Give a year, gain a lifetime of love...

2016 International Volunteer program recap. by Vicky Medley, NPH USA International Volunteer Program Coordinator

 

Happy volunteer appreciation week; I love this week! Each year we take the time to recognize our volunteers who help in our offices with events, fundraising, translations and lots of other behind the scenes contribution. We also recognize and celebrate our International Volunteers, who live and serve at NPH for a year or more.

 

In 2016 we were lucky to have 43 volunteers serve for 6 months or more, totaling $100,980 in salary savings to NPH. Together, those 43 volunteers worked in Sponsorship, Communications, as Visitor or Volunteer Coordinators to provide information for the NPH network of websites, assist donors and visitors and volunteers find their place at NPH. Volunteers worked in education and kept the libraries running smoothly, taught ESL classes, and tutored hundreds of peque?os. Our volunteers provided occupational and speech therapy, on site medical care and coordination in the Holy Family Surgery Center. Volunteer caregivers helped the peque?os get up each morning, assisted them with homework and chores and discipline, and tucked them into bed each night. Volunteers at NPH work long, hard days with rugged conditions. They must be flexible, patient, have strong intercultural skills and most importantly love children.

 

And while this week is about expressing our gratitude to NPH, it�s also an opportunity for former volunteers to express THEIR gratitude to NPH. To volunteer at NPH is to offer your heart to be broken open, filled with love and challenges and growth. That heart will never be the same. Some of our current volunteers have this to say:

I hope that I will take with me for the rest of my life what I have learned from these kids: to love without fear, to be happy with what you have, and to realize that life itself is a blessing. -Ali Hickman, Visitor Coordinator NPH Honduras.

NPH has turned me into a person I would not have recognized a year ago. In all the best ways. This complicated, frustrating, loving, and incredibly strong family has shown me what it means to be human, and they�ve accepted me unconditionally as a human and as a new part of their family. �I feel as though I�m always learning: about society, about love, and about myself. I am so grateful to NPH for the unconditional love it�s given me and taught me to give, and for introducing me to another side of myself. -Claire Magnuson, Women�s Empowerment NPH Honduras.

In my 17 years of being involved with NPH, I�ve had the pleasure of building friendships and professional relationships with many other former volunteers. This year I reached out to ask former volunteers how NPH has changed THEIR lives:

Nine years later, NPH continues to touch and impact every part of my life. When returning from NPH, it was hard to find my place in the U.S. I longed to be back with my friends at the ranch. I immersed myself in the local NPH office only to meet the three women who I now call my best friends- one a former volunteer herself. The idea of volunteering is to give, to serve others; but volunteering at NPH is so much more than that. I am forever indebted to Fr. Wasson and the NPH family for not only two years of kindness and support, but also a lifetime of unconditional love. -Annemarie Hansen, NPH Honduras.

NPH changed my entire life! After graduating, I was intent on only filling a 2-month volunteer position at NPH Mexico. They were looking for someone to coordinate the summer activities. Growing to know the children and values of NPH not only made it impossible to leave, but gave me a sense of real purpose. After three years, I was sure that I was called to a career in service. The NPH experience served as the backdrop in my post-graduate studies. Even though my subsequent experiences in non-profits were formative and valuable, no place felt like NPH. The sense of family always made the really challenging work worthwhile. Developing trust that allows us to really support our children in their development is a true gift. The people at NPH have become lifelong friends, and I was lucky enough to meet my wife during our time as volunteers. We now have two children who are growing up at NPH and could not feel more grateful. We will be eternally grateful for this amazing family that Fr. Wasson began! -Christopher Hoyt, NPH Mexico, NPH Guatemala and now NPH International. 

It�s been over 18 years since I arrived in Honduras as an NPH volunteer. There is no question that NPH has made a profound, lasting impact on my life. There are the obvious impacts: I fell in love and had my wedding on the Ranch, my oldest son was baptized at the Ranch, and I now work at another children�s home in Honduras and on a daily basis implement the many lessons learned at NPH to improve lives and provide love to over 120 orphaned, abandoned and vulnerable children. But to only focus on that would neglect the story of transformation. At NPH I learned to love. I learned that unconditional love doesn�t mean being blind to the flaws of others, but loving them truly and deeply because and in spite of those flaws. How did I learn that lesson? It wasn�t because I was so good at loving my girls and all the kids unconditionally, but it was because I received immeasurable amounts of unconditional love from the children. They tried to fix how I dress and encourage me to style my hair, and still loved me when I never quite got it. They loved me and my imperfect Spanish and my endless cultural gaffes. They loved me and my gringa ideals that made me think I was going to fix them, fix NPH (which only needed fixing in my idealistic and inexperienced mind), and fix Honduras�. all in 13 months. They loved me for staying longer than planned and they loved me after I left. They loved me when we picked lice out of each other�s hair, when my English classes didn�t go as planned, and when the volunteers� needs took priority over time with the kids. I chose to serve with NPH because I was committed to sharing unconditional love with the children. Instead the gift of unconditional love that I received has been something I�ve carried with me throughout life. I�m still not as good at it as the children are, but I am still trying. -Amy Escoto, NPH Honduras

Oliver Wendell Holmes said �A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions�. I think that is true for our hearts. I would say �A heart that is stretched by NPH can never go back to its old dimensions�. We former volunteers will forever be grateful to NPH for stretching our hearts and minds and showing us unconditional love.

 

 

NPH is a big and great family! It is where the impossible is made possible...

Below is the testimonial speech Roxana, a pequena from NPH El Salvador and current Seattle Institute participant, gave at the recent Faces of Hope in Bellevue, WA, along with the testimonial her host mom then gave.

Hello!  My name is Roxana.  I�m from El Salvador.  Thank you for coming.  Today, I would like to share about my life.

June 15, 2004. What were YOU doing?  Me?  That was the day I went from being an adult, back to being a kid again.  Being an adult?  What a bummer�I was only 10!

My mom just died from cancer, and Papa?  Well�he just fell apart. My sister and I became in charge of my other brothers and sisters. You see, I am one of 7�I have (Manuel, Joaquin, Serguio) brothers, and (Sulma, Gloria, Maritza) sisters.  I am the second oldest.

Now, you are probably thinking �Roxana must have been scared.� Or, �She was probably worried about what she would do.�  Actually, I was not thinking any of that.  I just did what I had to do for my family.  There really was no alternative.

But, if it weren�t for Rubia, my godmother who was always taking care of us, June 15 would never have been. Rubia knew that we needed help � and she introduced us to NPH.  And I feel like I was born again.  I became part of a bigger miracle with even MORE brothers and sisters.  My brothers, sisters and I were now home.  Because, NPH had taken ALL of us.

I started school again.  Ah-I was SO far behind.  I was only at a third grade level!  After being at NPH, I was so dedicated to school, that I went from grade five to grade seven.  I skipped a WHOLE grade level!

And, I had SO MANY other things I could do:  choir, dancing, riding a bike, swimming. I was SO excited.  And�.the FOOOOOOOD!

I joined the dance group at fourteen.  Out of many girls, Rebeca and I were selected to travel to the US to dance and perform.  We went to Arizona, Seattle, Minnesota and Chicago! It was SUCH an experience! Maybe I even met some of you back then�?

In 2009, I did my first year of service by taking care of the two to six year-olds and working in the sponsorship office. My second year of service, I was in charge of the six to seven year-old girls.  Then, I moved on to the sixteen to eighteen year-olds.  During this ALL this time, I was working on my high school degree! I received my high school degree in two thousand eleven. I was SO proud of myself for finishing.

Currently, given my past experiences, I found my passion in psychology.  Which is what I am studying  in university. So far, thru my studies I have discovered more about myself, and I know that I have grown as a person.  Before getting an education, I didn�t think anything was possible.  Now, thru NPH and my university, I know MANY things are possible. When I finish my studies, I want to take what I learned in school to help other people discover more about themselves, so they can overcome the difficulties in their lives and a achieve their dreams.

Except for my older sister, who has a family of her own now, my other brothers and sisters still live in the home in El Salvador.  They are going to school, doing their years of service, and enjoying all the other things I did when I was there, like dancing, singing, swimming and learning.

And for me?  I am here in Seattle, studying English and leadership this year. It has been amazing so far!  And I can only imagine what the rest of the year has in store for me. This summer I will return home to El Salvador to finish my studies.  My hope is to surpass all your expectations for me, and to become the person I was meant to be.

NPH is a big and great family!  It is where the impossible is made possible. Where dreams can become real. When I talk about NPH, I say �It is MY family�.  That we always help each other. It is not just about each person; it is about ALL of us. For me, NPH is MY everything.

Before I go, I would like to thank Father Wasson for his vision of NPH. It is the best thing I have experienced.

Do you want to learn more about NPH and others like me? I want to invite all of you to please come visit us!  See for yourself what your support can do. COME! Make memories with us!

Thank you for all you do.

******** 

Good afternoon!  I�m Christina Buchholz, and our family has the honor of being Roxy�s host family this year.  There are so many reasons why it�s been such an amazing experience for all of us.  The best part is having another female in a house full of guys!

Our family�s NPH story is a short one so far.  Short but sweet. A short while ago, our youth minister at St. James, Joe Cotton, introduced our Youth Group to NPH.  Joe inspired our Youth Group to take a trip to Nicaragua.  So, off our family went with the group: my husband, our two teenaged sons and myself. We weren�t sure what to expect.  Well, in just 10 days, our family was transformed�it was both eye opening and heart opening.

When we got to Nicaragua, here�s what we discovered: We weren�t visitors.  We became part of the NPH family.  The peque?os made sure we knew this. We also got to meet and get to know the two children, a boy and a girl, that our Youth Group had been sponsoring. They braved sharing not only their haunting stories, but also how they, and their siblings, came to be at NPH. These two children had such desperate backgrounds and yet they, and the other peque?os had clearly come to know a place where they knew they could love and be loved.  Where they were part of a community, rather, a family. A place to trust, to laugh, to learn, to grow, to have hope. That place was NPH. 

With each �hola�, each hug, each memory made together, we sensed the peace and security these children experienced in this NPH home. The volunteers and faculty we met as we visited the casas, classrooms and the clinic were incredible. The dedication and care they shared as they served this community really highlighted how every donation, every sponsor, was being leveraged in the best ways possible for the peque?os.

At the end of our 10 day visit, it was really hard to leave.  It was like leaving home after a family visit. Upon our return to the States, our family couldn�t stop talking about our trip. After only a few months, and countless hugs, unbelievable memories, we decided we needed �more NPH� in our lives.  We had already decided that we needed to go back, and found other ways to stay connected. This summer we will meet another child we sponsor.  We are a home stay family for the NPH students studying in Seattle.  We plan on visiting El Salvador, because if we don�t Roxy might disown us! And we are now part of the NPH NW Regional Board, sharing with anyone who will listen the amazing accomplishments of this tremendous organization and inspiring others to participate.

I�d like to ask you to do me a favor. Today we are learning about and supporting the schools and education programs of NPH.  Now think of your own classroom experiences.  Was it learning to write your name and read in kindergarten?  Was it playing at recess with your friends?  Maybe it was the walk to get your diploma on graduation day? 

Now imagine that instead of being in the classroom every day, you wander the streets.  That instead of playing at recess, you are six, working for a small nibble to eat.  That learning to write or read is not even a remote possibility because the only thing you can hope to learn is where a safe place might be to lay your head down tonight.

I�ll end with one of those transforming moments for our family from our trip.  Our group had just finished an exercise where we were rewarded with pieces of candy.  My husband Dave had his candy in his hands, which did not go unnoticed by one of the peque?os.  He pried Dave�s hand open and boy, did his face light up! Dave handed the two pieces of candy to him.  The peque?o noticed that Dave didn�t have any candy left for himself.  That little boy gave one back to Dave so he too would have a piece. What a generous little heart!

Today, I ask that you show the same generosity as that peque?o. Give so that little boy, and all the other children in the 9 NPH homes, can have a childhood, full of days in classrooms and recesses, too. Give that they may discover that many things are possible, and that they seize those possibilities because of NPH, and because of YOU. I would like to end by saying thank you. It is inspiring to me to be in a room with so many generous hearts. My family and I are thankful that you join us in supporting the mission of NPH.

 

Amidst the chaos, fractured housing and penetrating unknowns, St. Damien Children�s Hospital is an oasis...

Angelo Rose is an attorney and musician from Rochester, NY. Following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, he wrote a song to raise funds for St. Damien Hospital there. He released a second song last year in response to Hurricane Matthew: www.haitisrain.org. He recently visited St. Damien in January 2017, and below is his reflection. Click here to make a gift and support the life-saving work of St. Damien Hospital today!

 

 

Le gen lanmou, gen doule'

 

Somewhat ironically, I will start this brief reflection where physically my journey to Haiti ended�

 

Dazed and tired, I shuffled into my Ft. Lauderdale hotel and took my first shower in days. There, under the warm embrace of pulsing jets, I was overcome: The thundering guilt of having a home, a bed, clean water to bathe in and my God, the seemingly infinite power to turn the faucet to quench my thirst were collectively just too much to own. Haiti suffers at the most base levels of existence and until I experienced it first hand, its devastation remained an abstract truth. Now, there is not a day I don�t recall a face, or silently chant, �Thank you� when I drink a glass of water or sit down for dinner. It is the difference between watching a video clip of someone on a roller coaster and actually sitting in the first car of an old, wooden Skyliner as it claps along tired rails. I knew, however, that ride was going to end for me, that I would fly out and leave behind the countless children I met, the selfless people giving so much to change the norm there. They remain, twisting and turning in markedly inadequate shelter and structure, exposed to the raging elements of nature and consequence of desperation. Children and adults alike are in critical need of nutrition, education and water. The country as a whole flounders in political corruption, unknowns and hypocrisies. The weight of it all was too much and I collapsed to the perfectly tiled shower floor. Sobbing and shaking, I tried to make sense of it all�

 

Le gen lanmou, gen doule�

 

When our small group landed in Port au Prince, it was readily apparent that Haiti was strung together by the thinnest of threads. Amidst the chaos, fractured housing and penetrating unknowns, St. Damien Children�s Hospital is an oasis. The doctors, nurses, employees, volunteers and Fathers Rick Frechette and Enzo Del Brocco, tirelessly devote each day to saving lives. The hospital is a clean, incredibly well run sanctuary for an endless sea of children in dire need of medical care. Father Rick and Phadool, the Human Resources Director at St. Damien, provided a vast amount of information during daily visits to the hospital.  Clean, potable water is infinitely sparse. Quality medicines are desperately needed at St. Damien, as are funds to acquire vital medical equipment.  

 

I was awed by doctors and nurses who repeatedly, selflessly and unconditionally gave all they had. Each morning, mothers line up outside the gates to seek ambulatory medical care for their babies. As this group patiently waits to be seen, the more serious cases are evaluated and treated on the other side of St. Damien. Mothers of children who are required to have lengthy stays are relegated to sleeping in upright metal chairs or on a concrete floor underneath their cribs. Jacqueline Gautier, National Director of St. Damien, confirmed that hospital grade reclining chairs are among the vital equipment needed. The children I met radiated with love, for in the arms of St. Damien they were fed, given medicine and genuine opportunity to heal. Though I am now several weeks removed from my trip, the penetrating eyes of hope travel thousands of miles daily to visit me. A musician often moonlighting as a trial attorney, admittedly I had limited medical skills to offer. This glaring deficiency seemed to matter very little at St. Damien. What the children sought from me, I could aptly provide. Often it was simply a smile, or a hug, or a fingertip-to-fingertip touch that calmed and soothed. The doctors superbly managed the medical needs and I was at-home simply being there for anything else. My ego was consumed. Gone were daily worries about email and developing trends in recent case law. The next life-or-death argument concerning which divorcee would get the engraved soap dish took its proper place in oblivion.  

 

Le gen lanmou, gen doule'  

 

Adjacent to the hospital is the beautiful and rustic Chapel of St. Philomena, where a daily morning mass is assembled. I discovered that most of these early masses are tragically, in fact, vigils for children who died in the preceding days. The first such mass I attended was before the bodies of seven children, wrapped in light-blue paper and gently placed in reusable cardboard coffins. Of the four caskets laid before us, three contained not one, but two tiny bodies. I was overcome. Life and death in Haiti are perpetually at odds and sometimes there is simply nothing that can be done. That reality, amidst some of the finest medical professionals the world has to offer, was immeasurably painful. And yet, as mass concluded, the small congregation (often comprised of the aforementioned doctors, nurses, employees, volunteers and Phadool) breathed life into an old Creole Hymn and ferried the coffins from the Chapel to an awaiting flatbed. The bodies were then transported to a spot beyond the hospital for cremation. No family members were there to say goodbye, but there was little doubt about the reverberating weight of each loss. These daily masses are a divine opportunity to reflect upon the immense need in Haiti, the tragedy of such profound poverty and the senseless deaths of innocent children. I saw no greater demonstration of love than during the masses, where the forgotten are remembered and hearts are torn open in the remembrance of the gift and fragility of life.  

 

Le gen lanmou, gen doule�    

 

When there is love, there is pain.  

 

 

The Promise of Honduras...

Below is a blog post by Dr. Jim Bruckner, a dedicated NPH USA supporter from the Northwest.  Thanks to Jim for sharing his experience visiting Rancho Santa Fe with his family last year!

 

I had the opportunity to visit the NPH Ranch outside of Tegucigulpa, Honduras in October 2016 with my family. The thing that struck me immediately about Honduras was the extreme poverty. Based on many previous conversations with young Hondurans I had the sense that the Honduran people are almost resigned to living that way because of the corrupt government that is in their way.  But after a few days I had the sense that Hondurans wanted something different.

 

NPH has clearly established strong and stable roots in Honduras and in my opinion it is doing something almost unprecedented.   NPH provides for orphans, abandoned, and abused children a stable home and a strong family.  NPH provides a promise that no matter what the hardship, there will always be a family for the children in their care. And through this promise, Honduran children are thriving and becoming doctors, nurses, teachers, plumbers, electricians and most importantly, leaders who return to NPH to fulfill the promise for the next generation of Hondurans.

 

At the NPH Ranch, I had the opportunity to have long conversations with three bright and capable young men, all part of the NPH family, one a teenager in high school; one a young adult and college student; and one a physician, now married raising his own a family. My godsons, Vilches and Nelson, and Dr. Merlin Ant?nez, MD, were all raised at NPH-Honduras. They shared with me their care and compassion for their NPH brothers and sisters and their desire to give back to their family � in fact they all felt there was no other choice for them than to continue to build a better life in Honduras.  They believed in the future in Honduras.

 

Vilches, the teenager, is concentrating on high school, figuring out how to live more independently in the city, and chart his own path for the future. Nelson, now a young adult, has narrowed his academic focus, and is dedicated to completing his college degree and becoming a social worker. He has fully embraced service to others, and as part of his degree, has undertaken a fundraising effort for school supplies for needy children in his rural hometown.

 

Dr. Merlin, one of the first pequenos at NPH to go to college, became a physician, was subspecialty trained as an orthopaedic surgeon, and returned to NPH as the surgery center director. Dr. Merlin is a remarkable example of the NPH promise. The reputation of the surgery center speaks for itself. It is one of the finest in Honduras. Through Dr. Merlin�s leadership at surgery center, many Hondurans have experienced a level of healthcare that has never been available to them. Community members are beginning to learn that there is a better way to live. That sort of cultural change takes time to produce meaningful impact, but I heard in the words from Vilches, Nelson, Dr. Merlin, they all believe change is happening.

 

As the father of three sons, I know the dedication and challenge it takes to raise boys to become good men and to instill in them the commitment to family, to community, and ultimately to country. I am proud to say that because of the dedication of so many in the NPH-Honduras family, together, we have raised Vilches, Nelson, and Dr. Merlin to be good men who are committed to family, to community and to their country. They are the promise of Honduras.


- James D. Bruckner, MD

 

 

 

 

The people I met and the things I saw will forever be ingrained in my mind�

Below is a reflection by Franki Mullen of Saint Anselm College who went on a Mission Trip to NPH Dominican Republic.

When someone says an experience changed their life, it is easy to be skeptical how true that statement is. However, after spending only one week at NPH I cannot imagine saying anything other than, �That experience changed my life.� The people I met and the things I saw will forever be ingrained in my mind. I will never forget dancing on the roof under the Dominican night sky, holding a little girl in my arms while her light lit up her whole face, looking through pictures one of the pequenos had of her Quincenera, or eating sugar cane in the back of a truck while speeding through the towns. However, the trip was not just about getting some sun and eating sugar cane. The poverty seen was so eye opening and heartbreaking, but it was the Dominican people�s attitudes in the face of adversity that moved me the most. They were always smiling, laughing, and making the most of any situation. They welcomed us in with open hearts and made us feel at home. Even though we were there to help them, instead we felt equal, making it so that we were always motivated to do our absolute best job at whatever task was at hand. I am so thankful to those who reached out and held my hand while on the trip, and I can hope that I had one tenth of the impact that they all had on me. 

 

 

 

The most valuable thing I learned throughout my week there was the universality of love and compassion�

Below is a reflection by Allie Finlay of Saint Anselm College who went on a Mission Trip to NPH Dominican Republic.

My experience at Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos was one that I will never forget. I was really anxious about going at first because I had never traveled outside the United States, and I did not speak much Spanish. Once we were in the Dominican Republic all of that anxiety went away. The most valuable thing I learned throughout my week there was the universality of love and compassion. Although I struggled with the language, I was able to connect with the children through play and through non communication. I connected with a group of boys throughout the week at their lunchtime and each day we ate with them I would be called or dragged over to sit with them. The boys noticed after the second day that I was not able to speak much Spanish but we connected over thumb wars and arm wrestling and they even taught me the word for champion in Spanish!

As the week progressed I was able to connect with girls over snapchat and hair and makeup and with the younger kids through play and just hugging them and caring for them. Although I was able to connect without using communication I was able to also connect by communicating to the older boys and girls because they were able to speak English. They were very understanding and helped me as much as possible with my Spanish with the younger kids who would become frustrated easily at my inability to communicate. One of the boys was actually able to hold a full conversation in English and when I would become frustrated he would communicate with me in English to ease my anxiety. I would really like to return in the future to the NPH home once I have improved my Spanish to be a volunteer for at least six months and be able to work in the clinic as a nurse. These kids really impacted my life and the people I met and served will always have a special place in my heart. I am so grateful to have been given this opportunity to serve at this wonderful organization and I really hope I can return in the future!

 

 

I am so blessed to have met such incredible children, and be part of such a positive and giving community�

Below is a reflection by Amy Vachon of Saint Anselm College who went on a Mission Trip to NPH Dominican Republic.

My trip to the Dominican Republic through Saint Anselm College to Nuestros Peque?os Hermanos was a life-changing experience that I am so grateful for. The organization impressed me so much as it clearly has a tremendous impact on the surrounding San Pedro/San Maricos area. Having traveled outside of the site � it is evident that NPH offers a fantastic home for kids that might otherwise not have one. It also is a site that offers schooling to outside students that might otherwise not get to go to school. I am amazed at the selflessness of the t?as (caretakers) who run the various casas there. These women have their own families outside of the site and yet they are able to take the time to serve a population that needs them so much. I am also so impressed by the volunteers at the site who help us as visitors to have the best experience. 

Most importantly however, I am amazed by the children at NPH. The young and the old alike are so caring and patient, especially with our group who did not speak Spanish very well. I connected with so many children specifically one girl. Even though she would joke sometimes that I did not speak great Spanish, she would help me frequently to learn more. By the end of the trip I definitely had a very hard time saying goodbye.

As I sit and write this, I frankly find it extremely difficult to put into words how I feel about this trip. It is an experience that will be burned into my memory for the rest of my life. I even now feel compelled to change my post-grad plans as a second semester senior after taking this trip. It opened my eyes to a whole new world of possibility as far as years of service are concerned. Many in my group hope to partake in that, or at least go back to the site over the summer if possible. I am so blessed to have met such incredible children, and be part of such a positive and giving community for a week. Thank you for allowing me to do this � you�ve truly changed so much for me in such a positive way.