A godparent's support goes far beyond financial assistance...

This story was reported by Communications Officer Amanda Thomas at NPH Honduras.

Doctor Tuttle first heard of NPH through one of his medical students around five years ago. Doctor Tuttle had been involved with medical missions in La Ceiba, a city on the northern coast of Honduras, but the area had become too dangerous to carry on with the mission trips. When one of his student�s mentioned NPH, he set out to learn more.

When he first visited NPH Honduras, Doctor Tuttle was impressed. "The people are amazing - from the children, to the staff, to the volunteers." Doctor Tuttle now regularly visits the ranch to participate in surgical brigades, which are groups of medical professionals that spend their time and expertise to work for free at the Holy Family Surgery Center. During the brigades, surgeons, doctors, nurses and other medical professionals perform surgeries for the underserved population that live in surrounding areas.

"The patients are so grateful," says Doctor Tuttle. Doctor Tuttle wanted to stay involved with NPH, and so he returned for a second medical brigade. It was during this trip he became a "godparent." An NPH godparent is someone who sponsors a child at one of our NPH homes, develops a bond with them, receives regular updates on their academic and social progress, and exchanges letters and cards with their "godchild."

On a subsequent visit Doctor Tuttle brought his daughter and one of his sons, and each chose a child to sponsor as well. "Now I have five godchildren!" laughs Doctor Tuttle. The relationship that exists between godparents and their godchildren is a very special one. "We bring them small gifts when we visit, and they introduce us to their friends," explains Doctor Tuttle. "They also come to dinner with us while we are on the ranch during the medical brigades. The best part is just spending time together and talking."

Mabel* is the godchild that Doctor Tuttle's son Mitchell began sponsoring during a visit in 2011. Mabel's face lights up when she begins to describe her godparent. "Mitchell writes to me, and I write back," says Mabel. "I tell him how I'm doing in school, about my grades, and the events we have at the home. Mitchell encourages me to do well in school." The importance of her godparent in her life is evident.

A godparent's support goes far beyond financial assistance. Godparents often visit the ranch, attending graduation ceremonies and spending time playing and chatting with their godchildren. Letters they write to their godchildren are treasured and family photos are stuck inside lockers and albums, as our children cherish being part of a family that spans two different countries. Godparents reinforce that NPH is a family, albeit a large, noisy, tangled one, that covers a large part of the globe!

*Name changed for privacy purposes

Better Vision Comes to Rancho Santa Fe

Enjoy this reflection from Jean Parker on her recent experience at NPH Honduras. The mother is currently living at a home for the blind, while her daughter is enrolled at NPH Honduras.

My daughter, Joanna (14) had been nagging me to return to Rancho Santa Fe in Honduras since our first visit in 2013. When a trip planned by Monica Henry, NPH Northeast Regional Director, coincided with a school break, Joanna�s resolve went into overdrive and she convinced her friend, Laura (14) to join us. In the end, Laura, her brother Kevin (16), and her father, Dr. Richard Seeger � an ophthalmologist - would round out the Rochester contingency.

Dr. Seeger was interested in putting his medical skills to use during the visit, and had pre-arranged with Monica Henry, NPH USA Mid-Atlantic/Northeast Region Director, and Michael Kavanagh, the International Volunteer Coordinator of Holy Family Surgery Center at the Ranch, to see peque?os for a special, three day Vision Clinic.

While the children explored the Ranch and got to know the peque?os, Dr. Seeger checked equipment and set up the examination area.  My job was to record exam findings. A translator was provided and kept the paperwork and patients flowing.  Thanks to this team effort, Dr. Seeger was able to provide eye care for over 60 Peque?os and others during the three-day period.

Each day, Dr. Seeger worked tirelessly with only limited breaks. Some children required minor attention, but most received full ophthalmic exams with pupil dilation.   For those needing prescription eyeglasses, Dr. Seeger had come prepared, bringing an assortment of frames from which to choose.  Girls were drawn to the brighter colors.  Boys chose darker ones.  Dr. Seeger had the eyeglasses prepared back in Rochester, and they were shipped down to Honduras afterwards.

               

As word spread that an eye doctor was at the clinic, several staff also requested appointments.  Dr. Seeger accommodated each one.   Do?a Gloria � the Ranch�s beloved tortilla maker - was the recipient of two pairs of glasses:  one for reading and one for everyday wear.

Although it was immensely gratifying to me to be of assistance during the Vision Clinic, the most poignant moment of the trip came on the last day, as Dr. Seeger and I were walking back to the visitor�s residence.   We were met by a group of women who were leading a blind teenaged girl and a younger girl by the hand.  Monica was with them, and we were told that the blind teenager was the mother of the young girl, and that she was concerned that her daughter might be going blind, as she had when she was her age.   This was of great concern because the child had become her blind mother�s �eyes� � guiding her everywhere.  Dr. Seeger did not hesitate; he pulled out his ophthalmic light, dropping to one knee to examine the petite child.  Happily, he determined that her eyes were healthy.

Monica translated this to the girl�s mother and Dr. Seeger offered to look at the mother�s eyes as well. After only a brief glance, he asked to speak privately to Monica and the accompanying Tia.  I was perplexed, but remained with the young mother, her daughter, and the others.  It was only later that I learned the reason for Rick�s action.

Although the young mother had been initially reticent to share the truth about her blindness, the facts soon emerged.  She had been the victim of a horrific crime and had been intentionally blinded by acid.   Dr. Seeger knew the instant he had looked at her eyes that her blindness had been caused by trauma, and not as initially described.

Upon closer examination, Dr. Seeger established that although one eye was irreparably damaged, there was optimism that some vision might be restored in the other. A trip to the USA for delicate eye surgery would be necessary, with the hope that she would be able to ambulate on her own � a remarkable improvement over her present situation.

This event brought a bittersweet, yet hopeful closure to the Vision Clinic at Rancho Santa Fe.  Led by Dr. Seeger, the team brought the gift of better vision to many. To me, those few days were truly a blessing and I was grateful to have been able to play some small role in the outcome.  I thank God for Joanna�s determination in returning to Honduras, because in the end, it set the stage for so many Peque?os and others to see life more clearly� quite literally.

Holy Family Surgery Center Medical Brigade at NPH Honduras

Doctors, nurses, medical students, along with various people from many other walks of life traveled to NPH Honduras from April 12-19th to drastically change the lives of hundreds of people by providing necessary medical support for both the children on the Ranch and the outside community that otherwise would be left neglected. The Holy Family Surgery Center is a godsend for the poorest of the poor in Honduras because they are not only provided with access to healthcare, but they are also treated with the dignity that they, as humans, deserve. Stepping inside Hospital Escuela, the public hospital in Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, gives a sense of how desperately this is needed. The chaotic, dangerous, and underfunded hospital cannot provide efficient or even effective support to those most in need. If someone needed any type of surgery�after arriving at Hospital Escuela, they would first be required to go across the street and purchase the proper equipment. To those struggling, this is an extra burden and often impossibility. 


Kate Clitheroe, the coordinator for the Holy Family Surgery Center that volunteers at NPH Honduras wrote the following, �During the April Medical Brigade, a group of more than 40 medical professionals came here to the NPH home in Honduras. These specialists (orthopedics, gynecology, ENT, and general surgery) gave consults to over 700 patients and preformed 94 surgeries. Many of these consults were for members of the NPH family and at least 10 surgeries were performed on NPH children and employees. The community members here, our neighbors, give thanks to the physicians, the Daly Family, and everyone who helped during this medical brigade.� 


Here is a brief interview with one woman�s whose life and family were drastically impacted by this wonderful work.

This experience not only impacts the lives of those in Honduras, but it also touches those who participate. Below are reflections from two of the participants from the April Brigade: 


I think this was my 6th or 7th brigade to the Holy Family Surgery Center at the NPH site in Honduras. Each trip brings its own unique challenges and rewards. It�s amazing how far we�ve come from those first brigades when only a few surgical cases were performed. On our latest brigade we performed nearly 100 surgeries and saw 800 patients in clinic, truly staggering numbers. It�s remarkable to witness how people come together over the course of the week to become an effective, efficient team. Folks with no medical background pitch in to become valuable team members, students contribute their youth and enthusiasm, and the long-term volunteers inspire us all with their dedication. Importantly, all this surgical/medical activity is set against the backdrop of the �Ranch:� 300+ children at once smiling, crying, laughing, failing, and succeeding. Each child has their own story to share and inspire us in turn. It�s these children that continue to motivate me to be better, try harder, and return time after time. 


-Michael Forseth, MD 


The Blue Flame 
Traveling the world as a missionary evangelist, my partner was a gifted minister & very successful businessman. We always kept an eye out for people, causes, & missions to support that could qualify as "blue flamers" - called such because that�s the cleanest, most efficient part of a gas fueled flame. Ministries that qualify are surprisingly hard to find. 


So to experience NPH Honduras - the ranch, and surgery center - was a revelation. A self-sufficient ranch, using resources wisely, a home for orphans that is their family rather than a holding tank for adoption. 


Children receiving an academic education as well as being offered not just the spoken word of God, but His love in action. 


A surgery center that is doing more than healing individuals, it is building community. 


Biggest blue flame I've ever seen! 


I went as a volunteer, came home a supporter.


XO, Randy Cleary

Helping the kids to see at Rancho Santa Fe...

Below is a story about the awesome work of great Friends, Mary Lou and Leo Hundt from the SE Region. They recently made a trip to Honduras and helped our kids in a huge way!!! Read on!


Entering into Honduras with the autorefractor went very smooth. When we got to the ranch we unpacked it and set it up to make sure it was working. On Friday we saw 43 girls from the ranch who needed 18 pairs of glasses. On the second day we saw 92 boys who needed 19 pairs of glasses. The third day we saw 77 adults from the surrounding area who needed 56 pairs of glasses. In the following three weeks, we will be making those 89 pairs of glasses with the help of Sally & Richard VanBuskirk and Bob Indre. (All these glasses were later taken to the DR when the Hundt's made their trip there for the International Family Weekend, and they were then transported to Rancho Santa Fe.)


We had wonderful folks to work with while we were doing the eye exams. The VanBuskiek's are outstanding people to volunteer with as both Richard and Sally have so much knowledge about the equipment as well as doing eye exams. Heather Ann Brook, the volunteer nurse, was also outstanding and she will train the new volunteer nurse, Jennifer Cox, so that eye exams at the ranch will continue. The young people that worked with us everyday were Johanna, Belki and Diana; everyone should be so proud of these young people.


What a wonderful time we all had! 


-Mary Lou Hundt


Thank you so very much to the Hundt's and all their support for our kids!

What YOU Helped to Accomplish this Past Year

2011 was a year full of successes! Thanks to YOU we were able to complete several different projects that benefit the children we support. Because of YOUR generosity the 3,700 children in the NPH homes throughout Latin America and the Caribbean have a loving and safe home, food, education, access to healthcare and a family that cares for them. Here are just a few highlights from the past year!


In the Family Services division, the International Leadership Institute Pilot Program was launched where five peque?os were able to begin studying English and leadership courses in Seattle, Washington.


Our Vaccine Catch Up program, part of our Medical Services division, was a huge success this year for our children in need.


At NPH Mexico we had our largest university group yet with 105 students and 18 graduates this year!


Construction on a new bakery, cheese making facility and greenhouse was completed this year at NPH Honduras to help make the home more sustainable.


Over 100 new children arrived at the St Helene and Fr. Wasson Angels of Light homes in Haiti, and the construction of a new housing complex for Don Bosco students was completed. We are also very happy to say we successfully treated  20,000 Cholera patients this year.


At NPH Nicaragua construction of a primary school, clinic, visitor house, and the National Director house was completed.


NPH Guatemala saw the construction of their Montessori school completed as well as their first solar panels installed.


El Salvador's brand new leadership group was formed this year, and we are excited to say this is one of the first groups from NPH ES that will engage in outreach with the surrounding community!


Everyone at NPH Dominican Republic is thrilled about our new speech therapy program, empowerment groups, sign language and pottery classes.


In Bolivia our family grew this year from 86 to 104 children.


In October the children and staff of NPH Peru finally moved to their brand new home in Ca?ete.

Everyone at the opening of the new NPH Peru home!

Thank you so very much for making 2011 a wonderful year! There is always more work to be done and children to support, and we are looking forward to another successful year in 2012. Happy New Year! Thank you for being a Friend!!