NPH USA

NPH USA is dedicated to improving the lives of orphaned, abandoned and disadvantaged children through the support of the Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos (NPH, Spanish for "Our Little Brothers and Sisters") network of homes in Latin America and the Caribbean. We are a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that has been supporting NPH homes for 40 years. As NPH's US partner organization, our work provides financial and volunteer support through individual contributions, sponsorships, foundation and corporation support, events, recruitment and awareness. NPH USA has been awarded 4 STARS by Charity Navigator and meets all 20 of the Better Business Bureau's standards for charity a... read more NPH USA is dedicated to improving the lives of orphaned, abandoned and disadvantaged children through the support of the Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos (NPH, Spanish for "Our Little Brothers and Sisters") network of homes in Latin America and the Caribbean. We are a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that has been supporting NPH homes for 40 years. As NPH's US partner organization, our work provides financial and volunteer support through individual contributions, sponsorships, foundation and corporation support, events, recruitment and awareness. NPH USA has been awarded 4 STARS by Charity Navigator and meets all 20 of the Better Business Bureau's standards for charity accountability. NPH transforms the lives of orphaned, abandoned and disadvantaged children by creating families for life through values of unconditional love, shared responsibility and education. Children receive health care, an education, clothing, food and most importantly, grow up in a safe home environment. NPH is more than an orphanage - it is a home, a loving community and an opportunity for the children to become self-sufficient adults. This enables children to transcend poverty and grow into caring and productive members of their communities. NPH has been serving children since 1954 when a young boy entered a church in Cuernavaca, Mexico, and took money from the collection box because he was hungry. He was arrested and due to receive a harsh sentence for his crime. The newly ordained priest of the church, Father William B. Wasson, asked the court to show mercy. He asked the judge for custody of the boy so that he could provide a home for him. The judge accepted and continued to send boys to Father Wasson. By the end of the year, 32 boys were in his care and NPH was born. Additional homes were subsequently opened in Honduras (1985), Haiti (1987), Nicaragua (1995), Guatemala (1996), El Salvador (1999), Dominican Republic (2002), Peru (2004) and Bolivia (2005). Since its founding, NPH has assisted more than 17,000 children and is currently raising more than 3,300 children in its nine homes in Latin America and the Caribbean. An additional 1,800 students who live outside the homes receive scholarships, meals and health care. Based on the organization's philosophy of service, outreach programs were developed to support people living in poverty in the local communities where our homes are located. NPH outreach programs, which include a free pediatric hospital in Haiti, emergency and disaster relief, and providing essential supplies to people in need, assisted over 114,000 people in 2012. In addition, our homes employ thousands of adults from the local community. What makes NPH unique is that families are kept together in a family home where they receive direct physical, emotional and spiritual support on a long-term basis. The children are not available for adoption; they are given the security and the sense of belonging as they are being welcomed into a family for life. The children are provided with a quality education and have the opportunity to pursue a trade or university degree. Our children give back a year or more of service to their brothers and sisters, to share the responsibility of raising the family. Thousands of former students are now self-sufficient adults with families of their own. Many are educators, doctors, accountants, carpenters, farmers, mechanics, artists, administrators and social workers. Many have returned to NPH to work in leadership roles using their professional skills to benefit other children in need. Having learned the NPH philosophies of sharing and giving back, others support NPH by sponsoring children, organizing fundraisers, or attending special events and serving as ambassadors for the organization. The best evidence of NPH's success is that thousands of children who grew up at the homes are now self-sufficient adults with families of their own and careers as teachers, doctors, accountants, carpenters, farmers, artists, mechanics, and social workers. Additional indicators of success for 2012 include: 1,250 NPH staff and young people received leadership training and development. The International Leadership Institute in Seattle is in its second year and to date nine students have received intensive leadership and English training. These students have returned to NPH and are working in local leadership programs developing the next generation of leaders. Across the NPH homes, we currently have 266 students in university. In 2012, 27 students graduated from university with degrees ranging from Business and Education to Nursing and Medicine. We also had 73 students graduate from high school and 334 pass their vocational certification exam. NPH ensures appropriate health care for our children. We performed 2,733 well child visits, 3,203 dental checkups, and administered 5,112 doses of essential vaccines. In addition, 77 children received needed surgeries and 500 children living with chronic medical conditions received life-saving medications on a regular basis. More than 114,127 vulnerable children and adults near our homes received humanitarian aid through our programs while 1,833 low-income students living near our homes received scholarships to attend our schools. Our surgery center in Honduras provided 1,416 consultations and performed 249 operations for local residents, while the external clinic assisted 4,700 people. In Nicaragua, a drug prevention program served 2,700 people. Many of the executive management and program staff are graduates of the home (called former pequenos ). Currently, the Executive Director of NPH International as well as five out of the nine National Directors at the NPH Homes are former pequenos.