children at NPFS have always enjoyed
breaking piñatas. (The Mexican Embassy has organized piñatas for our kids for the
last two years; this year they came on the 16th.) Also a group of United Nations
Officers from Canada brought toys and cake for our children on the 31st of
December. We ended the year with a very beautiful Mass Celebrated by Fr. Rick
Frechette with the full participation of our children singing and praying for peace,
which is so needed in our world.
The anniversary of our home here in Haiti is officially on the 23rd of January, but we
try to celebrate it on the Saturday closest to the 23rd. We have been doing a lot of
planning for this event as we expect many of our former Pequeños to join us. It will
be lots of fun with sports, music and a cultural program; but the most important part
of the celebration will be Mass (and cake) at the end of the day.
Thank you all for your continued support so that our children can have a better
childhood. Also, let us all pray that they will become exemplary adults for the future
generations of Hatians.
May God Bless you all,
Alfonso Leon
House Director
YOUTH DEVELOPMENT REPORT
Over my two-year assignment with NPFS Haiti, I have worked as coordinator
between the orphanage, the hospital, and the new building projects. This term is
now drawing to a close with the selection of Ferel Bruno as the Haitian National
Director. The hand over period for this position was in September of 2004.
During my time working between the hospital and
the orphanage, I have seen many needs in Haiti and
within the organisation.
Within NPFS the most
pressing need at present is a structured formation of
the older children before they leave the orphanage
prior to re-entry into Haitian society. Because of the
reluctance of the children to leave, even at the age
of twenty-one and twenty-two, a decision was made
last year that the children will leave at the age of
eighteen, and continue their studies with their
extended families while still being supported by
NPFS. This move reinforced my concern that the
children needed some sort of capacity building
before leaving.
Many areas suffer in development when a child is
institutionalised. Having lived a sheltered life, our
4
children need basic life and survival skills. I will continue to work with the children in
these areas. Initially my vision is to work with children from the age of 14 to 18
years. (Later, I would like to work with all age groups).
Nineteen houses make up the living accommodation for our five hundred and fifty
children. Because of the large number of children in each house, I will work with
smaller groups of children encouraging, motivating and helping them develop to their
full potential. I would like to teach basic life skills (i.e. manners, polite behaviour,
courtesy and respect, the importance of honesty and loyalty, accepting
responsibility, and taking responsibility for their own actions and decisions). The
children need to learn how to handle money; how to manage their time and
finances; how to apply what they have learnt to everyday living; how to stand on
their own two feet; and most importantly, how to reintegrate themselves into the
Haitian society as caring citizens with a sense of social responsibility.
The future of Haiti lies in its youth. As an organisation responsible for the welfare of
hundreds of children, we are also responsible for empowering them to lead
productive lives after they leave our care. I happily take on the new role of Youth
Development and Training Facilitator. My function will be formation and capacity
building of the children prior to their re-entry into society. I will work hard with the
children and I ask for your prayers in my efforts in this new role. Thank you.
Adele Lawler
CONSTRUCTION REPORT
Hello again to all our sponsors and friends across the world.
Most of you already know what kind of a year we had in Haiti so I am not going to
dwell on the negative. Rather I want to tell you about our construction successes at
Tabarre.
With Pat Mollaghan and up to 200 hundred Haitian workers on site daily, we were
able to accomplish a lot. It is worth mentioning that we have had lots of outside
helpers, especially from Italy.
Facts and Figures:
x
4,400 sq m. of hospital is physically built,
but now it needs windows, floors tiles,
doors, painting etc.
x
By May/June 2005 we hope to have
finished the ground floor and about 5
months later we hope to be totally
finished.
x
500 sq m. of housing is built and will have
residence before Christmas.
5
x
900 sq m. of a public health building is at about the same stage as the
hospital, but will probably be finished first because it is smaller and less
complicated. The public health and residence are being funded by parties
outside OLBS.
x
These three buildings have already used over 30,000 bags of cement, 370
tons of steel and 116,000 blocks.
x
We have worked an estimated 68,000 men working days. We only lost about
1,400 men days due to political unrest.
x
These same guys have eaten about 180 bags of rice for lunch; after lunch
they burned out about 15 wheel barrows, and quiet a few Bosch drills.
Needless to say, we’ve had problems (who doesn’t?) but on reflection, our progress,
speed, AND quality are not rivaled in Port au Prince.
Personally I have had a great learning experience, and I am sure that there are more
to come.
Gerry Needham
ST. DAMIEN HOSPITAL
INTRODUCTION
The position of Administrative Director for St. Damien Hospital was vacated in March,
2004 when Ferel Bruno was promoted to Country Director of NPFS/Haiti. Shortly
before assuming his new position, Mr. Bruno approached me to ask if I might be
interested in the administrative position. Since I don’t believe in coincidences, I
believe this was the hand of God at work in my life. In February of 2003, I had
resigned from a position with another NGO working in Haiti. I was not sure the
direction my life was to take, but knew that God already was aware of my gifts and
talents and would invite me to a position where these would be well utilized. In
prayer, I had asked God to invite me to the next place where I could be of service.
When Ferel invited me, I knew that I had to say "Yes."
BACKGROUND
My background is extensive in health care and in administration. I am a Sister of the
Humility of Mary from Ohio. I worked in our community hospitals as a Registered
Nurse for over 25 years. During that time I was instrumental in starting and directing
the first in-patient Hospice Program in Ohio. I also co-founded a large cancer
program in a local community hospital. I held several positions in nursing
administration before taking a year-long sabbatical. During that time, I realized my
deepest desire was to work in direct service with people who are poor. Thus for 13
6
years, I worked with migrant farm workers on the east coast of the United States,
first as a nurse in migrant clinics, then as the administrator of a large social service
agency in rural Florida. It was there that I was introduced to the Haitian immigrants.
After completing the work in Florida, I knew I wanted to continue work with the poor
in a foreign country. A job was offered working in Haiti, which I did for two years. I
was provided room and board if I worked part-time with Fr. Rick in his street clinics.
It was in this capacity that I came to know NPFS and was subsequently offered the
position of hospital administrator.
FIRST YEAR ACCOMPLISHMENTS
I have worked in the position of Hospital Administrator
for just under one year now. The first few months were a
time of adjustment and learning. I work as part of a
strong administrative team made up of a Medical
Director and a Personnel Director. We have weekly
meetings to stay informed of the happenings in the
hospital and the problems in the country that affect the
hospital. We also meet weekly with the supervisors of
the different departments to share information, solve
problems, and teach supervisory skills.
In March of 2003, we initiated a cancer program to treat
leukemia and lymphoma in children. The program has
aided about 12 children, although only 2 are still alive since they come to us very
late in their disease.
The program has had many ups and downs. We have been blessed to have a
consultant pediatric oncologist, Dr. Martin Johnston, assisting us from Boise, Idaho.
He is as close to us as e-mail. He has given us protocols to follow and offers
guidance when complications and side effects confuse us in our treatments. After
having the cancer program for almost a year, an evaluation was done. We came to
the conclusion that it is very difficult to treat such cancers without the necessary
resources in Haiti. The program has been revised to treat only children with Wilmer’s
Tumor (cancer of the kidney) and Hepatoblastoma (cancer of the liver).
We have a physician on staff who is very interested in cancer care. She and I have
developed a training program for the nurses. Currently 8 RNs are attending weekly
classes to be certified to provide cancer care. This is an amazing accomplishment
when you consider that cancer care is not taught in the nursing schools and there is
no cancer treatment in Haiti. People are diagnosed here and referred to another
country for treatment.
Much time has been spent these past six months working with the Italian fundraising office to design the fittings for the interior of the new hospital. The new
facility will meet emergency needs of the children, provide 19 critical care beds (we
currently have 6), and have space for care of both infectious and non-infectious
diseases. There will be a nutritional program designed from the recommendations of
the World Health Organization.
The administrative team has been working this year to teach the departmental
supervisors how to manage their departments and how to be more accountable.
Policy and procedure manuals are being developed for the hospital and job
7
descriptions are being revised. The new hospital will be a reality by the Fall of 2005.
It is a huge task to prepare the staff for such a move. Remember, St. Damien was
started as a hospital for dying children. Now it has a combination of very critically ill
children and children being treated for chronic diseases, like tuberculosis. The new
hospital will treat predominantly very ill children and the staff will need more
training, both in child care and in nursing care of children with non-infectious and
infectious diseases. The entire methodology for providing nursing care and auxiliary
services will change, in part because of the new setting, which is very different from
the current hospital. The Administrative Team and Country Director are having
weekly meetings to create a strategic plan for the next three years which includes
the move to the new facility and the first two years of operation.
CONCLUSION
There are numerous challenges that we face everyday as we try to provide quality
health care to the sick children of Haiti. Among them are:
x A country in turmoil so the staff is never sure if they can even get to and from
work.
x The unavailability of needed drugs, lab tests, and x-rays.
x A difficulty in getting donations of medications and supplies into the country.
x A poor educational system where the health care professionals are lacking in
basic education regarding health and illness in children.
x The lack of resources to provide continuing education for the medical and
nursing staff.
x The lack of basic supplies, such as electricity and water.
Still, we need to remember that NPFS/St. Damien Hospital has important resources,
namely the dedicated staff, who can overcome almost all obstacles. It is only with
their work that we are able to accomplish our mission.
Sister Judy Dohner
Administrative Director
KAY CHRISTINE - AN OVERVIEW OF THE
ORPHANAGE
I remember around this time last year when we were all looking forward to 2004. We
were wondering how the country would celebrate 200 years of Independence and we
were all expecting something positive for the country. Well, little did we know that
this year would bring even more hardship to the country! We never could have
imagined the destruction of the rains and the terrible violence that has plagued the
country all year long. In reality 2004 has been a terrible year for Haiti and I would
say that everyone is delighted to see the end of it.
Conversely I would say, not at all coincidentally, that 2004 has been a great year for
us here in Kay Christine. All of our children have been well protected from the
danger. In January, we finally got our Land Rover and our external outreach program
is going very well. We recently got a nice tricycle and all of the older children adore
8
playing with it. Pascal and Belizaire are getting the hang of cycling it, and Yvonne,
Nadege, James, and Darline just love to be wheeled about. We have a lot to be
thankful for!
One of the harsh realities in Haiti is that the parents of handicapped children have
great difficulty surviving. Services are not there for them, and life is just one big
struggle. People are continually asking me for places to home their children; the sad
part is that there are already many handicapped children abandoned in hospitals all
over Haiti. It is hard to turn your face away from these realities, but what can we
do? We could easily fill twenty homes like Kay Christine, and still there would be
more looking for help. It is a frustrating reality, but we must live with it.
One thing that we are doing
that is helping is our
external program. This is
temporarily in the new
residential building beside
the new hospital. There we
treat up to 15 children who
come with their parents. If
anyone is ever looking for a
hero, I invite you to come
and meet these parents.
Come and meet them and
listen to their stories. See
them carry their children,
big and small, on their backs
as they walk miles for help.
They will tell you stories of
having to hide under their beds with their children while the streets rang out with
gunfire, and of days when they could not go out to buy anything because it was too
dangerous. Amazingly most of these children are in good physical health and are well
nourished. When you get to know the parents, you realize that often the parents will
do without so that the child can have food. Sometimes they do not turn up for
treatment. When we ask why we find out that they did not have the money for the
Tap-Tap (local transportation), or they could not come because of the violence on
the streets.
Once the children do get to come to us we help them in three main areas. We do
physical therapies, self-feeding skills, and sensorial activities. Many of our children
could not even hold a spoon when they first came to us and some have already
learned to feed themselves. Many more have learned to stand up, and more have
improved in how they walk. One little boy is speaking a lot now, whereas before
when he first came he would never speak. It really is beautiful to see progress being
made. We have great hopes for the future of many of these children.
Apart from any obvious changes in the children, one thing is clear: The parents are
very happy with our program. They have all built up a nice affinity among
themselves, and I think that they take hope from seeing others in the same situation
as they themselves. They encourage each other, and you can see how interested
they are in the development of all of the children. The children themselves thrive in
an atmosphere where they receive a lot of attention, and where there are lots of
activities to stimulate them.
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I have been working here since June of 1993, and one thing that I have learned is
that no matter how many problems there are in the country, God is always looking
for a way to make things better. The fact that our external program was born in the
slum area (known as Wharf Jeremie) is tangible proof of what I am saying. We
started seeing kids there at the very time that the country was in turmoil (as Aristide
was about to leave). It was as if God was giving a message of hope just when it
would have been so easy to fall into despair. During those terrible days and on
similar days since then, Father Rick and his medical team have provided medical
care in all the danger zones. We have to take heart from this. We have to support
NPFS Haiti, and see it as God’s way of giving his message of hope. I thank you for all
of your support to all of us here in Haiti and especially for my family in Kay Christine.
I will leave you with a few lines taken from the Kahill Gibran. I think these sum up a
little bit of what I am saying.
God has bestowed upon you intelligence and knowledge. Do not extinguish the
lamp of Divine Grace and do not let the candle of wisdom die out in the
darkness of lust and error. For a wise man approaches with his torch to light up
the path for mankind.
Gena Heraty
REASONS FOR HOPE – A REPORT FROM
SISTER LORRAINE
When Adele left a note on my shelf announcing that it was annual report time again,
I couldn’t believe that another year had gone by! We must be having “fun” here in
Haiti since the time seems to go by so quickly!
It has been an unusual year, even so, as Father Rick says, not one day is usual in
Haiti. We get so used to it that the unusual becomes the usual and we hardly notice
the difference!
The year has been marked by political unrest, chaos, the departure of President
Aristide, street violence, kidnappings, robberies, barbaric assassinations, devastating
floods, rising food prices, plus escalating numbers in our clinics and at our hospital
doors. In light of this depressing list, you might ask what keeps us going here in this
poor country.
But there is another list, one that lifts our spirits, causing us to look more deeply at
the things that really matter; a list that bores into our hearts and brings out the best
in us!
There is the new hospital in Tabarre that is going up by leaps and bounds, the
beautiful volunteer house which is almost completed, the exquisite little Chapel with
its starry ceiling and hand-cut stones.
10
There are our benefactors whose generosity seems boundless and who seem to
never tire of giving!
There is five year old Abraham who, after two years in our hospital, twice as many
operations, and dozens of feeding tubes, returned from Italy eating and swallowing
normally. There is Marlee, with a disfiguring growth on the back of her head who,
after surgery abroad comes back to us a beautiful, healthy baby. There are the
mothers of these two children, ecstatically happy, dancing all over the room,
repeating, “mesi Bondye, mesi Bondye, mesi Bondye!” The list goes on and on.
There is Charlendia, fourteen years old, who was dying of cancer and desperate to
make her first communion. While I was preparing her to receive the Eucharist, I
asked why she wanted to make her first communion. She quickly replied, “because
Jesus loves me.” As simple as that! It was not, “because I love Jesus”, but rather,
“because Jesus loves me!” This is a little girl speaking who already has been through
so much - chemotherapy, radiation, surgery - all to no avail, and who realizes that
she is soon going to die. We had a touching ceremony in her room complete with
candle, choir, and gifts.
There is a group of UN Peacekeepers who will spend their Christmas hosting a party
here at the hospital and New Year’s Eve doing the same thing at the orphanage.
There are the new houses built in Thiote for those who lost everything they ever
owned in the floods of the Mapou region.
There is the daily generosity of our volunteers, those who are here long-term and
those who come for a week, a month, or a year, and who give their time and their
talents without ever counting the cost.
There are Moses, Vilina, and Guenson, tiny survivors of the devastating flood that hit
Gonaïves in the wake of Hurricane Jeanne. Their stories are incredible and speak of
the resilience and stamina of the human heart.
There is our work in the clinics where, day after day, the very poor come seeking
healing, compassion, and a place where they will be treated with grace and dignity.
There is our new program for the street children of Pétionville where boys and girls,
some as young as seven, are served a healthy meal each day and are given the
chance to go to school.
There is the hospital classroom that is
still in full swing. It brings much joy
to many tiny hearts. I have noticed a
difference in the way the children
relate to one another while they are
with us. They seem kinder, play
together more readily, laugh and
giggle a lot more, help each other and
share more willingly. I believe their
time together in the classroom has
helped to achieve a bond among them
that was not there before. They feel
less isolated, make friends, and
realize that they are not alone in their
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illness. They find it perplexing when one of them is discharged and leaves without
them! It is a real joy for me to see this bonding among the children. I believe that it
has a real impact on their healing.
Both lists could go on and on but perhaps they are long enough for you to
understand what it is that keeps us happy and content to live and work in Haiti.
Despite the hardships, and there are many, the blessings abound keeping us focused
and feeling fortunate to have a share in this great enterprise that is Nos Petits Frères
et Soeurs.
I continue to work one day a week in the clinic at Wharf Jeremie, and I always stand
in wonder and admiration at the patience, strength, and zest for life of the longsuffering Haitian people. Their courage could be added to the long list of blessings
above.
Many thanks to each of you: our benefactors, our donors, our friends. Quietly and
faithfully, without fireworks or fanfare, you support us, year after year, with your
prayers, your love, your encouragement, and your financial contributions. In some
corner of your heart I hope that you can feel and maybe even ‘taste’ the gratitude
and esteem that we have for each of you. May you and your families be blessed
abundantly.
Sister Lorraine Malo, c.s.j.
FAMILY CORRESPONDENCE AND
VOLUNTEERS
In my fifth year, after mostly working with the children, I needed a little change. So I
decided to leave teaching. I still enjoy running the library and keeping in contact with
the people that fund the purchasing of books. Thanks to Riverside school in Boise
Idaho - who gave us books last year – for carrying on the fundraising to provide
more books and educational videos. Other people wish to help as well and I look
forward to making the library more attractive and full of different kinds of books,
educational materials that are also fun
and interesting. Also with the number
of games I was donated from the
Riverside school, the children who
wish to play with them need another
room as our current room gets too
noisy for the ones who like reading in
a quiet place.
I remain the volunteer coordinator
and continue to do the family
correspondence
work.
I
gather
statistics
and
report
on
and
photograph the different activities and
12
news of the orphanage and the hospital.
Kenscoff remains my home. I enjoy seeing the children, like talking to them and
spending more time with the ones who need attention like little Guenson from
Gonaïves who lost half of his family in the recent flood, or Levencia and John whose
father is dying of AIDS, or the family who recently arrived at the orphanage having
lost their mother. There are so many sad and tragic stories. It is a shock for them to
leave their home and their environment at such a young age. There are many
children in the orphanage but they still deserve to be treated as individuals. They
need to be loved and cuddled. Some of them need more attention than others. That
too can be very demanding.
Recently we took turns at the bedside of one of our children who was dying in our
hospital after a long illness. She was lucky to have the chance to be surrounded
by her friends from the orphanage because so many don’t have anybody to comfort
them before they die. During that time I experienced the life of the hospital. I got to
know the sick children by talking or playing with them. I also met the mothers and
families who stayed with them. The children seem happy despite the fact that
their treatments can be difficult and painful. They enjoy visitors and the activities
that Sister Lorraine provides.
Let me tell you about our volunteers who are now here in Haiti. There is Father Rick;
Ferel, now our new National Director; Mago his wife, who is in charge of the girl
houses; Alfonso, the director of the orphanage; Gena, director of Kay Christine;
Adele, who has some projects with the older children who will, in the close future,
leave the orphanage; Jeannine, who soon will leave us after 2 years of hard work;
Pat and Gerry, who work in the construction of the new hospital; Heike (Gerry’s
wife), who is now in Germany and expecting her first baby at the end of January;
Sister Lorraine, who works with the children of the hospital; Sister Judy, who is now
the administrator and coordinator of the hospital; Sister Philomena, who celebrated
her 80th birthday this year; and I, Odile.
We had many visitors this year, like the hard working dentists, Ron and Ronnie, from
Milwaukee. It is always nice to have guests with us.
Odile de Francqueville
THE TABARRE PUBLIC HEALTH PROGRAM
Since 1993, Nos Petits Frères et Soeurs (Our Little Brothers and Sisters) has directed
Hôpital Saint Damien Pediatric Hospital in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The mission of the
hospital is to provide healthcare for poor children while being guided by the
principles of Catholic compassion. Having witnessed numerous cases of preventable
illness such as severe diarrhea, respiratory infections, and malnutrition that lead to
unnecessary childhood deaths, the hospital administration and staff recognized the
need to add a preventive department to the already curative hospital. To respond to
this need, Hôpital Saint Damien started planning the Tabarre Public Health Program
that will engage mothers, children and community members to fight against common
yet preventable diseases that are prevalent among the poor in Haiti.
13
Starting in December, 2003, Dr. Jacqueline Gautier (former medical director of Saint
Damien), Fr. Rick Frechette (NPFS Medical Director), and Dr. Genevieve Arty
(Current Medical Director of Saint Damien Hospital) started meeting and discussing
how such a preventive health department could serve the hospital and the
surrounding community. Former NPFS volunteer, Sarah Gillen, joined the planning
team in January to help design and roll out the project. The following goals for the
department were established early on for the program.
Goals:
1. To establish an integrated prevention and curative program between the hospital
and community health program at NPFS.
2. To conduct a census based community health project that employs community
health workers, from the service area of the hospital, to carry out the following
activities: teach health information messages that promote maternal and child
survival, provide HIV Voluntary Counseling and testing services, and conduct case
finding techniques in effort to reduce morbidity and mortality from preventable
illnesses.
Two funding sources for the project came forward in January. Hope for Haiti, a
nonprofit organization out of Naples, Florida, offered to grant $100,000 towards the
construction of a public health clinic to be located adjacent to the new hospital in
Tabarre. The two story building is in its final stages of construction. The first floor will
holds 6 consultation rooms, two offices, 2 storage rooms, and two rooms for health
education and community meetings. The second floor is a one room conference
center that will house community training/education sessions, seminars,
conferences, and special events for the hospital.
The Catholic Medical Mission Board (CMMB), out of New York City, has been
supplying the hospital with medicines and medical supplies for years. As CMMB made
an organizational transition to fund public health projects in addition to providing
needed supplies, they invited Dr. Gautier and Sarah to write a proposal outlining the
goals, objectives, and financial needs of the public health department. The proposal
was well received by the CMMB administration, and two year funding was approved
in the amount of US$ 132,945. The initial funding disbursement for the project was
in November. We are delighted to declare that the project is up and running.
During the months between writing
the funding proposal for the project
and the initial disbursement of funds,
Dr.
Gautier
and
Sarah
spent
countless
hours
meeting
with
community health centers in the
area (near the site of the new
hospital) and with leaders from the
Ministry of Public Health and
Population. They also spent three
days in Jeremie on the Southwestern
coast of Haiti learning about a similar
project that is being implemented by
the Haitian Health Foundation. The
14
numerous meetings have prepared the public health team to jump into action now
that funds are available.
The first employee for the public health department was recruited in October. The
employee is a public health nurse that will direct the project by hiring and training
community health workers. After interviewing 12 strong candidates, Ms. Marie Anne
Jean-Baptist was hired to assume this position. We are thrilled to have Ms. JeanBaptist on board. She has years of experience developing community health
projects, and is an excellent community educator and motivator.
The second year of the public health department's existence will certainly prove to be
an exciting one. The construction for the building that will house the program should
be completed in the late spring. The first group of community health workers will be
recruited in January. Once these individuals are hired and trained, they will start
making home visits to their neighbors. On these home visits the health workers will
provide health education to parents pertaining to childhood diseases, give
vaccinations to children, search for contacts for children with tuberculosis, and
provide home-based follow-up care for children that have been discharged from the
hospital. We anticipate that 16-19 health workers will be employed by the end of the
first two years of the project.
Throughout the first two years of the project an estimated 2,400 families will receive
home based education and care which we hope will reduce the rate of infection from
childhood diseases and also limit the severity of these illnesses when they do occur.
During the first two years of the project, an HIV counseling and testing program will
also be implemented to help prevent the transmission of HIV from expectant
mothers to their children. We have high hopes for this project and how it can
positively affect the public health of our surrounding community in Haiti.
Sarah Gillen
15
16
17
Dear Friends,
Sometime ago I was pondering on the role that I perform as a director of Nuestros Pequeños
Hermanos Nicaragua. I concluded, above all, that I needed to watch over the well being of the
children and try to give the best of myself, so they could feel loved like I was during my childhood
in our home in Mexico. Therefore one of my goals during these years has been to awaken in them
the desire to better themselves and the love for others.
I am saddened to see children in Nicaragua suffering from hunger from irregular nourishment, sick
because of the lack of medicine, undereducated because they have to work in the streets selling
water, doing drugs and even prostituting themselves; all of this because of the extreme poverty of
this country and the lack of parental role-models.
I give thanks to God for giving me the opportunity to grow up in Nuestros Pequeños HermanosMexico, and for giving me the opportunity to serve the Nicaraguan children that need so much from
all of us. I have the most sincere gratitude for all of you: our donor friends, volunteers, and staff for
the support that I have received, for the changes in my life, and now for the significant changes in
the lives of the little brothers and sisters that we serve in Nicaragua.
In our home we have succeeded in making the children we serve feel loved. We can live Fr.
Wasson’s philosophy: to give unconditional love while teaching the principles of work with
responsibility and the importance of taking advantage of the education given to them. That is the
weapon with which they can defend themselves once they have to confront life, and in this manner
they can help other children in difficult situations.
I am happy to mention that through the efforts of Fr. Wasson and all of us at NPH, we have helped
create a circle of boys and girls that have successfully moved on. I am sure that these same boys and
girls also wish that our future Pequeños can enjoy such a wonderful family like NPH.
I met my goals for 2004. They were to better the lives of the children, raise their self esteem, better
their health and education, and give better attention to the children that need individual attention.
For 2005, our goals are to better ourselves even more in education; have better workshops:
carpentry, welding, sewing; and also better the production of our land, farms, and fishing. I believe
that we are off to a good start and we will continue improving throughout the year.
My most sincere gratitude to Fr. Wasson and to all that have made it possible for us to make a
positive change in the lives of the children we serve in Nicaragua.
With Sincere Gratitude,
\áÅtxÄ _x™Ç Xv{xätÜÜ|t
National Director
Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos Nicaragua
2
Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos Nicaragua
NPH Nicaragua National Director
Ismael León
[email protected]
Mailing Address:
NPH - Nicaragua
Apdo. Postal 27 Centro América
Rivas, Nicaragua
The Country:
“Nicaragua: land of lakes and volcanoes” is how the slogan describes our country. It also has
beautiful lagoons, rivers, lush rain forests, and sun swept beaches. Nicaragua has only two seasons:
winter and summer. It is the largest county in Central America, with an area of 129,494 square
kilometers. (10,333 of those constitute lakes and lagoons.) The currency is the Cordoba (C$), and
the economy depends mainly on agriculture, with its main exports being; coffee, bananas,
sugarcane, rice, corn, beans; beef, veal, pork, poultry and dairy products.
With a population of 5,024,000, Nicaragua is the second poorest country in the Americas. Here the
people survive on less than US$0.50 a day. At the moment, 72% of the population lives below the
poverty line. Because of the extreme poverty, 29% of the population suffers from hunger and
malnutrition. Many children suffer from chronic malnutrition and have to work to help their
families. More than 314,000 children, 5 to 17 years of age, work. More than 100,000 do high risk
work. More than 850,000 children remain outside the educational system. 29% of the schools lack
water, 68% lack electricity, and a 76% lack the elementary tools for teaching. These are the reasons
why Father Wasson decided to open Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos-Nicaragua, on May 11th, 1994.
Since then, our homes have offered unconditional love, acceptance, attention, shelter, and support to
the at risk Nicaraguan children. At the moment we have children of both genders from newborn to
21 years.
Houses:
Casa San Jorge
Iglesia Las Mercedes, 400vs al Oeste
San Jorge, Rivas
(505) 563-3051
Carlos Viveros
[email protected]
3
Casa San Jorge is the Main Office. It serves as a staging point for all food and donation distribution.
It also houses the administration and support offices for all of NPH Nicaragua. Its offices include
Human Resources, Accounting, Social Work, Padrinos (Sponsorship), Information Technology,
Special Projects, Payroll, and Purchasing. A major task at Casa San Jorge is to be a host to the
many people who come to visit by providing food, accommodations, and transportation. Major
reorganization and delegation of responsibilities have made the work at Casa San Jorge more
efficient at all department levels thus allowing us to provide better support to all.
Accomplishments for 2004: Thanks to a generous donation, we have bought two new cars, a
fifteen passenger van and a short bed crew cab truck. Thanks to other donations, we have been able
to improve our facilities by doing some needed repairs like fixing leaks on the roof of the office
building, doing some remodeling in our garden, and painting our buildings. Also, the main
warehouse received a major facelift due to structural defects. (The main support beams had rotted
causing walls to crack.) All of these repairs have now been completed. We also now enjoy a new
high speed Internet connection making our communication with the rest of NPH and the world
easier and more efficient. We were even donated some updated office computers.
Planned Projects for 2005: We will need to do repair work in the kitchen and obtain a large
freezer. We need to continue doing roof repair to other buildings. We would like to change the
office roof or put on another roof over it. We also need to change some of our very old office
computers and another one of our oldest trucks - since it spends most of the time at the repair shop.
Padrinos (Sponsorship): The Sponsorship department made many advances in 2004 including
implementing sponsorship via the Intranet and celebrating the birthday of each child. 3,600
Christmas cards were sent to sponsors, and the card design was improved. Photos of events and
important activities were taken. 2,400 pieces of correspondence from the children were sent to
sponsors, and our office received about 2,300 pieces, including gifts. 2,600 pieces of mail were
translated so that the sponsors and children could communicate. A sponsorship program at a
national level and in Costa Rica has begun. We have 962 sponsors and 1002 sponsorships.
Social Work: The Social Work office organizes activities such as visiting days, the celebration of
the girls’ fifteenth birthday, and home visits. The office prepares and processes legal paperwork to
register the children in the courts and city hall, and it obtains certificates needed in the parishes and
citizen identification cards for the older children. The office works with the Ministerio de la Familia
(Child Welfare) to resolve legal situations for our children.
Some of the challenges faced by this department concern the citizen identification cards. The
government now requires a recent birth certificate in order to process the cards. This adds to our
costs since the families usually lack the documentation needed. Legal cases spend a long time in
court which means we are unable to obtain the documentation needed to keep our paperwork
current.
This year 48 children left NPH while 62 new ones came to NPH. We have a total of 321 children in
NPH Nicaragua, of these 207 are baptized, 33 have received their first communion, and 30 have
been confirmed.
Wish list for Casa San Jorge:
x A big freezer for meat with an estimated cost of $ 900.00 dollars.
x A room on the second floor of the office building to keep archived files and fix the leaking
roofs, with an estimated cost of $5,000 dollars.
4
Casa Asis
San Jorge, Rivas
(505) 883-0586
Sister Phyllis Kelleher
[email protected]
Currently, Casa Asis is home to 37 children aged three to eight; this includes seven new children
who arrived during the year.
Accomplishments for 2004: Thanks to the generous support and donations made by former
volunteers and their families, many of the following projects have been completed:
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
An enlarged covered barn area for feeding and caring for a growing herd of cows and their offspring.
A new laundry facility with a new washing machine at Casa Margarita (visitors’ home).
A retaining wall to stop the rapid erosion on the east side of property into the lake.
A new driveways to assist in the daily operation of the farm and facilities.
New bathroom facilities for the play area including a drinking fountain, sink and toilet.
All windows repaired and screens replaced at the School.
Casa Asis kitchen repairs.
Legal registered weather monitor to track weather conditions in Rivas for the National Weather Bureau (in
cooperation with the Japanese Embassy).
An addition to pig pen.
Construction of two solar-powered ovens.
Painting of the house (interior and exterior).
A new floor in director’s bedroom and bathroom.
Varnishing of wooden doors in Casa Margarita.
New tiling and varnishing of wooden playhouse.
A windmill - which supplements the garden irrigation - and a new chapel were built.
These projects were made entirely possible by the generous support of our benefactors.
Special Events in 2004: Part of what makes Casa Asis unique is its ability to expose the children to
different cultural traditions, especially those from Nicaragua and of the Catholic faith. The
experiences are enriched by volunteers who add their own customs to the various holiday
celebrations. Many of the activities enjoyed by the children this year include monthly birthday
celebrations, visits by people from many parts of the world, the 10th anniversary fiesta of NPH
Nicaragua on Ometepe Island, several trips to San Juan del Sur with picnic lunches at Mr. Carlos
Holman’s house, a Halloween celebration with treats and costumes, visits from local musicians,
typical Nicaraguan dance lessons every week, Easter celebration with an Easter egg hunt, the local
San Jorge Feast, the Novena for Our Lady of Fatima, end-of-year school promotions, “Las
Purisimas”, and Christmas and New Years.
St. Francis of Asis School: Casa Asis continues to provide an excellent education for the
preschoolers and children in first grade. Working with Sr. Alanna Lechner & Maestra Carolina
Jiron, each child leaves Casa Asis with the ability to read, write, and use basic math skills. In
November seven children celebrated graduation from preschool and will proceed into the first grade
in February. Seven children completed the first grade and will enter second grade at Casa Santiago.
5
Volunteers: In 2004, Casa Asis welcomed approximately 59 short time volunteers from numerous
countries including Holland, Italy, United States, Russia, Austria and Germany. Their ages ranged
from 18 to 70 years old. Twenty-two former volunteers returned to Casa Asis for a second, third
and fourth visit. With the many gifts of love, nurturing, presence and service that these volunteers
bring, Casa Asis receives an incredible amount of support, especially from returning volunteers.
The majority of this year’s construction projects, as well as many other dreams and programs, were
funded by donations made by former volunteers and their communities.
Casa Asis Farm: The farm at Casa Asis continues to expand and provides much of the food for the
children. Currently, the livestock include: 18 cows (including ten calves born this year), 9 pigs
(including three sows born this year), 14 sheep, 530 chickens (450 raised for the kitchen and 80
raised to produce eggs), 17 geese, 15 turkeys, 14 guinea fowl, 4 ducks, and 1 horse.
Garden, Fields and Orchards: A good portion of the food served at Casa Asis comes straight
from its own gardens. The fruit cultivated are bananas, sweet oranges, sour oranges, lemons/limes,
mangos, coconut, mandarins, watermelon, nancite, star-fruit, and zapote. The vegetables cultivated
are plantains, avocado, yucca, peppers, tomatoes, squash (2 kinds), cilantro, lettuce, cucumbers,
beets, corn, turnips, sugar cane, and coffee.
Planned Projects for 2005: Our plans include building a screened dining room that will
accommodate all of the children during meals, the construction of the remainder of the retaining
wall (to prevent further erosion of the east side of the farm as land continues to slide into the lake),
and the expansion of the current play area to include a sport court with a cement floor for the
children to ride bikes and play ball games.
Casa Santiago
San Lázaro, Isla de Ometepe
(505) 886-7601
Melvin Gomez
[email protected]
Casa Santiago is located on the Island of Ometepe at the edge of the great lake of Nicaragua. It is
our largest home housing 240 children ranging in age between 7 and 21 years of age.
Accomplishments for 2004: During this year each one of our children received three sets of
clothing, two sets of school uniforms along with shoes for school. Children from Casa Santiago
were taken to San Jorge for Family Visit Days allowing all of our children the opportunity to see
their family members. Those children who did not receive visitors were taken to San Juan del Sur
for a special day at the beach. We hosted and conducted special workshops for our care providers
(tíos and tías). These teaching workshops were structured around the care and control of adolescent
children as well as the rights and obligations that these children have.
6
An educational audit of our vocational workshops was undertaken by an academic coordinator from
a German Foundation. We were we also able to establish future support by means of training
scholarships in the technical fields that they support. This same foundation will assess our
workshops allowing them to be accredited by INTECNA at little or no cost. Our children will have
an edge over others when looking for employment because of the recognized accreditation status
they will receive at NPH.
We were able to open a new library at one of our homes. This library is separate from the one at our
school. In mid-September, a painting project was begun, the pathways were repaired, and
ornamental plants were planted throughout our grounds enhancing the appearance of our homes.
Part of our school exterior was also painted. Thanks to the generosity of some donors, a dinner for
our employees was provided to show our gratitude and thanks for their work and dedication to
NPH.
Special Events in 2004: We are very proud of our football (soccer) girl’s league. They have won
first place at all levels of competition (local, state, and national). In 2005, they will represent
Nicaragua and NPH when they compete in El Salvador at the Central American level.
School: Our school provides both elementary and high school education. It is considered one of the
best schools on the island. Our students took the following honors: 1st place in Speech, 1st place in
Math, and 1st place in Spanish. One of our teachers also received special honors as the best on the
island. Our school band, along with our girl’s drill team, continuously participates in all Island
events. A total of 46 children were promoted from elementary school to high school while two
graduated from high school.
Vocational workshops: This was a successful year for our vocational workshops, particularly our
welding workshop, which opened in February of last year. Our students have not only learned new
skills but have, under the supervision of our welding instructor, produced many useful items that are
used in our homes. They have built and repaired beds, repaired fences, built and repaired trash cans,
and built a protection barrier around one of our large storage coolers. Other workshops include
computer, sewing, and electrical trades. All of these workshops provide real life training for our
children preparing them for their adult lives. In addition our children also have the option of
participating in the folkloric dance team and Estudiantina (Typical Music Group).
Medical Services: On the average, the Medical Clinic provided care to an approximate 476 patients
per month during the year 2004; of this total, 271 were from the community, 154 children were
from NPH, and 51 were NPH employees. The most common illnesses treated were influenza,
tonsillitis, pneumonia, bronchitis, diarrhea, ear infections, and skin infections. Periodically
fumigations are carried out and supervised by the Medical Clinic to control mosquitoes in order to
prevent diseases transmitted by them. We are opening a small laboratory. It is nearing completion
and should be in operation soon. On the part of the psychological department, children have been
sent to a psychiatrist and psychological follow ups have been given to the boys and girls that need
them.
Religious Aspect: The youth group has been a great success. It has witnessed a voluntary
attendance of more than 100 Pequeños. Apart from preaching the word of God, they also visit
people in the community and give away used clothing, visit the sick, and work by cleaning the
inside of their home. They form part of the group of acolytes that help in mass and put together a
small monthly newspaper.
To preserve the Nicaraguan religious traditions, ‘La Gritería’ (one of the biggest festivities in
Nicaragua) is celebrated. Other religious festivities include the celebration of the Immaculate
7
Conception with daily prayers, songs, and the distribution of fruit or candies. This year, the older
girls prepared some of the candy with their tías. The homes also participate in the Posadas.
Other religious activities this year included 15 baptisms, 23 confirmations, and 8 young ladies
celebrated their 15th Birthday with a special mass.
Planned Projects for 2005: Some of our planned improvements for this coming year include the
repair of internal electrical wiring, the illumination of the buildings, the construction of a building
where we could give and reinforce the attention to children with special needs and with learning
difficulties, the hiring of a Vocational Workshop coordinator, the establishment of up to date
educational programs and the transformation of the classrooms into places that offer a pleasant
atmosphere for the students by obtaining more furniture, curtains, paint, and decorating the
classrooms and workshops. The school and new house library also need more books. We need to
provide continuing education training for our teachers to keep them current. We also need funds to
enlarge the older girls’ house as a growing population in this home is filling the rooms beyond their
capacity.
Wish list for Casa Santiago:
1. In order for our Girl’s Champion Football (Soccer) League to represent Nicaragua and NPH at
the competitions in El Salvador at the Central American level, it is going to cost us about
$17,322 dollars.
In order to finance this the Football (Soccer) team needs:
Description
Entry fee
Uniforms (Shirts and Shorts)
Goal Keeper's uniform
Shoes (Cleats)
Tennis Shoes
Socks
Sports Bag
Soccer Balls
Team Banner
First Aid/Trainer's Kit
Unforeseen expenses
Food (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)
Lodging
Transportation
Quantity
Unit
Needed
1
24
1
24
24
24
24
12
1
1
1
480
240
1
$310.00
$25.00
$20.00
$18.44
$25.00
$3.69
$15.00
$18.44
$30.00
$50.00
$500.00
$10.00
$30.00
$2,100.00
$310
$600
$20
$443
$600
$89
$360
$221
$30
$50
$500
$4,800
$7,200
$2,100
2. We also need:
Vocational Workshop Coordinator and Administrator:
Vocational Workshop Assistant
Teachers for Vocational Tailor Workshop:
Teachers for Vocational Electrical and Computer Maintenance
Workshop:
Teachers for Vocational Beauty Shop:
Materials
Carpenter
Salary:
$6,686 dollars a year
$4,500 dollars a year
$2,300 dollars a year
$2,300 dollars a year
$2,300 dollars a year
$6,000 dollars a year
$6,686 dollars a year
** It is hard for us to find professionals in Ometepe Island, since they can get better pay in the
city. Also the teacher has to find housing and move to the island.
8
Casa San Marcos
San Marcos, Isla de Ometepe
(505) 883-0654
Raul Duran
[email protected]
Casa San Marcos is located on the North West side of Ometepe Island, in the rural community of
San Marcos. Casa San Marcos is our home for boys and young men with diverse learning and
discipline needs. In November 2004, we were caring for 41 boys, ranging from 8 years old to young
adults. We have a special education school, and our boys produce crafts, work in the farm and help
in the field in the harvest of crops.
Accomplishments for 2004: Thanks to continued generous donations we have been able to
improve our main electric system, install a new water system, three new classrooms and a library.
With help from our own teenagers, we built a playground for the smaller children. We have built a
place to prepare, clean and process fish, chicken and beef, which is eaten by both Casa San Marco
and the other NPH Nicaragua homes. With donations we have been able to buy more tools for
carpentry and craft supplies. We are currently building a new dining room for 50 people. Our
fishing project continues to grow and our production of beans, plantain and fruits is exceeding our
own expectations.
Special Events in 2004: Casa San Marcos participates in most of the major activities with Casa
Santiago, such as weekly masses held in Casa Santiago, Graduation, Quinceañeras, Halloween,
Easter, Christmas and New Years to name a few. There is constant interaction between the children
of Casa San Marcos and Casa Santiago to help them understand that they are all part of one big
family.
Volunteers: The need for more volunteers is high at Casa San Marcos. We need people that are
interested in helping the children with special needs, people skilled in maintenance, carpentry,
agriculture, crafts and arts, and special education. Volunteers need to spend at least one year in our
home and have fluency in Spanish.
School: Some of our students attend the local school and this year two of our teenagers graduated
from high school. One of the small boys who is deaf/mute has made significant improvements and
can now speak a few words. Our children are very interested in their education and the workshops
we provide for them. We participated in some government educational workshops teaching
techniques for working with special needs children. In our workshops children learn carpentry,
crafts, crop production, and farming. They stay busy with the variety of activities available to them.
They improve their skills by teaching the newcomers what they have learned and by practicing. At
the moment we have a craft workshop where the children learn to make necklaces and bracelets
with seeds and other materials and a carpentry workshop where children learn to make furniture for
our own use and where they also learn to carve wood and make wooden figurines.
Casa San Marcos Farm: Animals: The farm at Casa San Marcos is a major source of food for
Casa San Marcos and Casa Santiago. We have about 65 head of cattle for milk, cheese and beef.
We produce about 400 eggs daily and 1000 chickens for meat monthly. We are also implementing a
9
fishery project for self consumption and for selling to the people on the island. We have a herd of
45 deer. We also have some pets such as monkeys, dogs, and geese. These help the children get a
better appreciation of nature while teaching them the responsibility of taking care of animals and
the environment. The children take turns feeding the animals and keeping their places clean.
Garden, Fields and Orchards: Casa San Marcos maintains the fields at both Casa San Marcos and
Casa Santiago. Together we maintain 7 hectares of beans, 3 hectares of (sorghum), 7 hectares of
grass for livestock, and 2 hectares of Taiwan grass for the cattle. Around the facilities we have
gardens and fruit trees. (A hectare is equal to 2.5 acres.)
Planned Projects for 2005: While we feel we have accomplished much there is still much to do.
Some of the projects we have in mind for the new year include 30 beds; an irrigation system; more
library books; 50 metal lockers; a kitchen; a visitors home; a chapel; a soccer and basketball court; a
completed boat dock; a greenhouse; silos to store cattle feed; a walk-in refrigerator/freezer; more
wood for carpentry to make furniture; fences to enclose the property; sports and game equipment
(balls, table games, etc); didactic material for children with learning disabilities; and educational
workshops on sexuality, self esteem, Fr. Wasson´s philosophy, teamwork, and ways to work with
the children..
Casa Guadalupe
Iglesia Pío X, 3 cuadras al Lago, ½ cuadra abajo
Casa R-17 Bello Horizonte
Managua, Nicaragua
(505) 224-4676 fax: (505) 249-3457
José Luís Mejia
[email protected]
Casa Guadalupe is the home to our university students and the central distribution place for our
Christmas card sales, which are reproductions of works donated by famous Nicaraguan painters and
our own children. Casa Guadalupe serves as a focal point for all the homes, its workers, and
volunteers. Many product and service estimates were processed, and both fixed and cellular phone
service agreements were acquired. Here, purchase orders for needed items were processed. Dental
treatment provided by Dr. Mares was coordinated with all the homes. Immigration matters were
handled for our foreign national workers and volunteers. We also processed DHL shipments,
handled travel reservations and ticket purchases and picked up new volunteers when they arrived.
Accomplishments for 2004: Our three university students continue to progress, each in their field
of study. Jader Elías has finished his seventh semester in his chosen field of Diplomacy and
Political Science and will continue studying next year. Aura María has finished her sixth semester
in her chosen field of Business Administration and will continue studying next year. Darling del
Carmen has completed her study as an Accounting Technician and will begin a new life outside of
NPH. All three students answered the call of service when needed, but were also offered the
opportunity to work part-time, and in this way experience a bit of the world that awaits them when
they leave NPH.
The Christmas Card Sales program, which has been running for seven years in a row, provided
funding for all of our Christmas celebrations like Purisimas, posadas and the big gift that the
children receive. This year each child received a school back pack that also included new clothing
items. We processed 35,000 Christmas cards between NPH El Salvador, NPH Guatemala, and
Costa Rica.
10
Improvements to our building include major work and renovation to the garden, painting of the
house, and completion of some plumbing work.
Planned Projects for 2005: Next year we will receive 11 students of both genders to study
technical careers through a scholarship program offered by the Samuel Institute. We will have a
total of 13 students living in our home in Managua. As we will not have enough space in Casa
Guadalupe to house all of the new students, we will need to purchase an additional house. The
house next to ours is being sold and we can purchase it for U$ 43,000 or rent it for U$
400.00/monthly. This house also needs fencing and gates for protection, which will cost
approximately U$ 2,000.00. We will also need more computers for the students to work on. This
will cost approximately U$ 4,500.00
Wish List: We are very proud of all of our accomplishments and thankful to our donors for the help
they have provided. With so many children to care for, we continue to need support. Some of the
items needed by NPH-Nicaragua include: school shoes, tennis shoes, socks, underwear, sport
clothes and athletic equipment. We also would like to receive backpacks, school supplies, school
uniforms, mattresses and bedding, medications, dental equipment, and an industrial blenders for the
kitchen. Furthermore tools for: carpentry, plumbing, welding, agriculture, and equipment for
laboratory of physics, chemistry, biology and computers would be greatly appreciated. More items
include exterior paint for our buildings, wall decorations for the sections, curtains for the windows
of our dormitories and pillows and pillowcases. We are hoping to get small wooden tables and
chairs for activities for our smallest children, stationary fans for the dormitories, wall clocks,
lockers, CD Boom boxes for the sections to listen to music during free time and study hour. Finally
in order to build up our library collection, we hope to receive donations of magazine subscriptions
and books for all ages.
Thank you,
Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos Nicaragua
11
Dear friends,
We are looking back on another happy and successful year at NPH Guatemala. A year not only
marked by big accomplishments, construction and innovation, but also filled with many cheerful
moments and children’s smiles. For this we are deeply grateful! We thank God for his blessings
and for leading us so that this year our family of NPH Guatemala could celebrate its 8th anniversary.
In 2004, thanks to the great support of our Canadian friends, who continue to help us with construction, our home has grown by a number of essential new buildings bringing us a big step further towards our goal of having the whole family of NPH Guatemala united on the new grounds in
San Andres. Among the most important new buildings are the new clinic, the workshop, and three
volunteer and staff houses.
A lot of effort was also put into the further development of our educational area, specifically implementing vocational workshops, which remains one of our high priorities with the significant advances we have seen in our carpentry and bakery programs this year, we are optimistic that it
will not be long until we can offer our teenagers a new quality of preparation for their future lives.
The Babies’ House has moved to another building which even though is still not the optimal location, provides the children with more space and saves us the rent for the old house. Finally, our
departments of medical & therapeutic attention have been improved and expanded. Not only the
clinic itself but also our department of special needs care profit greatly from the new clinic building, now having much larger and more appropriate rooms at their disposal. A physiotherapy room
was also installed.
All of these accomplishments are due to good teamwork. I’m very happy that our large family of
NPH Guatemala counts on reliable teachers, personnel, volunteers, friends and supporters who
make our everyday work possible. Only through their contribution can our home exist, develop
and grow, and can we give our children the help and love they need.
Thank you all for you support! God bless each and every one of you.
Sincerely,
Your friend and collaborator,
Constantino Azuara Paz
Director Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos Guatemala
3
Boy’s House
In 2004, we have seen some notable changes for the
better in the Boys’ house most of which are due to
the move to the new grounds in San Andrés last September.
In the old buildings we always had problems with the
lack of space. In San Andres this is not a problem
anymore. With the big rooms and sufficient space for
lockers, the sections are much tidier and cleaner.
Also the general communication between the houses
has improved, which means the organization of joint
activities has become much easier.
The new proximity to the Girls’ house still sometimes
proves problematic, as it is much harder now to keep
a watchful eye over the relationships between the older teenagers. Nevertheless we are happy that our
family is now living together in one place.
In San Andres the fields are right next to the dormitories so we are increasingly cultivating crops for our
own consumption. This is part of the daily chores routine in the “Hora de Trabajo.” We have produced
more corn than anything else, but we have also grown black beans, sweet chilis, radishes and beetroot in
small quantities. Our efforts in empiric farming include the introduction of vaccinations for our chickens
and cattle which are showing very good results. However it would be advantageous to put someone in
charge of this area. The young men from the “Grandes” section who are currently taking care of the farming are not experienced enough.
Extracurricular activities in 2004 included all the traditional festivities (see Girls’ house). On the weekends
there was usually at least one special activity such as walks, excursions, campfires, soccer tournaments,
or a family lunch.
In school, despite the usual small problems with the discipline, the boys’ results have generally been very
satisfying. Almost all of the children passed their grade, which leaves us very content and motivates us to
carry on with our efforts to improve school performance.
A successful innovation was the introduction of the “Basico
por Madurez” program, the weekend courses for older students in secondary school (at the San Andres School). The
outcome has been very positive. As a result, four teenagers
Children Statistics Boys’ House ; as of December 2004:
age
section
kids
caretakers
5 - 7 years
Medianos
28
2 tios +boy in Y.o.S.
8 – 10 years
Medianos .5
27
2 tios + “”
11 – 13 years
Medianos I
25
2 tios + “”
12 – 14 years
Medianos II
31
2 tios + “”
15 – 17 years
Semigrandes
26
2 tios + “”
17 – 19 years
Grandes
19
1boy in year of service
19 – 22
year of service
7
the house directors
High School
7
the house directors
total
4
170
12
were able to graduate one year earlier this year. Supplementary to vocational training, we would like to offer the program
to more children in future.
Objectives & Needs for 2005
As usual we have had both good and bad experiences over the
year. A big problem we faced this year were the frequent
changes of personnel. In the boys’ house we had to employ
eight new “tíos”, some of who just stayed for a short period and
left again. This worries us because consistency is very important
in our home, particularly for the youngest children. If they have
to adapt to a new caretaker every five months, they suffer from
instability and eventually it reflects on their own behavior. Although we have tried very hard to select well-qualified and stable personnel, it has proven to be a very difficult task. Thus we
hope that in 2005 we can raise the salaries of our caretakers
both in order to attract better-qualified personnel and to motivate our experienced long-term caretakers.
Between the girls’ house and the boys’ house directors, we
agree that it should be a priority for the coming year to offer
the children more spiritual orientation. We believe that in order
to prevent our kids from losing their religious consciousness
and Christian values, we need a person, preferably a priest,
who can give them guidance apart from the weekly mass.
The introduction of vocational training for the older children
less academically inclined is another urgent objective of the
children’s houses. Seeing the great progress we have made
this year with the carpentry and the bakery programs, we are
optimistic that we can get a strong program running in 2005.
In order to improve the general pedagogic capacity in our
childcare, we are planning to conduct more meetings and work
seminars for our caretakers. We would also like to extend our
farming and agricultural production.
I would like to thank all of you in the name of all caretakers and children for your continued support!
José Orlando Ramos
Director Boys’ House
Necessities
Tools & Equipment for our work
on the fields, such as machetes,
pickaxes, shovels, wheelbarrows,
hoses etc.
Clothes: pajamas, sweaters, trousers, shirts, and decent clothes
for mass.
A second night guard for the
property would be very helpful
since we have had problems with
children leaving the houses at
night and people from outside
entering the premises.
5
Girls’ House
This year in the Girls’ House many memorable
events have been made possible through the
combined efforts of both the ‘tias’ and the girls
themselves.
First of all, everyone worked very
hard helping to prepare for the successful International Board Meeting held here in Guatemala.
As the year proceeded, several events for the
children took place, including an over-night excursion to the “Agua” Volcano for 25 girls, the
traditional age 15 birthday celebration for fourteen young women, and an excursion to the
countryside for the younger girls. An outing to
the Pacific coast for those students with the best
examination grades and the best-behaved older
girls rewarded the work well done.
Also spring was especially busy with many activities. During Lent the Stations of the Cross were
said every Thursday as is the custom while on
Good Friday the oldest girls fasted and a group of children re-enacted Christ’s walk with the cross. Easter
was celebrated with a silver, gold, and bronze Easter egg hunt.
And, mentioned last but not least in importance was the
“Zacapa” project in November, in which we took a group of
our oldest girls to a village in the remote and incredibly
poor mountain area “Zacapa” to help the local people there.
We gave out donations in form of medicine, food and
clothes and we conducted little festivities for the children
there with sweets and “piñatas”. Our girls taught the locals
some handicraft techniques which they didn’t know; for example, how to make little hats and wristbands or to braid
hair. For all of the girls this was a very touching and equally
rewarding trip. It was expressed as the highlight of the
year for many. Although we only stayed a week it was
enough time to make many friendships and all of the girls
say that they want to return to the village next year.
In future we would like to conduct more social activities like
this trip.
Children Statistics Girl’s House; as of December 2004:
One of our girls from the Basico section
is braiding a girl’s hair on the “Zacapa”
trip
age
section
kids
6 - 9 years
Medianas 1
9 – 12 years
Medianos 2
26
2 tías + 1 girl in year of service
12 – 15 years
4. & 5.
14
2 tías + “”
15 – 20 years
Etapa
11
2 tías + “”
17
caretakers
4 tías (2special needs children)
15 – 20 years
Basico
20
1 tia
19 – 22 years
Year of service
11
the house director
High school
12
the house director
total
111
6
12
+ 2 “”
With all things come both the good and the bad, the easy and
the difficult, and wishes for future improvements. Finding personnel has been difficult and often we are stretched to the limit
with the few people that we have. Currently we need
‘tias’ (caretakers) for three different sections and a new coordinator to replace Marion, a German volunteer who has just returned to her country. On the good side, there is now computer
access in the Girls’ House for homework purposes.
The construction on the new Girl’s House, which has finally begun, is exciting and our wish list includes having one room
turned into a small chapel since at present we often make our
storage room into a small chapel by decorating a small corner
for prayer.
We were very sad to see some children leave the home. However their difficult experiences did help others to appreciate their
own good fortune in being here. As well, others who have had
difficulties have been able to move forward with their lives leaving the difficult times behind. These successes help me to keep
my hope high for all of our children.
Yanet Mainegra Camacho
Girls’ house Director
Necessities
Currently lacking are underwear, slippers, sneakers, casual
shoes, sweaters, and large towels. Counseling support for the
children is very important for their psychological well-being, but
yet unavailable. More personnel, a small chapel, and additional
clothing are important wishes for the future.
7
Babies’ House
The Babies’ house in Chimaltenango is home to our
40 youngest children. Our “babies” live here until
they move to San Andrés, when they start primary
school at an age of approximately seven. The children are divided into five small groups by age with
two tías in charge of each group. This way we can
give the children all the individual attention they
need in order to develop their personality and to
learn all the things they would otherwise be taught
by their mothers or older siblings: from making
their first steps to getting dressed independently.
The busiest month of the year for staff and babies
alike was September because we moved from the
Babies’ House of the past few years to another building just a few blocks away. As the volunteers relocated to the new staff quarters in San Andrés we
had the opportunity to take over the former Boys’
House in Chimaltenango which also has the Montessori Kindergarten and the pre-school located on its
premises. Although a lot of maintenance had to be
done in order to make the house a safe environment
for the little ones, we are now very happy with our
new home that provides more outdoor space to play
and facilitates the daily visits to the Montessori Kindergarten and pre-school. Also with the help of our
Canadian friends, it has become a very colorful and
comfortable place to live in. Nevertheless, as the
last ones “left behind” in Chimaltenango, we (and
especially those with older brothers and sisters living in San Andrés) hope that before too long that
we will have the facilities to move to San Andrés so
we can be together with the big family at all times!
Yexika Andrade Suazo
Director Babies’ House
8
Education
Our curriculum at NPH Guatemala includes preschool through 9th grade. Kindergarten and preschool
classes take place in the new Babies’ House “Casa San Bernardo,” in Chimaltenango; the 1st to 9th grades
are taught in our main school complex on the new premises in San Andres.
After graduating from Básico (grade 9) and having done their 1st year of service, our students are given
the opportunity to do their Bachillerato (high school grades 10 - 12) at an institute outside the home.
Kindergarten
In 2004 our Kindergarten continued to offer Montessori style childcare and playroom activities for our
‘Babies’ House’ children aged 1 through 6. A team of
two German volunteers, then later a volunteer and a
Guatemalan teacher, received daily two groups of
eight children for two hours respectively. The “Baby”
sections took turns so that all children in the Babies’
House had the same opportunity. Every morning at 8
o’clock the volunteers would go to the Babies’ house
and meet the first group of children. After sitting down
in a circle, they sang, told a story, or discussed manners and behavior. From a selection of individual activities such as jigsaw puzzles, drawing, or handicrafts,
the children selected their activities for the day. The teachers have collected a large number of materials
either bought or manufactured. The recreation room has been restored and is already completely decorated with the children’s artwork.
For the 2005 school year the kindergarten’s structure and timetable have been slightly changed. Though
the class structure will remain essentially the same, the kindergarten will be divided into two age groups,
each in its own classroom. “Kinder” are from the ages of four and younger and “Parvulos” are from the
ages of four and five. At the same time, the timetable has been extended to a daily 4-hour period from
eight until noon including weekends. The idea behind these changes is to provide longer hours of guided
play thereby improving the pre-school education and providing relief for the Babies’ House tías.
Preschool
Our 2004 preschool class consisted of 11 students: 5 girls
and 6 boys between 5 and 7 years of age, the eldest children’s group in the Babies’ House. As in the past year,
classes took place throughout the morning for five hours.
However, this year brought some significant changes:
For the first time the children received music lessons three
times a week from a volunteer from the kindergarten. As
well once a week the P.E. teacher from San Andres gave
classes while a volunteer introduced English lessons.
Through songs and games the children were familiarized
with the language in a playful way. They loved the English
lessons, progressing quickly to a level that is usually only
reached in the first grade of primary school. We hope that
all of these additional classes along with a variety of interesting field trips will be continued in 2005.
9
San Andres School
For our school here in San Andres, 2004 was
another year of difficulties and challenges,
but also a year of development and success.
As usual, the school year began for all grades
on the 12th of January and ended with a
graduation ceremony on the 30th of October.
The following statistics illustrate student and
staff numbers for 2004:
No. of Students
Pre- School
Primary School
20
174
Secondary School; Básico
71
class of special education
Attendance in total
8
273
Staff
teachers
admin. Personnel
volunteers
total
26
2
2
30
Activities
Activities organized by the school in 2004 included religious talks
during the Holy Week, a competition of traditional tapestries, soccer tournaments with other schools, the celebration of the
school’s 7th anniversary with a theatre play, the Independence
Day celebrations, and a fieldtrip on children’s day. As usual, four
weeks of summer school classes took place in November.
Innovations & Changes in 2004
x Our typewriting class in secondary school
was officially recognized as part of the
curriculum.
x The long-expected workshop for Industrial & Plastic Arts was provided.
x Through the introduction of didactic
reading courses and the regular presentation of educational movies in English,
the library was further integrated into
the school program.
x We have introduced a regular civil activity, which is conducted every first Monday and includes a presentation about a
country related topic from history, politics, or national culture.
x The school-hours were changed this year
for the sake of a more balanced daily
routine. Instead of going from 8am until
2pm, school now begins at 7:30am and ends at 1:00pm, so that we can have lunch one hour earlier.
At the same time, breakfast was moved from 6:00 to 7:00am. The children now go to school directly
after breakfast. The idea behind this change is to shorten the long gap between breakfast and lunch.
10
In 2004 as in past years, we found ourselves confronted
with the problem of having to integrate a large number
of older students into the school. In fact, as our home
and our generations of children grow older, the percentage of older students in Secondary school will increase
as well. This year we introduced a new program called
“Basico por Madurez” which gives our adult students in
Básico the opportunity to speed up their education. In
the second week of March nine Pequeños over 18 enrolled at a private institute in Chimaltenango, a larger
nearby town. The school specializes in adult eduction
and offers weekend courses at the Basico level. Classes
take place only on Saturdays so during the week the
students prepare and study the work provided. Students are able to finish the course work in two instead of
the usual three years. An important advantage of this
program is that the students can use their time during
the week to learn a vocational profession.
Graduates from Basico this year
16
Graduated from Bachillerato
(High School)
1
Intentions & Necessities for 2005
x For our size, geographical location, equipment and
curriculum, we are by now considered one of the most
advanced centers of education in our community. This
raises expectations, and in my eyes implies that in the
near future we should begin to open our school to the
children from the surrounding villages, in so to help to
decrease the alarming poverty and illiteracy in our
region.
x In view of the large number of over-age students in
the secondary school, who are far behind their age in
terms of education, it should be one of our first rate
priorities to develop our vocational learning program.
We need to be able to offer the children who are not
as academically inclined an alternative preparation for
their future lives outside the home:
Necessities
a room to teach home education
a multifunctional conference Room - with audiovisual
equipment
a biology laboratory with the necessary equipment such as microscopes, etc.
playground equipment (swings, see-saw, carousel, etc.)
instruments for a school band (Tambourines, lyres, etc.)
an English language resource room
Prof. Julio Cesar Tzirin Bal
Director primary school
11
English Program
In 2004 we continued working with three teachers, two Dutch volunteers and a Honduran expequeño, who have shared the classes and taught
according to grade. While all of the students have
done their best, the teachers were confronted with
very different levels of English language ability
within each class. We continued the scholarship
program in which some thirty of our students took
additional English classes in the afternoon. This
program was funded through the continued support of the American couple Sam and Diane Cave,
to whom we are very grateful. In 2004 our pupils
went to Antigua every afternoon and it has been
rewarding to see the definite improvements that
they have made in their English language skills!
However the daily journey proved to be quite exhausting considering all the homework and chores
our children already have.
To improve the quality of the program, we are planning some major changes in 2005. The first one is to
integrate the scholarship program into the normal school program. This means that the scholarship students will stay in our school in San Andrés and study during the regular school day.
The second change is to create level-based system searching for the fifth through the ninth grades. Approximately 140 pupils will be taught according to their level of English mastery, and classes will be a mix
of the different grades. Evidence from other schools has shown that this system greatly improves the
enthusiasm and progress of the children. It also means that the students will not as easily become bored
or frustrated. The third change is to double the amount of teaching time for the level groups. In 2005
pupils will have five hours of English a week instead of 2.5 hours. Finally, a progressive curriculum is
slowly being introduced across all grades so that specific learning outcomes can be met at each grade or
level. In the past there has been little content alignment which has resulted in overlaps and gaps in language development. Next year we will begin to implement a progressive course of study across the
grades.
Frenck van Orsouw,
Coordinator English Program
Bachillerato : Veronica
Hello. My name is Veronica. I’m 20 years old and this October I
graduated from the Bachillerato (High school) program with a degree as a Primary school teacher. In January I’m going to begin
my second year of service working as a teacher in the second
grade of primary school with my younger brothers and sisters.
For me, graduating means reaching an important goal and I’m
very happy that I made it, especially because when I came to NPH
four years ago I did not have an easy start. Since I came in July I
entered school right in the middle of the last year of Basico so I
had to put in a lot of effort to keep up with the others. At the
same time, I was struggling adapting to all the new living condi-
12
tions, many new faces, and making new friends. But I managed to pass the year despite all the difficulties,
and I was proud to begin my first year of service. This meant to be one of the mature Pequeños and to
bear more responsibility. In my year of service I worked as an auxiliary caregiver with the “Medianos”, the
youngest children in the boys’ house. I really enjoyed that work.
Afterwards I began my studies. The first two years l was still living in the old girls’ house in Chimaltenango. But in 2004, after all the other children had moved to the new premises, we, the 10 students in
Bachillerato, stayed in Chimaltenango in the old boys’ house “Casa San Bernardo” where we were closer to
our different Bachillerato institutes and had more private room for studying.
We were all studying different careers. Three of the other girls studied to become primary school teachers
as well. One of the guys, for example, is studying computation and another is studying agriculture. Almost
all of us went to different schools. Some studied in Chimaltenango while some had to take the bus to the
Capital every day.
At first we were sharing the house with a group of volunteers, but then they moved to the new volunteer
quarters in San Andres, and at the end of September the Babies’ house moved in with us. In “Casa San
Bernardo” the Bachillerato students have separate rooms. Mine I shared with 5 other girls. We had access
to a kitchen and a small computer room with 3 computers. A tío in charge of the students’ matters was
also living with us.
Studying outside the home in Guatemala City was a great experience for me! I met many nice people and
class was often fun and interesting. We made didactic materials and even composed our own little children’s book. Psychology was always the subject I liked the most and I read many books in this field. In
September I had my final exams and although I was pretty nervous beforehand I managed to get 84.5 %.
I am very content and happy. As soon as I have done my two years of service in primary school, I am going to study medicine at the university in Guatemala City. This has always been my life goal. During my
studies I might specialize in Psychiatry because it just fascinates me.
Thank you all for your help! God bless you!
Year of Service
My name is Henry. I am 18 years old and I came to
NPH in September 1997, seven years ago. Since then
this home has become my real home.
This year I gave my first “año de servicio”, or my year
of service. That is a year of work for the home which
we all give after graduating from secondary school,
before entering Bachillerato (high school). This way we
give back a little bit of what we have received from the
home and at the same time help the younger children.
In my year of service, I worked as an auxiliary caretaker. I had to help a Guatemalan “tío” to look after
the boys-section “Medianos 1/2”, which consists of 27
boys from eight to twelve years of age. To be honest,
at times I found this work rather difficult. With such a
huge group of kids it is hard to keep anoverview. And
13
you really need a lot of patience. But in the end I’m also glad for this experience. I learned a lot from it.
Apart from my “tío”-job I worked voluntarily in our new little bakery, making rolls for the school-breaks.
I’m also very glad that I was able to carry on with my English Scholarship which I began in 2003 and
which I enjoy a lot. I’m very keen to learn English. Since I was part of the first group that began the
scholarship program I am already in an advanced level and I get very good grades. When a group of Canadian volunteers visited us in November, I talked to them a lot. It was so cool to see how much I can
already say. My biggest dream is to study in the United States.
In January I’m beginning my studies in Bachillerato (High school). As a specialization, I chose Architecture because later I would like to study this career in University and become an architect. Also I really
hope I’ll have the opportunity to continue with my English studies.
I think that the year of service is a good idea because I know we recieve a lot here. Not only do we receive food and shelter, the chance to study, but also love and appreciation from our “tíos”. We should be
grateful for all that. Besides, when we enter the year of service we get more responsibility, more freedom, and we get to see more of what the life outside of NPH is like. I think that is good. Personally it
made me realize what an advantage it is to have a good academic education.
Henry
High School student
Computer Lab
Computers continue to play an important role in the education of students here at NPH. They are used as a tool to
enhance the educational process. The students are taught
where to find information, how to interpret it and then
how to apply it to the task at hand. Moreover children are
taught to use Microsoft Office and its components (Word,
Excel, Power Point) for writing, formatting, calculations
and presentations. In Básico (middle school) programming is studied using Visual Basic.
Integrating what we do in the computer lab with what
goes on in the classroom is an on-going process. Gradually the teachers are realizing that computers can be used
to give an additional dimension to their courses of study.
More and more students are doing research using
“Enciclopedia Encarta 2004” as well as information on the
Internet. Because many teachers are not familiar with
computer research, instruction is given on how to avoid
assignments that are too general and instead zero in on
specific aspects of a problem.
Our labs are being continuously upgraded. Since much of our equipment is donated it is often inadequate
for today’s more sophisticated programs. We have about 50 computers of which ten are relatively new and
use Windows XP. The remaining computers operate on Windows 98 and many of these are seriously outdated.
The primary school lab is networked and connected to the Internet, but because of the high cost of access,
usage is very limited. We are eagerly anticipating the planned satellite system, which will enable both labs
to have continuous access to this important educational tool.
Our goals for the upcoming academic year include the better integration of the primary and middle school
programs; the use of the Internet to communicate with students in other parts of the world as well as to do
research; in-service for teachers on how to take advantage of computers in their instruction; connecting
both labs to the Internet; a student-made yearbook, both printed and on CD; and the use of computers in
the improvement of students’ writing skills.
Guillermo Blanchard , Computer Teacher
14
Library
In the course of 2004 the library
has continued to establish itself
as a permanent and important
part of NPH Guatemala and as a
highly valuable facility for the
school. Whereas last year’s work
was still marked by the move to
the new premises, including installation and organization, in
2004 we have had more time to
make important improvements
and to extend our program. This
has led to a significant increase
in the library’s popularity, not
only among the children but also
among the caretakers and the
teachers.
Objectives
The library provides a versatile space for relaxing, reading, playing board games, and an environment, still
scarce in the dormitories, for doing concentrated homework. By encouraging the children to read we help to improve their often poor writing skills, their imagination
and general knowledge. Also the process of borrowing
and returning library books helps the children to develop
responsible behavior through respecting and valuing
common property.
Improvements & changes 2004
We have introduced a new, fixed schedule and at the
same time have extended the hours of the library. The
newly introduced “lectura” program, which provides
morning reading lessons for school classes, was a big
success and integrated the library further into the school
program. Also the teamwork among library staff and
caretakers has improved considerably. Thanks to many
donations, we have been able to buy more appropriate,
attractive, and readable books. Furthermore we have
made important connections to suppliers with whom we
are able to get discounts on our purchases.
Plans & Wishes for 2005
To further improve the “lectura” program we hope to buy
more books in full class sets. And through special activities and reading nights, we hope to improve the children’s interest in reading as a recreational activity.
Daniel Lüthi & Ursina Jäger
Librarians
15
Vocational Workshops
Since we moved to the new premises last year we are increasingly putting effort into the development of vocational
workshops at NPH Guatemala. In the old premises space was
too limited, but we now have the opportunity to improve the
program.
The workshop program is a priority for us. We want our children to be self-sufficient and productive once they decide to
leave the home. Therefore it is vital for them to obtain some
kind of professional qualification. Indeed, since most children
come to us with little or no previous education and some are
not academically inclined, vocational training is a very important alternative to higher academic education.
The most advanced workshop we have is carpentry, which
has been built from scratch in just one year. It now operates
as a well-equipped, busy workshop. Credit for this has largely
to be given to Jan, a volunteer carpenter, who has put great
effort into this ambitious project.
Other vocational workshops we are currently initiating are a bakery and a sewing workshop. A welding
workshop is also projected. For these workshops we are still in need of funding for equipment and tools. A
second workshop building, built on the same model as the carpentry workshop, is currently under construction and will provide the needed workspace.
Carpentry
On the third of June 2004, our new carpentry workshop for vocational training was opened. This is a
big achievement and will be a great benefit for the
children. Starting last August with nothing, we began by raising funds and going from one local company to another asking for donations and discounts. We were amazed not only by the strong
financial support we received from friends in
Europe but also by how many local people wanted
to help us. Step by step, we were able to obtain
more and more tools and machines. We now have
a very high caliber facility.
The final big step was made in June with the completion of the new workshop building in San
Andres, which provided the carpentry program with
a bright and spacious workroom. At the same time
I was joined by another volunteer with whom I The second project was the construction of a big
could share the work.
climbing structure for the young children, which
had been planned for a long while, but was difficult
The first big project we started was the replace- to complete for budgetary reasons. Now with the
ment of the worn-out metal furniture in the dining aid of several donations, the materials could be
hall with wooden tables and benches. For over purchased, and the climbing structure is almost finthree hundred children that means 40 tables and ished. The truly exciting construction consisting of
80 benches!
four wooden towers connected by little bridges and
climbing nets will surely be great fun for many gen16
erations of children. Here I would like to give spe- cover the regular expenses for wood and other macial thanks to our Canadian Friends who helped us terials as well as the replacement of tools, a
a lot with the construction.
monthly budget was implemented.
Apart form these big projects there is a great demand for wooden products and furniture in almost
all of the departments in our home. Almost daily
we receive new requests: toys for the babies and
the Kindergarten, beds and wall bars for the special
needs children, cupboards for the school, desks for
the Computer lab, furniture for the staff houses …
just to give a few examples of what we have already manufactured in the past 4 months.
The feedback from the teenagers is also enthusiastic. The summer course we offered had to be split
into two groups because so many kids wanted to
participate. In the end we had 22 boys and girls
working with great interest and a lot of motivation.
A group of older boys now works with us regularly
in the afternoons.
Our long-term objective is to offer our teenagers a
full-scale vocational training with an official diploma
that gives them a good chance on the Guatemalan
labor market. In fact, we have already made contact with a big vocational school in the capital that
has offered to provide us with the theoretical part
of the vocational training for our teenagers for free,
as well as to do the examination for the official diploma. However the introduction of such a system
will certainly still take some time.
Since I have just finished my work at NPH Guatemala, I would like to take the opportunity on behalf
of the children to thank all the people who have
supported us continuously and made this ambitious
project possible. I am convinced that we have set
an important base for the future of our kids, which
I hope we can build on!
Since our home is still in the construction process,
there will be more than enough work for the carpentry program to handle for years to come. To
Jan Leiritz , carpenter
Bakery
Another vocational workshop that has made huge
steps in 2004 is the bakery. The basis for the project was begun last year with a big donation by Rotary International which included a large oven and
various pieces of working material. Then at the beginning of 2004, the first steps were made in a baking instruction course, in which a few boys learned
to produce the traditional “pan dulce” (sweet rolls)
themselves. But since the bread production is very
labor intensive and only a small group of boys had
participated, they did not bake on a regular basis.
In August and September 2004, another baking
course was initiated and a group of 13 reliable, motivated children over the age of 17 were selected to
participate. Over a period of eleven weeks, a professional baker from a vocational school in the capital came to San Andres and taught them the basic skills
of baking. At the end of the course, the teenagers were familiar with the recipes for 19 different types of
bread and pastries. They all received a formal certificate, which allows them to work in any commercial
bakery in Guatemala.
In October 2004, a small part of the kitchen was separated and turned into a small bakery. A boy and a
girl who participated in the course took responsibility for the bakery as their year of service. They are now
in charge of ensuring a regular production and requesting ingredients. They also have to evaluate the
work of the younger kids working in the bakery, who receive a little financial compensation according to
their engagement. The two are doing a great job. Now the bakery supplies us regularly with sweet rolls
for a snack during the school break as well as with pastries and cakes on special occasions. On Christmas
Eve they prepared delicious desserts for all of the kids and staff.
17
Lukas Graaf Family Correspondent
Clinic
Many children arrive on our doorsteps in poor
physical health. Some are malnourished. Some suffer from severe chronic diseases such as HIV, Epilepsy or Asthma, and thus need regular medication.
In our on-site clinic and pharmacy in “San Andres”
we provide our children with all basic medical care.
We treat minor health problems such as the Flu,
Diarrhea, or cuts and bruises; we make sure the
children’s vaccinations are up-to-date and that ill
children receive their daily medication. If children
need specialist treatment, we take them to private
clinics and specialists in the capital for consultations. A separate baby clinic is located in the babies’ home in which two nurses attend our newborns and toddlers.
2004
Our staff in “San Andres” currently consists of six therapeutic departments, special needs treatment,
persons: three Guatemalan nurses, a volunteer and physiotherapy (now all located in the same
pharmacist, a volunteer nurse, and me, the general building), facilitates a close cooperation.
coordinator.
Wilmer could move to his friends
Moreover we are now supported by two external You may remember Wilmer, the boy in the wheelphysicians who work part time giving consultations chair who was shot in the back by a hunter and is
at certain hours: A general practitioner comes four paralyzed from the chest downwards. Since he
days a week for three hours and a pediatrician came to us he had always been living with us in the
clinic because he needed help and medical attencomes once a week for three hours.
tion 24 hours a day. By now his condition has improved considerably thus we decided in agreement
The new building
This year brought many important changes and im- with the boys’ house director that for the first time
provements to the clinic. The most significant one Wilmer could move to the dormitories and live with
was certainly the long anticipated move to the new his friends in the Boys’ House. He now has his speclinic building in October (see “Construction Progress”) cial bed in his section’s dorm and comes to the
which made things a lot easier for us. Whereas in clinic only for his daily treatment and washing.
the old improvised room in one of the school buildings everything was incredibly cramped and the hy- Although we miss Wilmer here in the clinic, we are
gienic conditions inappropriate, we now have suffi- very glad for him that he could make this important
cient space. Furthermore the proximity to the other step towards a normal life. It is obvious that he is
very happy to be with his friends.
As Wilmer left we received two new in-patients.
They are two multi-disabled girls, Delma and Fernanda, who beforehand had been living in the Babies’ House. Now they have their own little room in
the Clinic where they can be taken better care of.
The new clinic building provides enough space not only
for our clinic and pharmacy but also houses our institution for special needs therapy and a room for physiotherapy.
HIV
The medical treatment of our seven HIV-positive
Children remains an ever-present concern. We are
very glad to collaborate with two hospitals in Guatemala City that offer us consultations and supply us
with the medication cocktails. The problem is that
these hospitals rely on donations from abroad as
well. And sometimes they don’t have the particular
18
medicine the physician suggests so we have to buy additional Antiretrovirals at a high cost. We are
therefore always in need of donations of HIV medication. (further needs : see list on the last page)
In the future, our clinic will also offer medical attention to people from outside of NPH. However because of the lack of specialists and equipment, there is still a long way to go until we can open our
practice to the general public.
Armando Chajon
“Castillo Magico” - Special needs care At NPH Guatemala we have six children with severe mental and physical disabilities. They are
aged between six and thirteen and their disabilities include autism, cerebral palsy, epilepsy,
RETT-Syndrome, and physical and psychological
retardation. “Castillo Magico” is how we call our
therapy institution. This is where these children
receive special care and “general development”
therapy in the morning.
In 2004 our “Castillo” has made huge strides. Until September the therapy room had been located
in a small, improvised shed in the yard of the old
babies house in Chimaltenango. Space and light
was scarce and three boys who were living in the
Boys’ House in San Andres had to be brought by
car every day. Then in October, 2004 the new
clinic in San Andres was completed and we moved
in our designated rooms on the backside of the
building.
Now we have four big, bright rooms at our disposal that are much closer to the children. Our
main therapy room provides enough space for
playing, singing, handcrafts as well as ergo- and
physiotherapeutic activities. Here we also practice
everyday activities such as eating, brushing teeth
and washing. Thanks to our carpentry team we
equipped the room with a big ball bath, wall bars,
and a special low-lay therapy bed. We have a
storage room for equipment, and currently we are
preparing a special room for sensory stimulation.
A very special new addition for our children is the
hot tub, a donation from Germany. For our two
multiply disabled girls with cerebral palsy, Delma
and Fernanda, and for our autistic boy Axel, it is
always a little event when they can enjoy the
warm massage bubbles. Without the great financial support from Germany we never could have
bought all of this equipment. Thank you all so
much!
19
Currently there are two therapists in the
“Castillo”; I, a volunteer-therapist from Germany,
and one co-worker from Guatemala. During the
week the children come to us at 7:30 and are
picked up by their respective caretakers at 14:30.
The rest of the day they are integrated in the children’ houses according to their age.
We also have a physiotherapist working with us
who supplements the different occupational therapies with massages and physical exercises.
We are especially happy to see that many children
have made progress over the course of this year.
Gloria for example, who was before not able to
walk without help, can now make a few steps
while holding on to an auxiliary rope.
In 2005 we are going to continue to equip our
rooms. We would also like to create a little garden
in front of the “Castillo” with a lawn to play in and
to lay down on.
Kathleen Schubert, Volunteer Therapist
Cooperation in the psycho-pedagogical field
During 2004 we made great progress in the psycho-pedagogical
field especially in terms of cooperation. In August of 2003 only
a Guatemalan logopedician and a psychologist worked in special education while I, a German volunteer and teacher of special education, was in charge of the “CASITA”, the occupational
therapy room for our disabled children.
A Montessori program was initiated in the special education
class of 6 – 10 children with moderate mental disabilities or
learning problems. Because of learning differences, we started
to make our own classroom materials in order to give every
child the opportunity to learn at his own pace while having fun.
Seeing the potential that our new ideas presented, the preschool teachers soon showed interest in our work as well. As a
result we met together to design materials and exchange work
experiences. These meetings were the first step in a very productive cooperative effort in the areas of ‘special-needs’ care,
special education, and preschool. We further began to coordinate our work in topic-oriented projects , joint excursions and activities.
At NPH Guatemala we have many children with challenging behavioral problems, so working in a team
helped us to deal with these difficulties. It also gave us the opportunity to try out coordinated therapy
programs and to improve the children’s file data which is indispensable for future work. During June and
July, Kim, a Dutch volunteer art-therapist and Tirsa, a Guatemalan special education teacher, joined our
team. Together we elaborated the objectives and responsibilities of the psycho-pedagogical area and officially formed our own department, “El Departamento de Psico-Pedagogía”. Having established a foundation for continued work and improvements, we were assured that at least one psychologist would be employed guaranteeing continual assistance for the children with
behaviour difficulties. The restructuring and improvement of the
psychological and ‘special-needs’ care programs is an ongoing
progress. The foundations laid this year will assist future caregivers immensely.
Karin Wieland, Special education teacher
Physiotherapy
When I arrived at NPH Guatemala from Switzerland, the
physiotherapy clinic here had been vacant for nearly two years.
As a result there was a lot of organizing to do in developing a
work plan that would best utilize my skills. With the help of
Jan, our volunteer carpenter, a treatment table was made out
of wood that tried to replicate the original from Switzerland
with which I was familiar. This work was so successful that we
have continued planning other wood products to furnish the
physiotherapy room in the new clinic.
Ten to fifteen children need regular therapy for a variety of
reasons such as muscular contractions, fractures, backaches,
or disabilities from paraplegics or quadriplegics. Most of all I
20
work with the special needs children doing contrac- physical strength to help him gain more independtion prophylaxis or walking training. My work is also ence in his everyday movement. I am glad to see
in need in the babies’ house.
that he has made good progress in the last four
months.
Javier, who was born with a severe anomaly in his
joints and muscles, has just returned to Guatemala Regular stretching for the children who are growing
after a successful surgery in Holland. In order to fast and gymnastics for the ones who tend towards
guarantee a successful healing process, continuous obesity are part of a preventative plan which emphysiotherapy is necessary.
phasizes the fun of physical activity. This program
will consist of climbing, cycling, and outdoor activiAnother example is Wilmer, a boy in the wheelchair. ties.
Five years ago he was hit by a bullet in the back
and is now paralyzed from the waist down. When Fortunately physiotherapy will continue here long
Wilmer came to us he was on the verge of dying. after I return to Switzerland so long term planning
Now he is a life loving boy with a good constitution. is not done in vain. I hope by the time I leave that
As a result of his injury he has lost some hand func- I’ll have left not only wooden therapeutic furniture
tion and because of all the lying in bed he lacks but children better off able to realize their potential.
strength in his arm muscles. With various exercises
and a special diet we are now trying to improve his
Rahit Tobler Physiotherapist
Art Therapy
- a new area-
Art therapy is a form of psychotherapeutic
assistance in which the therapist uses various art mediums such as drawing, painting,
sculpture, music, drama, or dance as a medium to help others to attain a specific goal.
Through the particular medium the therapist
gains more insight into the problems of the
individual child or group that he is working
with. The therapist guides the selfexpression encouraged by the art form and
through this process may then offer new options for behavioral modification. Because of the difficult backgrounds
of some of our children, shyness, hyperactivity, withdrawn behavior, outward symptoms of emotional difficulties are common. Art therapy focuses on stimulating fantasies in order to make the world of the child not only
richer, but also provide a journey for the discovery of
their talents. Working in pairs and small groups assures
that the children are not threatened or pressured individually. Finally, these processes enhance self-confidence,
respect, and group cooperation.
In 2005 group sessions of four to six will be organized in
which children have to cooperate in various guided activities. One group will consist of children who are withdrawn, have difficulties establishing social contacts, expressing their ideas, or who have a negative self-image.
Another group will consist of children who are extroverts,
hyperactive, suffer an attention deficit, behave rudely or
aggressively towards other children, and while being energetic and pro-active, lack the ability to succeed.
A third group will include the HIV positive children who are adversely affected by frequent hospital visits.
Finally, an adolescent group will deal with problems of this difficult transition period.
Kim Som - Art Therapist
21
Donations
activities and other
8%
The objective of the Donations Department is to
generate in kind donations for NPH within Guatemala.
medicine
6%
In practice my daily work consists of establishing
and maintaining contacts with businesses operating in Guatemala while encouraging them to donate their products or services that are useful to
the orphanage. These could be anything ranging
from food and clothes to medicine, detergent, shoe
strings, or tickets for the movie theatre. Every
contact and transaction is tracked in a database
which covers the 300 businesses that have been
asked for donations at least once since the department was established in 2002.
The overall value of in kind donations generated
through the Donations Department in 2004 cumulates to almost 30,000 USD.
Of course this
amount only represents a small percentage of the
overall budget needed to cover the costs of running a household as big as ours.
Still, in-kind donations have helped us to save
money on necessary supplies, and we have also
received some items or services as gifts that we
otherwise would not have been able to buy, but
are nice treats for our children such as candy and
soda for parties and a huge donation of expensive
spices that have made just about all of the meals
prepared in our kitchen tastier. Free tickets to the
detergents and
personal hygiene
12%
food
54%
clothes and shoes
20%
Donations received in 2004 by type of product.
zoo and to various museums have provided for
some fun excursions, and meals at fast food chains
have been given to groups of students as a reward
for outstanding performance at school.
I want to thank all our donors from within Guatemala who believe in the future of their country,
and for their generous contributions that help our
children to become productive citizens!
Ulrike Speckmann
Donations
Sponsorship
In 2004 the number of sponsors remained constant mainly because quite a large number of older children
left in the course of the year without many new children arriving. In addition, problems with the Internet
connection, which sometimes was almost non-existent, made proper communication with the offices very
difficult.
With our office now located at the school in San Andres, the mail contact with sponsors has improved
since the children are nearby for letter writing. Moreover in 2005, the anticipated implementation of an
Internet computer lab in our school should help us solve many of our problems assuring that we will finally be able to reach the desired level of communication, by making our work flow smoothly and quickly.
In January, our Canadian friends will visit us again to begin construction of our general office building on
the premises in San Andres, making things easier in the future. We hope with all these innovations that
our general work will improve, especially in the communication between the offices.
During the year we had at least 28 Godparents visit their Godchildren. Although this was not many, we
hope that next year more will wish to do so. We await all of our Godparents with open arms.
22
We sent progress reports and 1,100 post cards on Godparents’ Day. At Christmas over 1250 cards, hand
made by the children, were mailed as well. All in all we have received over 5,000 pieces of mail and have
sent out about the same amount. However since we sometimes have problems with mail not reaching
destinations in the US, Canada or Europe, at times we must consider alternatives such as courier services,
especially in regard to the very important intro packages.
Continued sponsor support over the year has enabled us to have a good year in spite of the few problems
we had to face. We hope for another great year for our children and we thank you all for your help.
Sponsorship Statistics:
Organization, # of Sponsors, # of Sponsorships:
Forderkreis, 1, 1;
FOTO-AZ, 11, 12;
FOTO-CAN, 40, 50;
FOTO-IL, 14, 17;
FOTO-MN, 175, 219;
FOTO-NW, 81, 102;
NPFS-FR, 32, 34;
NPH-IT, 241, 252;
NPH-SP, 61, 62;
OKW-BE, 1, 1;
OKW-NL, 152, 168;
OLBS-Virginia, 5, 5;
UKBS-AUS, 51, 76;
UKBS-CH, 23, 25;
UKBS-DE, 245, 306;
TOTAL, 1133, 1330
Volunteers
At NPH Guatemala we benefit to a great extend from the work contribution and the commitment of our
volunteers. From English teachers to nurses, caregivers to librarians, they work in almost all of the departments helping us not only with their labor but also with innovative ideas and great motivation.
A voluntary year in a different country is a very exceptional situation. It goes without saying that clashes
and misunderstandings sometimes result. As the volunteer coordinator it is my job to handle such situations and to ease the new volunteers into their “new life”. I introduce them, help them adapt to their new
job, settle problems, and organize get-togethers. I act as the link between the volunteers, the employees,
and the offices, and last but not least, I recruit new volunteers who fit our needs.
In 2004 a total of 39 volunteers from seven different countries worked at NPH Guatemala. They were a
well-balanced group of men and women most of whom were between 20 and 35 years of age. As in the
past I can say that they all did a great job. In fact, this year three new departments were created by volunteers: carpentry, art therapy and physiotherapy – all very promising new efforts which we hope will be
carried on. Moreover, three new volunteer/employee houses were constructed in July, which are a great
improvement for us. Those volunteers who for lack of space had been living in the old boys’ house in Chimaltenango are now happy to have their place here in “San Andres” among the children. As well, volunteers and Guatemalan staff are now living under the same roof which makes for a more enriching cultural
experience.
Unfortunately the volunteers who work in the babies’ house are still separated. Thus we eagerly anticipate
the move from the babies’ house so we all can finally be united on the new premises. I would like to
thank all of the volunteers for their hard work and for making the lives of our children a little brighter.
Melanie Pister Volunteer Coordinator
23
Personnel
Hiring and contractual issues relating to the Guatemalan workers and volunteers at NPH Guatemala are
the domain of the director of personnel. In order to adequately care for approximately 350 children we
currently employ a total of 89 persons, plus we can count on the unconditional labor of some 25 volunteers (Dec.04). The following chart illustrates how many people work in the different departments:
Through a consultative process all efforts are made to select candidates who are well-educated and wellsuited to the unique work involved here at the home. As a result, the few personnel problems that have
been encountered have been largely related to scheduling. While the sometimes unusual working hours
can make a workday very tiring, the cooperative effort of the house directors and the care givers has assured that the all of the aspects of a work day are fulfilled.
Employees
Volunteers
Offices/Administration
Sponsorship
school staff
Medical Staff
Tíos/Tías Babies' House
Tíos/Tías Girls' House
Tíos/Tías Boys' House
Cooks
Laundry
Maintenance
Watchers
Drivers/Mechanics
Various
0
2
4
6
8
Transportation
10
12
14
16
18
20
22
24
26
28
30
32
Transportation is an essential ingredient in assuring the functioning of NPH Guatemala. With three
pick up trucks, one microbus, two buses, and a
cargo truck, the day to day events, special excursions, donation collections, medical appointments,
not to mention emergency trips, are all possible.
Our buses can move the entire population of NPH
for such things as school excursions while the
cargo truck moves heavy goods, large equipment,
donations, utensils, and tools. The regular maintenance of these vehicles is essential to the operation of the home, and for this reason an important
advance made this year was to contract out vehicle maintenance services in order to minimize
breakdowns and the cost of repairs.
In the future, another newer model pick up truck
will be required to replace our aging model.
Manuel Gyovani Jerez Roman,
Human Resources and Transportation
24
Accounting
My name is Daniel Mendez and I am the new accountant for NPH Guatemala. I began my work on the
15th of June 2004, replacing Miguel Velasquez.
The Accounting department’s objective is to control all the expenses and income. I’m now doing my very
best to protect the foundation’s funds and goods, by ensuring that money is well spent and nothing gets
lost. Trying to find the suppliers with the best offers and the companies that give us special discounts in
order to keep the costs low is an ongoing process for my position.
In 2004, we made great progress in construction, due to the strong support of our Canadian friends who
provided many of the funds (marked*). In 2005, they are going to continue to construct long anticipated
buildings in San Andres (**). For all this we are more than grateful!
For 2005, one important goal is to achieve a better control of our food and hygiene supplies.
Daniel Mendez
Accountant
Non-curricular purchases & expenses in 2004 include:
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
Furniture & cooking facilities for the clinic
filing cabinets, chairs & desks for primary school
Telephone plant for the premises in San Andres
7 computers for the computer lab
1 marimba, music classes
Enforcement of the electricity system in San Andres for U.S.$25,000
Construction of staff & volunteer houses for $U.S. 104,269*
Construction of a workshop building for U.S.$51,375*
Non-curricular expenses scheduled for 2005:
x
x
x
x
Construction of a girls’ house building; U.S.$350,730**
Construction of further staff houses; U.S.$34,800**
Construction of workshops; U.S.$54,052**
Construction of a laundry house; U.S.$31,827**
Average Expenses per Child in US$
food
DAILY
education
medical
salaries
others
2,75
0,35
0,88
0,63
2,53
3,74
83,62
10,77
26,72
19,07
76,89
113,71
1.003,40
129,18
320,67
228,82
922,69
1.364,51
MONTHLY
ANNUALLY
clothing
food
others
OTHERS
transportation
clothing
education
salaries
medical
attention
25
daily exp.per child
0,77
Housing
Farm & Animals
Maintenance
Services & Utilities
Fundraising
General & Administration
0,38
0,41
0,74
0,61
0,04
0,50
Fees & Insurance
0,21
Social Work
Guatemala is a country that faces great social
problems and extreme poverty. Typically this
puts a high burden on the shoulders of the
weakest groups of society, including children and
teen-agers. Many children in Guatemala are
lacking even the basic necessities for a life iofdignity, such as love, education, food and shelter. They many times have to suffer various
forms of maltreatment or abandonment instead.
The Social Work department’s principal objective
is to open the way for those children and make
the necessary legal arrangements so that they
can join our family here at NPH Guatemala
where they will find protection and love. The
two typical ways that the children join NPH are hand-over of
guardianship by their family or by court order. This year 20
children were submitted by their families, which in each case is
preceded by a visit by the social worker in order to evaluate the
background of the children, and to give information and advice
to the relatives. By court order, 18 children were handed over,
sometimes only temporarily, to NPH.
Similarly our children can leave NPH if they are taken back by
their parents (19 in 2004) or if a court order is revised (18 in
2004). Furthermore 20 children left NPH on their own will. In
addition to going through the social and legal maneuvers to enter NPH, the social worker is always the point of contact for
families and legal bodies and is responsible for organizing legal
documentation, keeping up to date every child’s personal file,
as well as the maintaining the statistics on the orphanage’s
population.
Presently NPH Guatemala is home to 321 boys and girls from a few months to 22 years of age. Hopefully
we will have the capacity to grow as a family in the future in order to offer a life of dignity to many more
children in Guatemala!
Alba Clarivel Tum Siguan
Social Worker
Number of Children *
Boys’ House
Girls’ House
Babies’ House
170
111
40
Total 2004
321
Year of service & Bachillerato *
1st Year of Service
2nd & 3rd Y.o.S.
Bachillerato
Children left in 2004*
Children taken in 2004*
boys
27
taken out by family
19
girls
11
by court order
18
by parents
left on own will (over 18)
20
by court
20
18
Total
38
Total
57
15
3
19
*: figures as of December 2004
26
Construction Progress
There has been a lot of construction activity in
“Casa San Andres” this year thanks to the great
efforts of our Canadian supporters. They came
at the beginning of this year for the fifth time to
help us not only with funds but also with their
own hands.
When the first Canadian volunteers came it was
a relatively small group, but the initiative has
been growing ever since. This year, with 125
people, we had the biggest participation so far.
Over seven weeks they came in groups of approximately twenty people, each staying for
one or two weeks. They slept in tents on the
school ground and worked with great enthusiasm in all aspects of the construction. The volunteers all sacrifice their vacations in order to work here. And not only do they pay for their own flight and food, but
they also donate a fixed amount of money, from which they buy the construction materials. What the Canadians could not finish in their short time here was completed by local construction companies.
The first buildings to be completed were the three new staff and volunteer houses. Situated on the
path between the school and dining hall, they are the first of ultimately six (or eight) planned buildings
which will provide space for about 12 people respectively. Each one has four bedrooms for 2-3 people
each, a common bathroom, and a large shared room equipped with simple cooking facilities. The houses
are a big improvement, especially for the caretakers in the girls’ house, who up until now had been living
literally cramped together in a non-separated corner of a dormitory. Thanks to the new houses, they now
have their necessary bit of privacy while still living close to the children. The volunteers, who for lack of
space had thus far been living in the old Boys’ House “Casa San Bernardo,” fifteen minutes away from the
property in Chimaltenango, are now happy to have their place here, among the children.
In July, the first workshop building was finished, and by now a second one is under construction. These
buildings are an essential prerequisite for our new program of vocational education based on handcraft
workshops which will make it possible for the older Pequeños to obtain valuable skills in practical professions. The first new building provides enough space for two of these workshops. One half is occupied by
the new carpentry program and the other by our music classroom; the second building will house the bakery, the sewing workshop, and a welding workshop.
Finally at the end of September, after nine months of construction, the large clinic building was completed. Previously our medical station and pharmacy were located in one of the school buildings in a very
small space with insufficient sanitary facilities. The new building brings great change. It is designed as an
open clinic which can later also provide people from outside the home with medical care at an affordable
price. It has a small public practice, with a reception, a waiting room, and two treatment rooms. The
pharmacy is right next to it. The rear of the clinic is designated for in-patient treatment and special therapy. Apart from three patient rooms, it houses the psycho-pedagogic area for our special needs children.
In contrast to their old, improvised rooms in the yard of the babies’ house, our "Especiales" now have
much more space and brighter, more beautiful rooms.
Next year in 2005 our home will continue to grow! We are grateful to have sufficient funds to finally build
both the greatly needed new girls’ dormitories and a laundry building next to the dorms. And in January,
2005 we are happy to welcome another group of Canadian volunteers who will help us to build additional
staff houses and the office building.
Lukas Graaf,
Family Correspondent
27
Theater & Recreational Activities
Our department’s objective is to give the children a place where they
can discover and enjoy their creative skills, like drawing, acting or
singing; give a place where they can develop their talents and expend
their spare energy at the same time. Currently we have two theater
groups: one for the teenagers and one for the smaller children. There
are eight children in each group. Apart from the performance troupes,
this department is also in charge of organizing certain activities and
managing the sound equipment.
In April, we were lucky to be able to do a big trip with the teenage theater group in the course of which
we visited the other NPH homes and performed our play “The Little Shop of Horrors” for large audiences.
This trip was a great success and motivated the whole group. Also, the “teatro infantil” (children’s theater) performed a play entitled “The Summer King” for the school’s anniversary in August, and for Christmas they performed yet another play.
For next year, we are planning to expand the theatre groups, and if possible do more performances. To
conclude, I would like to thank all of those people who support this department with their donations. I am
convinced that the harnessing of the creativity of the children in this home is a very important cause.
Christian Alejandro Vega Menéndez Third Year of Service
Needs
Children’s houses
Clothes are always needed the most. We can use all sizes and both for
girls and boys. Underwear, socks, slippers, sneakers, casual shoes,
warm sweaters, trousers and large towels
Toys & board games. !
Blankets
Bags (for school)
Tools & Equipment for our work on the fields, such as machetes, pickaxes, shovels, wheelbarrows, hoses etc.
Lockers
School
Stationary material: Paper, Exercise books, pens & pencils, Chalk
Tempera, Wipe board markers
room to teach home education
multifunctional conference Room - with audiovisual equipment
biology laboratory with the necessary equipment such as microscopes,
etc.
playground equipment (swings, see-saw, carousel, etc.)
instruments for a school band (Tambourines, lyres, etc.)
an English language resource room
Library
Books (Spanish or English)
Stationary material
Movies (DVDs or VHS with Spanish subtitles)
Carpentry
all kinds of small tools – hammers, saws, screwdrivers
paint, screws
Funds for wood to build more tables and benches for the children’s dormitories
28
Bakery
Baking forms for cakes
Aprons
equipment of the new workspace
(tiles, gas tank, wood for worktables)
Clinic
Sterilizer
Stretcher (for carrying without wheels)
Pediatric Laryngoscope + tubes of different sizes
Sterile gases, alcohol, hivitane
Vaccinations for Hepatitis A & B
urine catheter in children’s size
H.I.V. medication (Antiretrovirals):
AZT£VIDEX£3TC£EFAVIRENZ£
VIRACEPT£KALETRA£VIREAD£
Special needs children & therapy
Hard-wearing toys for babies & toddlers
Stimulating toys / materials for the stimulation room
CDs with soothing music or natural sounds (water,
wind etc.)
Lice-treatment + lice-combs
Stretch bed sheets
2 new Wheelchairs for Delma and Fernanda, the girls
with cerebral palsy
Various
equipment for our laundry: industrial strength washer and dryers.
equipment for the future welding and sewing
workshops
Since the paths on the home grounds are not
paved yet Wilmer cannot drive his wheelchair without help. We are hoping for funds to improve the
paths soon.
NPH Guatemala
National Director: Father William B. Wasson
Executive Director: Constantino Azuara
Main Office
Mailing address
Colonial Santa Teresita
Lote # 22, Manzana I, Zona 2
Chimaltenango
Guatemala C.A.
tel: (+502) 7-839 - 3219
(+502) 7-839 - 3317
fax: (+502) 7-839 - 6960
Apdo. Postal 4
Chimaltenango
Guatemala C.A.
“Casa San Andres” - main property
“Casa San Bernado”
Babies / Bachillerato Students
Boys, Girls, School, Sponsorship, Volunteers
Quinta Los Aposentos, Zona 1
Chimaltenango,
Guatemala, C.A.
tel: (+502) 7- 839 - 6688
Camino Viejo a Parramos,
Aldea Cajahualtén
San Andres Itzapa
Departamento Chimaltenango
Guatemala, C.A.
tel: (+502) 7 - 849 - 5047
E-m@il
General:
[email protected]
National director:
[email protected]
Sponsorship:
[email protected]
Family Correspondence:
[email protected]
Volunteer Coordinator:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
Social work :
[email protected]
Donations:
[email protected]
School Director:
[email protected]
text edition, translations, photos, and layout by Lukas Graaf
29
30
THE SCHOOL
During the school year
2004, many educational
and recreational activities
took place. Now we have
new and bigger facilities
that offer our children a
better place to learn. They
really enjoy the spacious
facilities.
Thanks to the excellent
work done by all of our
teachers, last year our
school was granted funds
by
the
Ministry
of
Education
to
purchase
various educational tools. With these funds we acquired a microscope, a video
camera, a slide projector, a DVD player, as well as some furniture.
Last year the students stood out in various activities. The children in Parvulary
School (Kindergarten) participated in competitions within NPH El Salvador during
the “recreational mornings”, where they obtained first place. In the Parvulary
Festival (Children’s Festival) they participated at the district level, dramatizing a
little story. They obtained first place, once again.
The youth from 7th,
8th and 9th grade
participated
in
a
three day student
camp organized by
the
Ministry
of
Education.
They
shared this adventure
with youth from other
schools. The youth
were accompanied by
teachers. It was a
very
significant
experience for all of
the students.
The school was also visited by a young association called "People Advance" which
promotes Spanish American cultures. This organization promotes and teaches the
children to safeguard and revere their native culture.
Every October we are accustomed to celebrating “Boys’ and Girls’ Day”. It is
organized by the teachers, caretakers, and the administrative staff, who present
varied types of performances. During the performance, the children were full of
smiles. After the programs we would have lunch which usually consisted of
hamburgers and fries.
The students from 7th, 8th, and 9th grades participated for a third consecutive year
in an English Contest where they demonstrated their proficiency in English through
the creation and performance of plays.
2
The school year ended well
with
the
graduation
ceremony
of
the
fifth
promotion
of
Parvulary
School
and
the
third
promotion of ninth grade.
During the ceremony the
students
were
clearly
enthusiastic over the event.
At the end of the ceremony,
an
exhibition
of
achievements displayed the
excellent
work
created
throughout the year. It showed off the talent, creativity, and intelligence of the
students.
During 2004 we achieved a higher level of teaching and learning after the
establishment of an Educational Evaluation Committee. Also a group of teachers
created a survey for the students to evaluate their respective teachers and another
survey for each teacher to evaluate themselves; all this with the purpose of
strengthening the relationships among the staff and thereby improving their work
with the students.
Liliana Lizarde (Director)
SPECIAL EDUCATION
The special education classroom is a
valuable resource to help the students
with learning and language problems.
During
2004,
we
assisted
approximately
38
students
from
Parvulary to ninth grade. They
received
at
least
three
weekly
therapies in groups of three to four
students. We now have a more
spacious, comfortable, and appropriate
classroom for the students that attend
those sessions.
Evaluations were carried out for the
old and new students with the purpose
of assessing their educational level and placing them in the appropriate grade
according to their abilities and knowledge.
One of the methodologies implemented last year was a computer with corrective
programs for reading, writing, and math problems. This, without doubt, makes the
learning process more interesting for the students while motivating them to
continue to move forward in their education.
Karen Cuestas (Coordinator)
3
CHOIR AND ESTUDIANTINA
The Choir and Estudiantina group is comprised of twenty five children who work
with great enthusiasm and happiness, playing and singing varied music: Traditional
Catholic hymns, folklore, Christmas carols, among others. Due to the displayed
interest that they put in the learning process, they have visited the whole territory
of Santa Ana.
In early 2004 we decided to form a new Estudiantina group for children of 6 and 7
years old in order to start working with their voices from a younger age. They
already have a lot of enthusiasm and are happy to be in the group.
We acquired two synthesizers with pedestals in order to assist out choir.
During the past year our choir has become very popular. They were invited to
perform in many different types of venues including churches and schools. They
also visited the towns of Metapán and Texistepeque. The bishop of Santa Ana has
even invited the choir to sing at the Cathedral in Santa Ana every first Sunday of
the month!
Otoniel Alvarez and Hugo Espino (Director)
DANCE GROUP
During 2004, the dance group
made many achievements,
due to increased skill level,
integration of new members,
and the acceptance of the
local communities. We also
acquired additional costumes
such as shirts, pants, hats,
and sandals.
The individual skills of the
students that form this group
are exhibited in each one of
their
performances.
They
create new choreographies
each performance, to the delight of the spectators. It creates a reason for the
public to continue to return and see us.
4
The group had the opportunity to perform in many venues which increased their
popularity. As a result, many institutions have requested that we come and
perform.
Dance Group Calendar of Performance
MONTH
DAY
PLACE
January
29
Town: Candelaria de la Frontera
February
7
Asylum Narcisa Castillo
February
14
Cantón Camones
May
26
Santa Ana Theatre
May
27
Santa Ana Theatre
May
31
Texistepeque School center
June
26
Santa Familia School
July
11
Family Visit in NPH
July
23
Santa Ana Cathedral
July
25
Market of Santa Ana
July
31
Metapán city
August
19
Santa Familia School
September
12
Texistepeque
November
19
Texistepeque school center
November
27
December
9
Farewell to godparents from
Holland
Virgen of Guadalupe church
December
12
Dinner for indigents
December
13
Santa Lucía church
BABIES’ HOUSE
The babies’ house of NPH El Salvador is happy to have 55 children from the ages of
nine months to seven years old. Last December we had the pleasure of moving into
our own home. For this we want to thank all the people that made this dream of
Father Wasson and our General Director a reality.
As for the education of our children, they are now receiving early stimulation. Last
school year, nine of our children advanced to the first grade.
Among the festivities of last year we celebrated Children’s Day and baptized 40
boys and girls. Though they didn’t have birth certificates, our social work personnel
ensured that they all received the holy sacrament.
We want to emphasize the wonderful effort of the girls who gave their year of
service this year; they continue to support us with their constant work and love.
Last year we had two girls who finished their year of service at our home.
As good Christians we hope that our family continues to growing with the blessing
of God.
Babies´house: Leticia Mejía (House Director)
5
GIRLS’ HOUSE
In the girls’ house this past
year we had many special
moments.
Every
day
we
improve with the blessing of
God.
The
girls
expressed
their
curiosity with the move to their
new house. At first they were
nervous, but as time passed
things improved.
Currently we have 136 girls.
Every year we receive new little
ones and more children are
helped. Like every year, we have girls working in their year of service; they help us
to take care of the smaller girls by performing the caretakers’ work responsibly.
One of our most fundamental needs is a sound religious preparation for all of our
children. We try to strengthen their faith and to instil in them sound principles and
morals. In this way we can become good Christians and help our fellow man by
sharing what we have with others.
The activities carried out in our new home are many and varied. They include
cleaning our house and planting trees to refresh our house as the climate is quite
hot. We take walks to the river on our property which is one of the activities that
the girls enjoy the most. We also organize basketball and football games, taking
advantage of the new courts. The caretakers collaborated in the celebration of
“Childrens’ Day”, a Christmas Party, a visit to the beach, and trips to the movies,
among other small trips.
Additional special activities that we organized last year were:
x 22 girls celebrated their 15th birthday (Quinceañeros)
x Baptisms and First Communions
x Procession and Celebration for the Virgin Mary
x Christmas Carolling
6
Everybody participated in each event, giving thanks to God for all the goods that
our family receives. We thank all the people that support our big family and hope
that God blesses our homes and fills all of our hearts with happiness.
Patricia Mejía (House Director)
BOYS´ HOUSE
Last year our children had many
reasons to be satisfied by reaching
many goals. When we moved to our
new home, many children were filled
with happiness and surprise. From
the beginning our children had
worked very hard - now that they
have the home of their dreams. They
were devoted to planting trees
around their house in order to have a
salubrious atmosphere.
In 2004, like every other year, our
family grew and grew. This house already has 145 children between 7 and 18 years
old. Among them we have 3 children doing their year of service: Marvin, Marcos
and Oscar. They work in the kitchen; this is where they learned how to be more
responsible and punctual. They all finished their year of service without problems.
Next year they will begin their Technical high school at the “Instituto de
Texistepeque”.
Now the children have a larger space to play sports which is a basketball court that
is also used for soccer. They train every afternoon and play tournaments among
themselves. Thanks to the extensive amount of land that we have, they can also
run around and take advantage of the space at our new home.
During the weekends, they always enjoy going to the river with the caretakers for a
refreshing dip.
Last year some of our children started to cultivate some vegetables like cucumber,
corn, and maicillo (a small type of corn). The children are learning how to grow
their own vegetables as we would like to eventually grow all of the vegetables
needed for our kitchen.
Lorenzo Mejia (House director)
CLINIC
Today, our clinic is more complete since we now have some new specialized
personnel. We have a general doctor, a pediatrician, three nurses, a
physiotherapist, and starting last November, a youth doing her year of service.
At the request of a benefactor, we named our clinic "El Refugio" when it was
established. We acquired the appropriate equipment for the operation of the clinic:
especially for physiotherapy, the dental office, the isolation room, the recovery
rooms, the administrative area, the kitchen, and the laundry.
7
Activities with the Ministry Of Health:
Thanks to the help provided by the Ministry of Public Health, we received vaccines
for our entire infant population which included: DPT, OPV, PENTAVALENT, MMR, and
DT Pediatric. This year 100% of our children under 5 years of age and our students
were vaccinated.
We also received support in basic programs for the elimination of mosquito larva
through fumigation.
Coordination with Other Institutions:
We coordinated with the educational office of the Department of Pediatrics of the
San Juan de Díos Hospital of Santa Ana to receive educational lectures in Sexual
Education and Personal Hygiene. An agreement was made with the Dentistry
department of the University of El Salvador where our children can participate in a
dental prevention program which includes: preventive education, brushing
techniques, diet, and lectures on gingivitis and other topics.
CLINIC STATISTICS
Internal Clinic
Ź Medical control from newborn till 5 years old: 280
Ź Regular visits to the clinic: 5101
Ź Small surgeries in clinic: 28
Medical visits with specialists in “ Hospital Nacional Bloom”: 14
Ź Otorhinolaryngology: 2 children
Ź Allergist: 1
Ź Ophthalmology: 4
Ź Plastic surgery: 3
Ź Dentistry and Orthodontics: 1
Ź Endocrinology Pediatrician: 1
Ź Neurosurgeon: 1
Ź Orthopaedics: 1
Appointments with private specialists: 186
Surgeon, Orthodontist, Oculist, Gynecologist, Orthopedics, Neurologist,
Dermatologist, Cardiologist, Paediatrician.
Surgeries in Hospitals: 7
1 neck surgery, 3 orthopedic, and 1 plastic surgery.
PHYSIOTHERAPY
8
The year 2004 was wonderful because we moved to our new home; although it was
difficult for everyone to adapt and set up the new work space.
During 2004 twenty different children were assisted because of bone fractures.
Other problems assisted were sprains, fractures, traumas, muscular spasms, and
especially knee problems (with the boys or girls that play soccer). Thankfully we did
not need to send our children to an outside clinic. With our equipment, skills, and
staff, we were able to treat all of our children effectively.
Clinic: Dra. Sonia Mejía (general doctor)
SOCIAL WORK
The emphasis in 2004 was on the educational and spiritual activities of the children.
We showed movies to the children about childhood sexual abuse. Also, a program
called D.A.R.E. was given by the National Civil Police to instruct boys and girls how
to resist drugs and violence. With the support of some Pediatricians, the children
received information on sexual education, personal hygiene, and communicable
diseases.
The “Tribunal Familiar” from San Salvador gave a talk to the caretakers on the
abuse of authority and child abuse in the eyes of the law.
At the end of the year, our children spent time with the elderly in our communities.
They performed artistic expositions in order to build ties with that most cherished
part of our population.
To celebrate the day of Virgin Mary of Guadalupe, we organized nine days of prayer
in her honor. We began with a procession of children from our Administrative
Offices towards the Parish of Guadalupe. There, the parish priest blessed the
Virgin's image, which had travelled for nine days within the facilities of our home,
“The Sacred Family”. It concluded with a procession in San José of Zompopo, where
our new home is located. Dinner and an artistic program were then prepared for
the community.
As in previous years, we prepared a dinner for the indigent people of Santa Ana.
Part of the night included a group of Mexican Ex-Pequeños presenting dances with
our dance group and choir. All of the people present were delighted with the dances
and song.
9
SOCIAL WORK STATISTICS:
Girls´ house:
Boys´house:
Babies´ house:
Total:
AGE:
0-11 months
1 year
2 years
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
TOTAL:
BOYS:
1
2
3
2
7
11
11
10
16
9
12
11
9
18
16
17
10
9
3
2
0
179
136
144
59
339
GIRLS:
0
3
5
3
4
6
4
6
8
15
14
9
13
12
10
9
12
11
10
4
2
160
TOTAL:
1
5
8
5
11
17
15
16
24
24
26
20
22
30
26
26
22
20
13
6
2
339
Social work: Lic. Patricia Umaña
MARKETING
The department of Fundraising and Procurement searches for local help and
donations for our children either in cash or in kind. They also try to obtain the best
prices for all of the articles and services that we buy from the market.
Achievements during the Year 2004:
We obtained a series of donations from different companies that helped the wellbeing of the children. We received 30 licenses for Microsoft Office Pro 2003 in
Spanish and 30 Licenses for Windows XP professional in Spanish; both which were
of great value to our School.
Thanks to the gernerosity of some generous businesses, we also received personal
hygiene supplies, along with some clothes and shoes. It is important to mention
that “Rafael Meza Ayau” Foundation has contributed funds for the maintenance of
the buildings of our home.
The electric company waived their fee for the feasibility study of electric service at
our new location.
Due to the growth of our home, we acquired new computer software in order to
have a better control of the general warehouse.
10
In summary, we have obtained donations as much in kind as in cash. Day by day,
we work diligently to buy and obtain all the necessary items for the children of
NPH-El Salvador.
Marketing: Claudia Garcia
SPONSORSHIP
NPH El Salvador has 340 children of which 22 children have not yet been
sponsored. At the moment we have 32 donors from El Salvador.
The birthday celebrations this year were a success. All of the children, whether they
had godparents or not, were given a sum of money appropriate to their age. They
went shopping with their caregivers and then later we met up again to go get
something special to eat.
The new sponsorship program on the
Intranet has helped our work by
reducing the number of address errors
and incorrect information that are often
communicated between the fundraising
offices and the NPH offices in foreign
countries.
To save on postage, this past year the
school grades were sent together with
the Christmas cards.
In November of last year, we were
visited for the first time by a large group of godparents. Thirteen people came from
Holland to share pleasant moments with their godchildren. They also enjoyed
tourist trips around the country. They had a good time and enjoyed their stay here
with the children. It was a very beautiful experience for all our children.
We thank all the godparents and donors that have given us so much. We appreciate
all of their valuable help.
STATISTICS
11
ORGANIZATION
SPONSORSHIPS
SPONSORS
FORDERKREIS
2
4
FOTO-ARIZONA
83
91
FOTO-CANADA
19
19
FOTO-ILLINOIS
212
217
FOTO-MINNESOTA
148
155
FOTO-NORTHWEST
54
58
FOTO-EL
SALVADOR
53
68
NPFS-FRANCIA
20
20
NPH-ITALIA
262
283
NPH-ESPAÑA
5
5
OKW-HOLANDA
118
134
OLBS-Virginia
8
8
UKBS-AUSTRIA
41
43
UKBS-SUIZA
12
15
UKBS-ALEMANIA
190
221
Total
1227
1341
Emilia Cardenas (Director)
NEW SITE OF NPH-EL SALVADOR
We are pleased to announce that on December 2004, our home was finished!
Finally, our babies have their own home. Our general offices opened on the new
site in the first week of January. Here are some pictures of NPH-El Salvador.
12
BOYS' HOME
BABIES’ HOUSES
GIRLS’ HOUSE
CLINIC
ADMINISTRATION BUILDING
13
SCHOOL
DINNING ROOM AND KITCHEN
LAUNDRY
14
San Pedro de Macorís, January 7, 2005
Dear friends,
I always say to our children that without them there would be no NPH family. Our
family here in the Dominican Republic has grown to 102 children; maybe not a big
number in NPH circles, but one that we are happy with.
Of course, as with the other houses, it is not all about numbers, it is about
individuals We have 102 individuals that all in their own positive and negative way
reach out for attention. This positive and negative aspect is what makes our home
vibrate like the Merengue music that you hear on every street corner.
I am sure that you all can appreciate the efforts that go into caring for the children.
So I especially want to say thank you to all of our staff and volunteers for their
tireless dedication to achieving Fr. Wasson’s vision.
As our family grows our needs grow with it. Many of these needs have been fulfilled.
Through your support we were able to complete our perimeter wall and construct 2
homes on our new NPH property. By June’s end I would expect that we will have a
total of six homes on site.
I don’t know at what point our children will appreciate the opportunity that NPH
offers them. I want to believe that some already do; I also want to believe that all of
them will. My wish for our family is that we can develop a strong character base
among our children. This to me is even more important than something like a
university degree. We have started a course with our older children on developing
values. Let’s hope that it has some positive effects.
The following report will outline this years work and activities from the different
departments. As I write this, we have just celebrated our second year in the DR. I
believe that it has been fruitful in many respects. Now along with your help we are
looking forward to our third year and hope that we will keep on receiving the fruits
that come from our work.
I hope that you enjoy the report.
Kieran Rigney (National Director NPH – DR)
2
COUNTRY NEWS
Hurricane Jeanne in the Dominican Republic:
In September of 2004, Hurricane Jeanne brought serious flooding to the Dominican
Republic. While the scope of the disaster and the death toll cannot be compared to
the immense loss in Haiti, the resulting damages were still terrible. The Center of
Emergency Operations (COE) reported that 261 people were injured in the storm,
and there are still people missing. The number of those evacuated was 34,118 of
which 10,995 were housed in government shelters with the remaining homeless
being put up by friends and family. COE also reported that 300 public schools were
affected by the inclement weather. Agriculture Minister Amilcar Romero estimates
farming losses of RD$1,5 billion. The hardest hit crops were plantain, rice, corn,
yucca, cacao, coffee and coconuts.
Close to San Pedro de Macorís, two small towns about 5 km away from our
construction site, Ramon Santana and Paso del Medio, were hit very hard. This is
where NPH Dominican Republic is in the process of building the newest NPH home.
The local civil defense states that in the urban area of Ramon Santana alone:
x 23 houses were totally destroyed
x 165 houses suffered serious loss of household effects
x 105 houses were partially destroyed
In Paso del Medio, on the other side of the river Soco:
x 10 houses were totally destroyed
x 22 houses lost all of their household effects.
3
We compared this data with that investigated by the “Pastoral Social Diocesana y
Caritas Diocesana junto a la Pastoral Social Parroquial de Ramon Santana”,
confirmed by the bishop Mons. Francisco Ozoria Acosta, which states that
x
x
x
x
127 houses, with 572 persons were effected
11 houses were totally destroyed
50 houses were partly destroyed
95 persons lost all their belongings/household
Whatever the losses, we have tried to help as much as possible, especially in the
most serious cases. We have had meetings with a committee of neighbors in Ramon
Santana, consisting of representatives from different groups and institutions like the
civil defense, fire brigade, press, the governing mayor and the church. Moreover, we
met with the bishop of the diocese of San Pedro de Macorís, as well as with Father
Rosé Andreis, who is responsible for the parishes of Santa Fe and Ramon Santana.
Together we are in the process of working out some building projects, to help the
most affected families. The government has granted them 50 parcels of land for the
potential construction of new houses.
Many of our employees or close relatives of our employees were affected by the
hurricane. Many of them lost their belongings, and some of them lost their houses.
We are in the process of helping out the victims of the most serious of these cases.
Kiki
HOUSE EVENTS REPORT
This past year has been one of much activity, growth and of many new beginnings.
These include the construction of our first houses on our property Santa Ana. Here in
San Pedro, our children now live in six small family houses. They live in rented
houses on the outskirts of the city in a recently developed area that still has dirt
roads and open fields. The homes are spacious with front and back yards, but also
within walking distance of each other. Our first home has served as a model for the
homes we are building on our property site. With the design, we hope to give all of
the children a “home” living environment. On the same property as our babies’
home, Santa Lucia, we have also rented a small building which serves as a kitchen
for all of the homes.
Our year began with the double celebration of our anniversary and Three Kings Day.
We had visitors from Italy, Haiti, and the United States that witnessed the
distribution of gifts of clothing and toys donated by local supporters and friends from
Santo Domingo and Romana. Shortly after the celebration, the children returned to
school and their normal routine. With the exception of the babies (1 year and under),
we have been able to place all of our children in public and private schools within
San Pedro. The older children walk to and from the four schools within the
neighborhood, while most of the smaller ones are transported in our bus to their
schools in the city. We also have children with learning disabilities attending special
schools in San Pedro. Most of the children attend school in the morning and return
home for lunch. Afternoons include chores, homework, and extra-curricular activities
such as reading, gardening, etc. To support our educational program and encourage
reading among the children, Franco and Rosetta Gamba, volunteers from Italy, were
4
with us for a month, setting up a library complete with maps, videos, encyclopedias
and Classics from Dominican and international children’s literature.
Springtime was a special time with Holy Week and Easter activities both in the
homes and in the local community. When we are blessed with the presence of Fr.
Eduardo, our volunteer chaplain from Canada, we are able to celebrate Mass in our
homes. However, for the major portion of the year, our children participate in the
religious activities of the neighborhood parish, San Pablo. They attend catechism
classes with the neighborhood children. This past year, some of our children were
baptized at a beautiful outdoor evening ceremony at the parish Church This year we
hope that we will have our first group of communicants.
We also now have our own choir which is directed by a local volunteer from the
Cathedral. Religious and spiritual education is central to the formation of the children
and staff. Our caretakers have formed a “comunidad de base” which meets once a
week for prayer and discussion. In turn all the children now have a small prayer and
the older ones have a bible study session at bedtime.
In May, thanks to our Italian office, five
of our children and two staff members
were invited to Italy to accompany Fr.
Wasson to Rome for an audience with the
Pope
commemorating
the
50th
anniversary of NPH. It was a memorable
experience for all. The children also
toured the Vatican, met with fundraisers
and sponsors, and posed for magazine
and TV spots. On the return trip they
stopped in Germany to visit the German
office, meet with the mayor of Karlsruhe
and again visited with sponsors and
friends. Tired but happy, it was an
experience that they will never forget. We are very grateful to Maria Vittoria and the
Italian office as well as to Stefan Graefe and the German office for making this trip
possible.
Summer marked the beginning of the summer program with all of the children
participating in remedial classes as well as sports and recreational activities thanks
to the summer volunteers. Included in the program were excursions to the beach,
museums, the zoo and the aquarium in Santo Domingo. It also marked the
beginning of our construction projects with a visit from our “Chicago construction
crew,” headed by Larry Hahn and Joel Feinstein, who are back this year with 3
groups of ten. They worked on the construction of our second home and on a
basketball court. They are also building a perimeter wall around our home.
Two hurricanes arrived at the end of the summer bringing disaster to the border
areas with Haiti, as well to our neighboring community of Ramon Santana. We hope
to help out with the construction of new homes thanks to funds from Europe. We
ourselves were fortunate not to have been directly affected by the devastating winds
and torrential rainfalls.
In the fall, during the feast of Christ the King, the children participated in a diocesan
wide procession organized by a Bishop that is leading a campaign calling for an end
5
to domestic and national violence. It was heartwarming to see one of our own girls,
herself a victim of such abuse, proudly leading the procession.
The end of the year marked the beginning of the Christmas activities and the
celebration of the feast of the Immaculate Conception. Each of our homes prepared
beautiful outdoor altars to “Maria”, which were visited in procession by the children
singing songs and praying a decade of the rosary. At the end of the procession, Mass
was celebrated by Fr. Eduardo. Just before Christmas, from December 18th–23rd, the
children and caretakers participated in “Las Mañanitas”, a Dominican tradition in
which the community processes thru the street in the dark at 6:00am signing
Christmas songs, stopping at designated houses to read and discuss part of the
Christmas story, and eating hot ginger tea and cookies. Also this year, each house
also made their own piñatas which were broken open with much fun and glee on
Christmas Day. The night before, all gathered together for Christmas Eve Mass and a
special dinner to celebrate the birth of Christ and to give thanks for being part of the
special NPH family.
As we begin this New Year, we continue to give thanks for all the blessings we
received and experienced in 2004. It was a year of growth - physical, spiritual,
emotional and psychological. Our children have reached a new level of maturity,
security, and responsibility. Fr. Eduardo remarked recently how much change he has
seen among the children and how much progress they have made in their
development. This is our greatest blessing. Thank you from all of us - especially the
children - for making it possible.
(Coordinator of Special Projects)
SOCIAL WORK
In this eventful year we have grown tremendously. Throughout the year, many new
children joined us, coming from very different parts of the country. Sixty children
joined our family in 2004! You can imagine what this means for us as a young home:
big changes and much progress. All the employees and volunteers try to give their
best to make these children feel healthy, safe, and happy.
The following story of two siblings, aged 6 and 7 years old, illustrates the sort of
living conditions many of our children left behind.
Miguel and José Joel lived in a Batey – a small village
normally dispersed between the sugar cane fields - called
Peso en Medio, together with their father. They were
extremely poor. They had barely a roof to sleep under; the
walls of the house were bent and broken. Inside there were
only a couple of old beds with dirty, foul smelling
mattresses. The children spent most of their time lying on
the ground, sleeping and staring into space or watching the
sugarcane outside, as if they were waiting for something,
maybe for their father, who brought them their one meal at
the end of the day.
José Joel
6
The misery was extreme. The solitude of life in the batey was awful and totally
encompassing. But even more unimaginable is that in face of this inhuman misery,
which is not to be wished on any human being on earth, these poor children with
inflammations all over their bodies, received us with a smile, and opened their arms
to us at NPH. They seemed to have amor from their father, who despite being
destitute gave them what is the most important of all: love. It seems that these little
ones had the will to survive and did not die of hunger thanks only to this love. Now
they are to stay with us and we hope that we can give them the same love, but also
the necessities for survival like food and medical attention.
Many children here live difficult lives. We hope that we at NPH can create a little
earthly paradise for our children, so that our children are happy, healthy, loved and
smiling.
Gerdis Castro Santana (Social worker)
EDUCATION
The education of our Pequeños here in San
Pedro de Macorís during the second year of
NPH-DR was difficult but also wonderful with
many improvements and successes. Compared
to the preceding year, when at the end we had
43 children, today we have 102 children. 81 of
them are of school age and are taught in
different private and public schools. In the
home and in the school we are working hard
to develop their abilities and their individual
talents, and to develop and conserve a stable
mental health in all of our children.
The successes would not have been possible without the collaboration of the
caretakers, who work every afternoon from 3pm to 4:30pm on homework with the
children. Altagracia, supervisor of the education, supervises these homework classes
and on Tuesdays and Fridays she teaches extra classes to the children. Another
aspect of her work is to visit the schools where our children attend. She also
collaborates with the directors and the teachers to achieve better instruction and
education.
The other children, 19 in all, stay at our home, where we work with them in different
areas. Some are babies and some are children who have learning disabilities, those
whom may require special education in the future.
Keeping in mind how little education our children had when they joined us, we can
say that we have achieved a tremendous success in their instruction. By supporting
and encouraging our children, they are able to reap the fruits of the educational
process at the end of each academic year.
Altagracia Baly (Supervisor of Education)
7
MEDICAL
NPH Dominican Republic – Opening New Doors in The Health Field
The past year was a challenge for the medical staff of NPH-DR. We have more than
100 children in our home, many of who require care for a variety of medical issues
including HIV and AIDS, birth defects, microcephaly and hydrocephaly, and hearing
and speech impediments.
We hired a nurse from Monday to Saturday (8 am to 4 pm), who is supervised by our
director of nursing, Gloria.
Our new nurse is responsible for:
x Managing our pharmaceutical supplies
x Dispensing prescribed medications to the patients
x Accompanying the children to medical appointments
x Administration of vaccinations
We also started to work with the psychology department and a volunteer
physiotherapist.
The most frequent pathologies diagnosed were virus illnesses including: influenza,
diarrhea, conjunctivitis, strep throat, gingivitis, chickenpox, and mumps. 98% of the
children who enter suffer from dental cavities and/or scabies, traumas, and now, just
recently, we have HIV Positive cases among our Pequeños.
Our standard medical treatment consists of the following:
x complete vaccinations of: BCG, Hepatitis B; Penta Valente (3 doses every 2
months); Measles (9 months); Triple viral (15 months); Penta (18 months);
DPT + Polio fresh up (from 4-6 years old); and DT (8 years and older).
x laboratory exam consisting of a hemogram, urine and stool tests, testing for
sickle cell anaemia, VDRL, HIV, Hbsag, and HVC.
x If necessary, they also are given x-rays.
Furthermore, we administer anti-parasitic treatments to all of the children twice a
year, check their physical development (weight, height, etc.) twice a year, and
evaluate their psychological state once a year.
We had 3 cases of hospitalization this year: one because of bronchial asthma and
dehydration, one because of pneumonia, and one because of serious dehydration
plus amoeba and diarrhea. We had 6 serious cases of malnutrition, 4 cases of serious
neurological sicknesses and one psychological crisis that culminated in an attempted
suicide.
Thank God, all of these children are on the way to recovery. We hope that they will
all feel better soon!
Dr. Mayra Vittini De Ribassa (Pediatrician)
Gloria Manzano (Director of Nursing)
Olga Lidia Mejia (Nurse)
8
PSYCHOLOGY
This year we established a department of psychology. The children received
individual treatment and participated in group therapy according to their specific
needs. There were different ways in which we became aware of psychological issues
in our children. We can differentiate them between:
1. Children who are referred to us by our staff, especially by the caretakers:
If the children exhibit a lack of discipline and are unable to adapt to the
established norms of the home, they are referred for evaluation. Normally, these
are children who had recently entered and were older than 10 years old. In most
of the cases, these children are merely trying to attract the attention of the adult
caregivers. Due to emotional conflicts, they have a very low self confidence and
they tend to react with aggression and have disrespect for authority. In general,
they had suffered from abuse. When they talk about their previous life, it
becomes obvious that they have harbored the insults and the blows they
received, and now they reproduce this behaviour when interacting with the
smaller children. They tend to feel that nobody loves them, and they confuse that
being loved also brings with it the freedom to do whatever they want, whenever
they want. They don’t deal well with frustration and are unable to control their
impulses. When compared to their peers, it is clear that their social development
has been stunted. After a period of about two months, they begin to adapt at a
normal rate.
2. Children who were referred to us by our social worker, before they entered
our home:
These children are developmentally delayed, have sensitive handicaps or are
mentally disturbed. With the children who are developmentally delayed, the goal
is to work progressively towards physical autonomy. After working with these
children, they exhibit remarkable physical, psychological and emotional
improvement. Living in a situation where they are integrated with other children
is the best stimulation for improvement.
3. Children evaluated without being referred, mostly young children.
We are preparing a protocol to detect developmental delays caused by
malnutrition and a lack of stimulation in their former home environment. We
teach their respective caregivers how to work with the children to improve their
development.
All these children need individual attention from the adults. They need a stable
environment, without changes of personnel. Most of all, they need the
establishment of clear limits, appreciation of their gains, along with much
patience and understanding.
The children with mental, emotional or behavioral difficulties need an
environment that offers them stability that stimulates them to improve day by
day and that gives them love and security. We have established certain routines,
used certain therapies for group behaviour modification, along with many other
9
methods. The changes are never instant, as the children need time to internalize
all that they have learned. In the majority of the cases they appear to deteriorate
at the onset, but with constant attention from the adults, the children are capable
of positive, long-term improvement.
It must not be forgotten, that it is necessary to work very intensely with the
other children as well, because they are all developing the basis for their
physical, mental and emotional future.
To help the children, we have a staff training program once a week. The training
course has developed the following goals:
1) To sensitize the staff in regards to the real dimension of their work in our
home.
2) Training in teaching methods and personal hygiene skills
3) The improvement of communication between the staff that establishes a
meeting place where they can express their frustrations and discuss the
difficulties they experience in their daily work.
Because of the rapid growth of our home, we had to hire many new staff in the last
year. As there is so much work to be done on a daily basis, the staff were not always
able to attend the training meetings. Furthermore, because of cultural reasons, the
staff was at times reluctant to express themselves fully, especially if their comments
were critical in nature.
I am of the opinion that we are improving and making progress. The staff is no
longer listening passively. They have become more active, expressing doubts and
voicing suggestions.
Helena I. Rodriguez (Psychologist)
ADMINISTRATION
Our administration office is located on the second
floor above the volunteer house, in a small and quiet
street near the centre of San Pedro de Macorís.
Working here are Kieran, our National Director;
Marijo, responsible for special projects and legal
matters; Sonja, secretary and bookkeeper; Gerdis,
social worker; Olly, construction supervisor; Judith,
sponsorship
coordinator;
and
Kiki,
family
correspondent,
volunteer
coordinator,
visitor
coordinator and other special projects.
Kiki
SPONSORSHIP
The job of Sponsorship Coordinator has changed hands from Susanna to Kiki and
now to Judith. Changes in personnel always result in some delays, but the changes
were necessary because of a lack of time that the previous Coordinators had.
10
Since July, we have had some problems with the computer. Internet access and
email were not working well, which made the job difficult. However, since December,
the system has been repaired and both the Internet and email are working well
again. We started working with the new Padrinos program at the same time, which
appeared to make the job a lot easier and faster.
It is important to help the Padrinos and the
children build a relationship. The children write
about the life here, school, trips, but most
importantly, about how he or she is doing and
feeling at NPH.
We are still working to update the Padrinos
database, to get better pictures and to add to
the children’s personal histories. The house is
growing quickly, and by the beginning of 2005
we hope to have almost all the 104 kids on the
Intranet.
Currently, we have 83 children in the Padrinos
program and about 250 Padrinos (including
pending Padrinos) from:
Germany: 54; United States: 66;
Spain: 13; Austria: 19; France: 8
Italy: 71; Switzerland: 2;
Holland: 21;
Together with the tías, the children write letters to their Padrinos. This year, the
children made their Padrinos Christmas cards and for Padrinos Day, the children
wrote a special letter to their Padrino. Thanks to the Padrinos, the children are able
to go on occasional trips to the zoo or the aquarium. To all the Padrinos, thank you
for being part of our family!
Judith van Rooijen (Sponsorship Coordinator)
VOLUNTEERS
Father Edouard Banville arrived from Canada mid-December 2003, to spend three
months with us. In addition to celebrating Mass and hearing confessions, he helped
us in everything from maintenance to childcare. He left in March 2004, and came
back on November 17th. This time he will stay for 6 months. We are so happy that he
is back again!
Father Edouard
11
My husband Olly Rolla and I, Kiki, arrived on December 27th, 2003, to volunteer for
at least one year at NPH DR. But plans changed and we decided to stay for at least
one year after that. Among other things, Olly is responsible for supervising the
construction of the new site in the Dominican Republic. He worked for several
months as “Interim Director” to supervise the construction projects at other NPH
sites such as Mexico, Guatemala, and Nicaragua until NPH International found a local
Construction Director in Mexico. I work mostly in the office, doing family
correspondence work and looking for volunteers. I even worked as the sponsorship
coordinator for a time. I am also responsible for visitors and some special projects.
Olly and I are happy to be part of the big NPH family!
Kiki
Olly
Soledad joined us on February 2nd. She lived in a neighboring town and assisted us
until the end of July, helping us in fundraising, legal and administrative matters,
organizing excursions for the children, among other things. She also joined our
children on the trip to Rome to meet the Pope.
Soledad
Megumi
Our first summer volunteer, Megumi Nakamura (Mexican/American) arrived on May
20th from Colorado. She helped us with our summer program and worked mostly
with the little kids in our baby house, Casa San Esteban.
On June 16th, Mirja, a physical therapist, arrived from Germany. She enrolled in
Spanish classes in Santo Domingo and then started her year of service on July 7th.
She was the first volunteer to live with the children and the tías in Casa Santa Rosa.
12
All the other volunteers live in the volunteer house, which is located about 10
minutes drive from the children’s’ houses, in the same building as the administrative
office. Mirja did a great job working with our handicapped children, especially with
Moises and Sandy. Unfortunately she had to leave earlier than expected for health
reasons. We all miss her a lot! Thank you so much for all of your hard and wonderful
work!
On Monday, June 21st, our second summer volunteer, Cliona, arrived from Ireland.
She helped us during the summer months, especially with the little children, teaching
English and Music, among other things.
Regina arrived from Germany on Friday, June 25th. She is a teacher who had
intended to work with us for during our summer program. Unfortunately, she had
serious health problems and could not stay for the whole summer program. Thanks
to her for everything, we wish her all the best!
On July 16th, Judith, a physical education teacher arrived from the Netherlands. She
will stay with us for a year and she also lives in Casa Santa Rosa with the children
and the tías. She helped a lot during the summer program, organizing sports and
excursions with the children. Later, she took over the Godparent department until we
were able to find a local person who can do this job on a long term basis. Judith does
a great job! We are so thankful having her here! Thanks for everything, Judith!
13
Liane arrived in July from Seattle. She is a preschool teacher who works particularly
with our little children (the three to five years old). She has been responsible for our
new library since November. She lived and worked in Casa Santa Clara until the
middle of December, when she moved to the volunteer house. She will probably stay
with us until February, hopefully longer! She does a wonderful job; the children love
her so much! Thanks for everything, Liane!
On July 21st we had a big farewell party for Cliona, Megumi and Soledad, who all left
at the end of the month. The children and the tías organized a nice program with
songs, dance, skits, poems and refreshments. We all miss them a lot. Thanks again
to them for all their hard and wonderful work!
In September, our volunteer team was joined by two more volunteers. Eithne from
Ireland arrived on September 24th. She was living in Casa Santa Ana, the girls'
house and was supposed to stay with us for a year, working especially with the older
kids. Unfortunately, also she had to leave after a few weeks because of serious
illness in her family. She left on December 11th and it was really a sad good bye. She
was such a joy and help in the girls’ house. Thank you so much, Eithne! We all miss
her a lot! We hope she will come back one day!
On September 26th, Lydia arrived from Austria. As she is a trained as a teacher, she
helped our children with their homework etc. She first lived in Casa Santa Clara, and
then moved over to the volunteer’s house. She worked with us until the end of
November and she did a great job! We thank her a lot!
At the beginning of October, Mark, a German volunteer who has been in Miami for a
year, came over for a week and helped us with some maintenance work.
On Tuesday, October 26th, Rosetta and Franco arrived from Italy. They stayed for a
month (living in the volunteer house) and installed a library for our children, bought
bookshelves, maps, and books and organized them. They also donated a computer
to register all the books. What a wonderful project! We are so thankful to both of
you!
Francesca from Italy, a young lady who is finishing her studies as an architect, joined
us in the beginning of November. She stayed with us for 2 weeks and helped with
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our construction drawings. Thank you, very much Francesca! It was nice having you
here. We hope you will come back soon!
Jill Paradise, who also volunteered last year for some weeks, joined us from
November 28th to December 26th. She lived in Juan Dolio and came in daily to play
with the children! It was very nice having her with us again! Thanks for your help!
We hope you will come back soon!
Now, at the end of the year our volunteer team is quite small. We are here Judith,
Liane and myself (Olly is in Germany and will come back in January), but we are a
nice small team and get along very well. We are looking forward to the new
volunteers coming next year!
Kiki (NPHDR)
CONSTRUCTION IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Since our first birthday on the 6th of January 2004, our NPH family here in San Pedro
de Macorís is growing nearly every week. Currently, more than 100 children are
living with us in 6 rented houses located in one of the suburbs of San Pedro called
Los Altos de San Pedro. We are also renting a building in San Pedro de Macorís for
the office and the volunteer house. At the moment, the expenses for paying the rent
are not too high. However, as our dream is to have facilities for up to 500 children
and their tías and tíos, it is not feasible to rent this amount of space from local
landlords.
NPH Dominican Republic began work on the project “Casa Santa Ana”. The total
project will include the construction of approximately 30 individual houses providing
accommodation for 500 children, a main kitchen and multifunctional hall, a school, a
clinic, a chapel, administration and maintenance buildings, playing and sports
compounds and farming areas. The realization of the project will span several
smaller consecutive projects.
This year we have completed most of the following:
x
x
x
x
x
x
Acquisition of the property,
Fencing of property (Project 01/2004)
Well digging- Access to Ground Water (Project 02/2004)
Electricity (Project 03/2004)
Construction of first houses (Project 04/2004)
Project Green (Project 06/2004).
Acquisition of the “terreno”
Although it took considerable effort: many, many trips to the CEA office - the
government owned sugar company in Santo Domingo; long lasting negotiations and
a battle against the bureaucracy in the Dominican government (a big thank you to
Marijo Rozycki), we were finally successful in purchasing the envisaged real estate
located near Batey Nuevo, roughly 8 kilometres outside San Pedro de Macorís.
15
The property is 200,000 m² and is divided into 3 individual parcels with their own
legal titles, which symbolizes the cooperation of NPH, the local bishop and the
government.
x
x
x
A parcel of 87,500 m² has been purchased from CEA for the price of RD
$8,750,000 (which equals approx. US$ 2 per m² or the total of US $175,000).
A parcel of 25,000 m² has been donated by the bishop of San Pedro de
Macorís.
And a further parcel of 87,500 m² has been granted by the Dominican
government for free use (cession en uso) for an undetermined period of time.
All contracts are now signed and we have obtained possession of the land.
Securing the property
The first construction project was to protect the property from theft and trespassing.
At the end of November 2004, we were able to finish the construction of a block wall,
which is 2,060.94 linear meters long and surrounds the total property. By purchasing
all of the materials ourselves, we only had to pay the labour costs to a local
contractor and were able to save quite a lot of money. Contrary to the bids from
local construction companies projecting construction costs between RD
$3,494,247.17 and RD $7,890,367.65, we were able to build the wall for a total of
“only” RD $2,557,908.25. We saved around US $30,000 compared to the lowest bid
by a local contractor. Applying the average exchange during the construction time
(being approx. US$ 1 = RD $38) the expenses for the wall amount to approx. US
$67,313.
Well - Access to Ground Water
To guarantee an independent water supply on the property, we established 2
individual wells. Both have a depth of roughly 70 meters and are working fine. The
cost per well amounted to US $2,000.
Electricity
16
The portion of the property currently under construction and the rest of the property
had to be connected to the public power supply system. The existing primary power
line was at the main road (Carretera a Ramon Santana) approx. 1,000 meters away
from the construction area and had to be extended by a new overland connection
line.
In November, we hired a local contractor to establish the connection to the public
power supply system for the contract sum of RD $929,592.58 (which equals US
$24,462.96 applying an exchange rate of US $1 = RD $38). The physical works on
site have started. All the posts and cables are already up.
Construction of houses
Our idea is to build a maximum of 30 houses. Each house will provide living space for
16 to 18 children and 2 tías. As shown in the picture below, each house will have 2
dormitories and 2 bathrooms for the children, 1 tía’s bedroom and bath, a dining hall
and living room, a small kitchen, a storeroom and finally, a laundry.
The cornerstone for the first house was laid by José in a ceremony on September 30,
2004. José was our first child at NPH – DR, so it was fitting that he should be the one
to lay the first stone. He was very proud of his role.
The construction of the first house began on October 18th. We are using the same
building plan for the construction of the house as we did for the wall – we buy the
materials and hire the contractor to execute the construction. Our Maestro de Obras,
Kalvin Calderon, and his construction team from the adjacent Batey are making good
progress. The first house is already fairly developed.
17
When the first house, which will function as a model home, is complete, we will
examine whether changes to the design are appropriate and how we can further
reduce costs. Then, using the lessons learned with the first house, we will most likely
begin the next five or six house in early January 2005. We hope that our children can
move into their new home in summer 2005.
Project Green
The purpose of the project is to produce fruits for the children, as well as growing
shade trees to be transplanted at a later date to other spots around the property.
The area designated for the orchard is fenced. A second well and a water tower with
two storage tanks, holding 1,000 gallons and 500 gallons apiece, have been built.
We have already planted approximately 250 fruit trees including mango, avocado,
orange, lemon and banana.
A big thank you to all - the children, the donors, the fundraiser, the NPH employees,
the volunteers and all our friends and supporters – who make the realization of the
project “Santa Ana” possible.
All the best,
Olaf Rolla (Contruction Supervisor)
18
LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR
It is a pleasure to let you know that NPH Peru opened its doors with its first two
children on December 10th, 2004. We are the first NPH home in South America, a
place far away from Mexico and Central America, with a culture quite different from
the other homes.
Looking back on this journey, I came to the conclusion that we never had enough
information about this organization to give to the local and national authorities.
They were confused who we were and always asked us to comply with new
requirements, some that even our supporters in Peru were not aware existed.
Despite the troubles, we have complied with everything they have asked of us.
Even though we have faced so many obstacles along the way, we were able to
receive our first two children during the month of December. I truly believed it a
miracle, since after those two children arrived, ten more children followed. In fact,
we finished the month of December with 12 children, 6 boys and 6 girls. In
addition, the Social Work department is carefully analyzing the many cases that
have since come to our attention. We hope that many of those children will join our
family soon.
As many of you may know, the social conditions of the majority of Peruvians are
deplorable. For instance the stability of the country is a little shaky as the Peruvian
President and his political party are under congressional investigation for electoral
fraud. In fact, the popularity of the President is at 8% nationally. Of course, this
might partially come from the statistic that unemployment is at about 35-40%.
Please keep our new Peruvian family in your prayers. We want to thank you for
supporting us through all of the ups and downs that we have faced making NPHPeru a reality. Thank you all.
May God bless you always,
Sincerely,
Alfredo Hernandez - Director NPH Perú
2
GIRLS’ HOME REPORT
On December 18th, 2004, our first Pequeña arrived. Her name is Rosa Tucto
Chugnas. She came with her three other brothers. Then on December 21st, Rocio
arrived (who happens to be the sister of a Pequeño, Renzo, who also arrived on
December 10th). Rocio is our youngest member of the NPH-Peru family. On
December 23rd, another family of sisters arrived and were eventually joined by one
other sister at the very end of December. Also during the recent visit of Fr. Wasson,
one more sister from that family came to NPH.
All the girls arrived with lice. I had
to clean one girl at a time. I had to
move quickly since the youngest
did not have any, and I did not
want her to catch them. All of our
girls came to us malnourished;
most of them came with scabies all
over their tiny bodies. I was quite
surprised to see that Rosa, our first
Pequeña, was cover with scabies
all over her back. She has
recovered since treatment.
Since the girls have been adjusting
to their new environment and their
new family, I have seen that they have made great advances in their behavior and
vocabulary. Rocio, our youngest, was always saying very nasty words to the other
girls and her tia. Now her vocabulary is much more “educated.” At the beginning, it
was not easy for all of us since there were times that Rocio would be crying
throughout the night. There was once a time that I found her at four in the morning
on the stairs of the house crying. It was a daunting for me to see a child so alone
and scared. I am glad that she does not do that anymore.
I also want to share the history of the 5 sisters that we have. All of the girls were
working as maids before they came to us. The oldest girl is twelve years old, the
youngest, seven. After we had earned their confidence and trust, they started to
share their histories with us. Some of them had had a really rough time with the
people with whom they were working for. Three of the sisters were only fed one
serving of bread, soup, and coffee a day. Apparently this was enough for the girls
to fulfill the tasks of a maid. One of them said that she had to wash too many
dishes and clean an enormous house. The nicest thing about this family of the five
sisters is that all of them are together now at our NPH home. The only thing we
have to worry about now is that they don’t fight between themselves.
During the afternoons we have been taking the seven girls out to one of the parks
close to the office so that they can play. It is a little difficult for them now because
they are currently living in the office. However we hope that very soon all the girls
will be moving into a house that meets their spatial needs.
This is all for the moment. We at NPH-Perú want to thank all of you for your
support in this new NPH home.
Sincerely,
Beatriz Lopez Botello
Girls’ Home Coordinator
3
BOYS’ HOME REPORT
There is nothing more difficult than starting a new family. When the children have
no relation to each other and have been living solely by their wits, it is an
extremely challenging task to get them integrated into our home. Getting the
children to trust us is difficult at first. However the philosophy of NPH is unique.
Gradually the children see and learn that we have something to give from the fifty
years that NPH and Fr. Wasson has been helping Pequeños. It was an honor for me
and the children to meet Fr. Wasson in person in Peru. We all hope to see him more
now that we are living and working in his home.
When the boys first started living
together in our home there were
constant fights, both verbal and
physical. They all had arrived with
stories of trauma and abuse. They
were not accustomed to having
enough food, personal possessions
or respect for anyone’s property.
In our home environment, their
survival
instincts
are
defied
because they are not needed.
These boys will need to learn to
live communally and not rely solely
on these “street instincts” - those
that had kept them alive until their
arrival at NPH.
Gradually we have seen small changes with the younger children, but there is still
much more work to do with the oldest boys. With patience and perseverance we
hope that all of the children will see that our only purpose is to help them. Starting
out with their education, we will help our oldest boy learn to read and write as he
has not completed the first grade of primary school.
Before joining NPH, I worked as a teacher in the rural areas of Cajamarca. In our
NPH School, we are currently studying one hour a day with the children, while they
are on vacation. Classes will begin in early March.
The children now have notebooks and pencils so I can teach them at our home.
When Fr. Wasson visited he brought coloring books and children’s history books.
This has kept the children busy in the mornings. During the afternoons, we take
them to a park near our home to play.
I want to thank all the people that have helped NPH in one way or another in
changing the lives of so many children; those who would never otherwise have an
opportunity for a decent life. I am happy to work for the NPH family and I hope that
through your generous help and support that we can continue the work to change
for the better the lives of the orphaned and abandoned children of Peru.
Sincerely,
Carlos Manuel Ruiz Zamora
Boys’ Home Coordinator
4
PLANS AND GOALS OF NPH-PERU IN 2005
Our most ambitious goal is to have 100 children in our care by the end of this year.
Although it seems like an impossible dream, we have begun the process with the
support of our social worker. We are also planning to look outside of Cajamarca, to
the other towns in the province where we know that there are children in need of
our assistance. We believe this goal possible if only because we took in 12 children
in the month of December alone.
Currently we are trying to find a suitable piece of land where NPH will eventually
build its headquarters for the children. We have been looking for alternatives in
Lima since it was brought to our attention by the government oversight committee
that for the magnitude of the proposed project it would be more viable closer to
Lima. We would like to have land where we can start the construction by the end of
the year.
We intend to have a close relationship with the new NPH home in Bolivia as the two
countries have so much in common: the most sobering commonality being that
they are poorest countries in South America. A frequent exchange of ideas will
benefit both homes.
We are also working hard to establish a positive relationship with the civil servants
and judges working in the judicial system. Up until now, there have been many
bureaucratic delays in getting the papers for the children processed. We hope that
the judges will begin to understand the mission of NPH and thus expedite the
process so that the many children needing our help can come to our home as
quickly as possible. In the same context, we are also hoping that the new bishop of
Cajamarca, who was appointed last year, gets to know NPH and channels children
to us through the province of Cajamarca’s churches.
Finally, we hope that NPH Peru serves as a model to other organizations involved in
the same type of work. In Peru all orphanages have to turn the children out at the
age of 18 whether they are prepared or not. We know from experience that the
NPH model works and has much to teach.
Sincerely,
Alfredo Hernandez
5