Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos

NPH USA: Making a positive impact in Latin America and the Caribbean through their unique family.

By Taylor Harrison

“Hola y bienvenidos a nuestra familia de NPH!” Hi and welcome to our NPH family. My name is Taylor Harrison and I am privileged to tell you about one of the greatest organizations I’ve encountered. NPH USA is a non-profit organization with orphanages in Latin America and the Caribbean. However, it’s not your average orphanage, and I’m here to show you that through my photography. In today’s society, we’ve been socialized to believe a certain

definition of “family,” but NPH finds a way to show that families come in all shapes and sizes. There are many other ties and bonds that define what a family is beyond DNA. NPH gives hundreds of children a sense of security, love and joy that they take with them for the rest of their lives. Family is whoever supports you, shares with you and loves you to the best of their ability. NPH is family.

NPH USA’s sponsorship program is one of the most inspiring aspects of their organization. I have been sponsoring this beautiful little girl for over a year now and I can honestly say it has changed my life. I have sponsored children through other organizations before, but until you meet the child whose life you are changing, you will never make a personal and lasting connection with them. I thought that when I met my goddaughter that I would be changing her life, but she truly has changed mine.

We had never met each other before, but the second I got to wrap my arms around this beautiful child I knew that we would be friends. We have a bit of a language barrier but all she needs is love. She may not realize how much of an impact I am having in her life, and is just relishing in the chocolate I send her, but I’m helping her future. Tegucigalpa is not a place I want her to grow up in, but that is her reality. I can only provide so much for her and I want to do whatever I can to do so. NPH allows you to make deep connections and relationships with your godchildren that will last a lifetime. I live for the moment where I can hear her tell me she loves me again and for us to play jump rope and read her favorite books together. Te amo mi carino!

Not far from the NPH ranch is a small town called Tallanga. Many of our children come from this town and it is a great representation of how a lot of people live in Honduras.

Welcome to our home at NPH Honduras, Rancho Santa Fe, where over 450 children are receiving exactly what they need every day. It might not be what you consider “traditional,” but our children receive what any

other children need to be a part of a family: security, love and joy...and they receive it to the fullest.

Security

The children living at NPH have gone through things that no child should ever know about. Abandonment, abuse, hunger and the list continues. They are children that should not understand what love is, but the kids here love every day. NPH allows every child to live free from fear, worry and danger. With Honduras’ capital Tegucigalpa being the murder capital of the world involving the drug trade, these children are coming from incredibly rough lives. Here they have the ability to have

an education, learn a trade skill, practice religion, and eat three meals a day and play just like kids should.

Love

There are tías and tíos, “aunts” and “uncles,” who live with all of the children in their hogares, “homes.” They truly take on the mother and father figures for the kids and nurture them as if they were their own. They walk them to and from school, help them get dressed, braid hair, put on shoes…anything that they need!

There are also full time employees that work on the ranch such as helping with the medical clinic, kitchen and garden. Doña Gloria makes thousands of tortillas every week for the entire ranch!

The children at NPH consider every other kid to be their own sibling, regardless of their blood relations.They truly are one big family, from the youngest pequeño to the eldest.

There are volunteers living year round that help in various places at NPH. Some teach English, others are therapists and some work in the medical clinics. They come from all over the world to serve the kids for 13 months and then a new rotation of volunteers come in.

Joy

The church at NPH allows the children to practice Catholicism regularly by attending Mass and receiving a religious education through classes once a week.

There is an internal and an external clinic that gives great medical care to everyone who lives on the ranch and beyond to the local communities. Recently, the external clinic has been expanded significantly, so now the clinic can perform more surgeries.

Love has no boundaries at NPH and they take in anyone they can. There are homes for the disabled, abandoned elderly and for adults living with HIV/AIDS. These homes truly have angels among them.

The kids are required to do chores to help out at the ranch, just like a typical home anywhere, as well as give back a year of service if they want to receive any higher education beyond what is offered at the ranch.

The ranch is almost 100% self-sufficient with their garden and farm. The farm produces all of the vegetables needed at the home as well as 1,400 eggs and 67 gallons of milk each day, which exceeds the home’s needs. Many children help out here for their chores or years of service. Oscar has been working at the garden for many years and through his hard work and dedication he has overseen the entire program grow into something substantial for the ranch.

Stefan is the director at NPH Honduras and became involved first through volunteering. For someone who was originally going to go into investment banking, NPH USA certainly turned his world upside down. He is now a father figure for hundreds of kids at the ranch. One reason he believes that NPH is so special is because the more you think about it, the more it doesn’t make sense. There are hundreds of children from all different backgrounds,

with some who have gone through horrific scenarios and have absolutely no reason to believe that someone will love them, yet they make one cohesive and beautiful family. His favorite part of the ranch is being able to tuck the little children in bed at night. “It might not seem like an important job to some, but if we don’t do it, no one will. It is the most important job in the world.”

The Director

Father Renaldo became involved through a Christmas card he received from NPH Mexico and now has been the Priest at NPH Honduras for eight years. He teaches in the children’s workshops and classes for first Communion and Confirmation, as well as the regular worship services throughout the week. His favorite part about NPH is the children and the challenge of granting them a great future.

For those who have never heard about NPH before, Father Renaldo wishes that they could see how loved the children are and how much they are capable of. He feels immense joy and pride knowing that the children have put their confidence in him and allow him to hear their stories from before they arrived at NPH.

The Father

Elzer is currently the Visitor Coordinator at the ranch. His story is especially touching because he grew up at NPH. He first arrived with his sister when he was only four years old. He then went on to graduate from college, travel to the United States on multiple occasions and to other NPH homes in order to raise awareness and support for NPH. His dedication not only to the organization as a whole, but specifically to his brothers and sisters at the ranch is

inspiring. It speaks volumes that he loves NPH so much that he decided that he wanted to work here full time. He now is able to share his passion for the ranch with visitors from all over the world. As hard as his job may be at times, he will never miss a moment to rush out to his brothers and sisters and play with them as much as he can. He truly is a wonderful example of what NPH can do for a child.

The Visitor Coordinator

Nelson is 24 and just recently was accepted to a leadership program in the United States where he will also be studying English, literature and other foreign languages for a semester. He has worked incredibly hard to get into this program and has also worked hard on the ranch giving back his years of service. He is an example of how sponsorship affects a child at NPH. Sponsors allow children the ability to make the most out of their lives.

Nelson mentioned how grateful he was towards his sponsors because they have always helped him with whatever he has needed. He hasn’t had to worry about needing anything since he was 12. He has grown to understand just exactly what he has and not to take it for granted, because it is easy to forget where you came from. He doesn’t know all of his sponsors personally, but it is amazing to see how they’ve made a difference.

The Student Leader

NPH goes beyond the extra mile with helping just one child. When a child is brought to NPH, it becomes the foundation for the rest of their life. NPH isn’t just an institution; they strive to instill positive values into every child in order to teach them to be productive citizens, responsible for their community and good family members for when they leave NPH. The children are never placed for adoption, which means they have security knowing NPH will forever be their home and family.

NPH has rules, activities, chores and homework like any other home, but it is unique in that it gives opportunities to children that otherwise would not have had any. Everyone at the ranch shares the responsibility of the family, including the teachers, volunteers, gardeners and sponsors. NPH shows unconditional love to every child that walks through their doors and I encourage you to join the family by sponsoring a child!

Experience an organization dedicated to changing their communities through their own unique family.

Get closer. Change a young child’s life. Change your life. Sponsor a child from NPH USA to provide continuous support throughout their life, while building a beautiful relationship with them. Give to provide food, shelter and education. Sponsor to develop a personal connection. Visit an NPH home location to see what we are all about.

NPH USA National Headquarters134 North LaSalle StreetSuite 500 Chicago, IL 60602-1036

888.201.8880 nphusa.org

Funded by the Mironda K. Heston Scholarship through the Leadership, Ethics and Values Program

at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois.