NPH International Family Fall 2008 - Friends of the Orphans

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Pequeño ProfileWaiting to HearJuan Manuel is an amazing young man.He was born unable to hear or speakand joined our NPH family at nine yearsold. Because of his troubled early lifehe has had difficulty learning, especiallyreading and writing. Now, nine yearslater at the age of eighteen, a highschool student, he has shown throughhard work and determination that hecan persevere.This past July we had the pleasureof seeing him graduate from middleschool and he now attends a local highschool as part of a special group ofdeaf students. Theytravel as a groupthrough their dayand enjoy all thesame teachers astheir peers, butwith the help ofa sign languagetranslator. Theparents of the deafstudents all sharethe costs of thetranslator. In thisway, Juan Manuelis able to attend aregular high schoolbut have his owncommunity ofdeaf friends thatcommunicate bysign language.Juan Manuel liveswith the other highschool students in Cuernavaca and isoften seen with his big headphones,listening to music with the soundturned up all the way. As the otheryoung people here do not know signlanguage, Juan Manuel has inventedhis own type of sign language tocommunicate with them. Though itappears that he would be lonely, healways has a smile on his face and willtry to communicate with anyone withthe patience to try.Now, Juan Manuel has the chance tohear for the first time in his life, andcommunicate with those same peers byspeaking, and hearing them respond.This new hope is provided by aCochlear Implant, which is a surgicallyimplanted electronic device whichworks by directly stimulating auditorynerves. It is made up of four importantparts: a microphone that picks upsound, a speech processor which selectsand arranges sounds picked up by themicrophone, a transmitter and receiverwhich convert the information from thespeech processor into electric impulsesand an array of electrodes, whichcollect the impulses and sends themto different parts of the auditory nerve.The implant will then be followed bya year of Auditory Rehabilitation sothat Juan Manuel can understand andprocess the sounds heis hearing for the firsttime in his life.This implant firstbecame available inthe 1980s but onlywithin the last fewyears did it startto become morecommon in Mexico.Juan Manuel willhave his surgery ata prestigious MexicoCity hospital. Hewill not be the firstpequeño to receivethis implant. Hector,a deaf boy from ourhome in Honduras,had this implantseveral years ago andnow, after years oftherapy, is a successstory, he is able to hear and speak. Wehope that we can make this possible forJuan Manuel as well!The costs for the implant are as follows:Cochlear Implant $25,000Auditory Rehabilitation $15,000for 1 yearSurgery Hospitalization $9,000Ear Image Tomography $500Total: $49,500This project is also listed on our websiteat: www.nph.orgContributed by Daniela GreilichHome Correspondent NPH MexicoWhen asked how he managedto evoke such generosity inpeople, Fr. Wasson replied...“The generosity of those whohelp is due to the fact that theyare offered the opportunity todo so…All I have to do is totell them about the children,and what the children need,and how the children are andtheir hopes and desires for thefuture and either they respondor they don’t. It has to do withtheir own heart and their ownfeelings. It is as simple as thatreally.”— Fr. Wasson.
Hollywood in HaitiSpread the wordCelebrities help spread awarenessfor Haitian children in need.In December, Paul & Deborah Haggis,Madeline Stowe, Josh Brolin, Diane Lane, MariaBello, Bryn Mooser, Jimmy Jean-Louis, MichaelStahl David, former Senator John Edwards andfrom Italy, Italian model and actress MartinaColombari, were in Haiti with NPH/NPFS, forthe inauguration of KaySaint Germaine, the firstrehabilitation center fordisabled children in thecountry and the launch of“Francisville–NewWork City.”Two-time AcademyAward ® winner PaulHaggis went to the slumsof Haiti last Februaryto meet Father Richard Frechette, priest andphysician, who has been working with thechildren of Port-Au-Prince for over twenty years.Haiti is one of the two poorest countries inthe world. “Father Rick,” as he is known to thepeople of the massive slums, is the NationalDirector of Nos Petit Freres et Soeurs (NPFS,French for “Our Little Brothers and Sisters”and our home in Haiti) is a humanitarianorganization founded in 1954.In Haiti today, 250 children die every week,most from easily preventable diseases. Onechild out of three dies before reaching the ageof five. Of those who survive, one child out oftwo does not go to school. Seventy percent ofits people are unemployed.While in Haiti, Haggis visited several NPH/NPFS projects, including the orphanage thatFather Rick founded twenty years ago withFather William Wasson, the founder of NPH.Haggis also saw the beautiful new pediatrichospital that Father Rick built–the largest in theCaribbean. He also spent time at Father Rick’sstreet schools in the slums, which provide aneducation and a hot meal a day to over 3,000children, and NPH’s water distribution center,which provides the only clean water availableto thousands of people in the slums. FatherRick also built the only free mortuary andcemetery.Paul was also there to witness the beginningof construction of NPH’s rehabilitation centerPhoto: top left, Bryn Mooser, Jimmy Jean-Louis, Maria Bello,Father Rick Frechette, Josh Brolin, former Senator John Edwards,Martina Colombari, Madeline Stowe.Bottom left, Mariavittoria Rava, Diane Lane, Michael Stahl David.for disabled children. On December 3, 2008 a date internationallycelebrated as World Day for Disability, Paul and a group of friends wentback to Haiti for the inauguration of Kay Saint Germaine–House of LittleAngels, the first rehab center in the country for disabled children. Thelife of these children is especially difficult in Haiti. According to voodooworship, the disabled are considered cursed. They are therefore shunned,abandoned, or worse.Those visiting on this occasion did so to support NPH and FatherRick in spreading information and awareness about the plight of thehandicapped children in Haiti and the urgent need of help for all thechildren in this forgotten country. They attended the inauguration ofthe rehab center, together with hundreds of disabled children and theirmothers. Messages were also sent by the Pope and by Andrea Bocelliwith a moving video.Actors and actresses wore a special, limited edition T-shirt designedby Elio Fiorucci for Fondazione Francesca Rava NPH Italia Onlus(representing NPH in Italy), specifically to raise funds for Kay SaintGermaine–House of Little Angles. This t-shirt can be purchased on theNPH Italy website at www.nphitalia.org (donation, 25 euro/$32, plusshipping), or by phone +390254122917.During their staying in Haiti, the group visited the NPH/NPFSSt. Damien pediatric hospital and its little patients, witnessed a movingfuneral ceremony for two children who died in the night, went to theslums of Wharf Jeremy and Cité Soleil where Father Rick has builtthe street schools, helped unload a container of humanitarian items,and attended the kick-off of a new project, Francisville, a site wherevocational workshops and job training along with production facilitieswill be built. Francisville will produce basic goods such as bread, soapand shoes in order to relieve social stress, provide jobs and training,and create resources to at least partially sustain NPH/NPFShumanitarian projects in the country.Press Release NPH Italy / Photos by Stefano Guindani. All rights reserved.
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NPH International Family Fall 2008 - Friends of the Orphans

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