NPH International Family Fall 2008 - Friends of the Orphans

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Message from Father Ron HicksA Great LifeDuring the months of September andOctober, 2008, I had the opportunityto work with Friends of the Orphansin the USA to raise funds and sharethe beautiful message of NPH.I traveled to Virginia, Washington,D.C., California, Washington State andArizona. Often times when I wouldpreach, I would share a story about agirl named Wendy who lives at NPHEl Salvador. As we come to the endof the year, I thought her story shouldbe shared with as many people aspossible.At 11 years old, Wendy is a very tinygirl. She was born with a severe birthdefect in which her spine curves outand then connects in a different wayto her hip so that one leg is about teninches higher than the other.Wendy was abandoned by herbiological family at a very young age.However, we are thrilled that sheis part of our NPH family. She is abeautiful gift with eyes that sparkleas she smiles. She is a talented artist,does very well in school and shesings in our church choir. She has adetermined personality and refuses tolet her birth defect diminish her spirit.For a moment I was perplexed as tohow I was going to explain to ourkind visitors that Wendy thought shedid not have a good life with us atNPH. However, without missing abeat, Wendy added, “Father, I do notwant you to tell them that I have agood life at NPH. I want you to tellthem the truth. Tell them that I have agreat life here at NPH.”That is the magic of NPH! Together,we are breaking the chain of povertyand giving our children a secondchance in life. On behalf of all thechildren at NPH, I sincerely say toyou, THANK YOU. Thank you formaking it possible for countlesschildren like Wendy to say that theyhave lives that are not only good, butlives that are great.May God bless you and your familiesthis season and always.Peace,Padre Ron HicksRegional Director, NPH Central AmericaPhoto: Wendy (in red shirt) with her friends.“Tell them that I have a great lifehere at NPH.”A little while back, we had a largegroup of people visiting our NPHhome in El Salvador. They wereinteracting with all of our children inour basketball court. A small group ofvisitors had gathered around Wendyand called me over. They asked meto translate something. They said,“Father, can you ask Wendy if she hasa good life here at NPH?” I translatedtheir question to Wendy, and with amischievous smile on her face, shereplied to me, “No!”
NPH Home SnapshotsAdvancementsEl SalvadorGuatemala Hosts NPHInternational Soccer TournamentThe final games brought hundredsof spectators to the fields to observethe heated match-ups between theremaining girls and boys teams. Inthe end, Nicaragua girls defeatedGuatemala girls in an overwhelming7 to 0 victory, making them the 2008NPH Soccer Tournament Champions.Both teams played with all of theirheart and soul, and the support andenthusiasm were vividly alive inthe stands.Next, the gifted boys of Honduras faced off against the speedy Nicaraguan team, agame in which neither team could sneak in a goal, leaving the score 0 to 0. With thetime finally expiring, there was a shoot-off with five players from each team facingoff with the opposing team’s goalie. The Honduran goalie was amazingly able tomaneuver two blocks, thrusting the Honduran team into an exhilarating victory, andinto the role as the men’s NPH Soccer Tournament champions for 2008.The closing ceremony took place directly after a delicious meal of beans and friedplantains. The directors handed out a number of deserving awards, and the victoriousteams received their trophies. After the ceremony, a dance was held in the dinningroom that lasted long into the evening.“Even better than the soccer and festivities was the electric atmosphere among all theteams from the different NPH countries and the children of Guatemala. This eventgives the players and host country children a real life experience of what it means tobe a family of so many children in 9 different countries,” said a spectator.The 2009 tournament will be held in Mexico. Lookout Mexico, here we come!Contributed by Christine Andrews, Academic Tutor VolunteerOur home in El Salvador received a generousdonation of $75,000 from Future First, a globalprogram which supports children in developingcountries initiated by the bank HSBC.In countries where HSBC operates, Future Firstendeavours to improve the lives of children whohave been abandoned, orphaned or living onthe streets, helping them build a better future.Representatives from HSBC were invited to the 2007 International meeting held inEl Salvador where they were impressed by our home and organization. Hearing aboutthe homes specific needs, the bank then began helping us by provided games, toys,food and piñatas for the children.NPH is a great partner for Future First which is a 10 million dollar program slated toprovide services until 2012. Congratulations to the Public Relations department ofNPH El Salvador for building this important relationship.MexicoDominican RepublicHaitiGuatemalaEl SalvadorHondurasNicaraguaPeruBoliviaNPH InternationalHome Correspondent WorkshopEight NPH homes, UKBS Germany andNPH International were represented atthe First Annual Home CorrespondentWorkshop held at NPH Honduras.Thanks to funding from the NPHGerman board, these valuable volunteersand staff received a 3-day trainingworkshop on Project Coordination andoverall job responsibilities. The roleof the Home Correspondent is vitalto every NPH home, creating a linkbetween the fundraising offices,the public and the home.All HC’s expressed interest in furthertraining and stated that it was importantto offer job training at the beginning oftheir service. One HC, Robin Schwartz,who just started the week prior inNPFS Haiti, was lucky to be able toexperience the training as a starter tool.One full day focused on how to developprojects on the NPH Intranet systemand best practices. Other days focusedon the many tasks of the HC such asaim of the job, website content, design,photography, reports and diversity in therole per country—just to name a few.For more detailed information about theHC Workshop or the job, please contactMonica Gery at: mgery@nph.orgPhoto: Olegario Campos, National Director of NPH El Salvador graciously accepts a check.
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NPH International Family Fall 2008 - Friends of the Orphans

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