NPH USA is a registered non-profit corporation dedicated to improving the lives of orphaned, abandoned and disadvantaged children through support of the Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos/Nos Petits Freres et Soeurs (NPH/NPFS, Spanish and French for "Our Little Brothers and Sisters") network of orphanages in Latin America and the Caribbean. NPH USA's parent organization, NPH, was founded by Father William B. Wasson in 1954 and has provided ongoing support to nearly 16,000 children. NPH USA was incorporated in the United States in 1965. NPH currently cares for over 3,700 children in nine countries: Bolivia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and Peru. In 2010, NPH outreach programs assisted more than one million children and adults in Haiti alone. NPH USA helps provide NPH children with food, clothing, shelter, health care, an education, and opportunities to break the cycle of poverty.
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History
In 1954, a hungry, homeless boy was arrested for stealing from the poor box of a small church in Cuernavaca, Mexico. The church's priest, Father William Wasson of Phoenix, Arizona, refused to press charges and asked for custody of the boy. Within a few days, eight more boys found a home with Father Wasson. He gave them a safe environment and a chance to turn their lives around. By year's end, 32 boys were in his care and Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos was born.
Father Wasson's devotion to the care of orphans inspired an outpouring of financial support and volunteer helpers for his humanitarian cause. NPH USA traces its roots to Father Wasson's family and friends in Arizona, who sent clothes, food and money. In 1965, Friends of Our Little Brothers was incorporated in Arizona as a nonprofit organization. Affiliated but separate nonprofit support groups called NPH USA were created in Minnesota (1986), Washington (1988) and Illinois (1999). An organization in Virginia, called Our Little Brothers and Sisters (OLB&S), helped start fundraising offices in Europe as well as Canada. On July 1, 2005, the offices in Arizona, Illinois, Minnesota, and Washington State became regional offices of the national organization - NPH USA. In addition, new regional offices were formed in Florida and Virginia. The new offices were made possible by the fundraising support of OLB&S.
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Philosophy
Children at NPH homes - called pequeños - are not available for adoption; instead they form a part of a larger, stable, permanent family environment at the homes, giving them a chance to focus on education and personal growth. They are taught the values of work, sharing and responsibility in a Christian environment. Each has the opportunity to finish a technical course or seek a university degree. All children are asked to give back a year or more of service to NPH. Through this act of gratitude, each graduate shares the responsibility of raising the family. Pequeños have the goal of becoming contributing, self-sufficient and caring citizens in their own countries.
Former pequeños are educators, doctors, accountants, carpenters, farmers, mechanics, artists, administrators and social workers. Some work for NPH, while others support NPH USA and NPH by sponsoring children, organizing fundraisers, or attending special events and serving as ambassadors for the organization.
All of the NPH homes strive to be self-sufficient and most operate their own schools, clinics, gardens and farms. For example, at NPH Honduras, all of the fixtures and furniture, as well as most of the clothes and shoes used by the children, are made by pequeños in vocational workshops, while NPH Mexico produces enough livestock, fish, fruits and vegetables to satisfy most of the children's needs. What the homes are unable to provide internally is donated by supporters from around the world.
2010 Haiti earthquake relief
As a result of the 7.0 earthquake on January 12, 2010, NPH USA and NPH/NPFS suffered the tragic loss of staff, volunteers and family members, and extensive damage to its facilities. Despite these losses, thousands of victims received aid immediately and continue to be helped through various programs, including:
St. Hélène Orphanage for Children, a permanent home to 400 children. Over 200 external students from the community attend the on-site school. Children displaced by the earthquake are being integrated into the home.
St. Don Bosco, which supports roughly 250 children and youths from St. Hélène who now live with extended family or in group homes and attend secondary school, including a vocational school. The future site of the Don Bosco school and student dorms is located in Tabarre, near the hospital.
St. Damien Hospital, serving as a hub for trauma care for earthquake-related injuries as well as maternity care. It also have become one of the premier orthopedic medical centers within Haiti. Teams of doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals from all over the world arrived to help care for the wounded. Within the first three weeks, the hospital attended to over 10,000 adults and children. Teams also distributed emergency aid of food and water to numerous tent cities.
St. Anne, a rented temporary home for up to 40 children age 6 and under. It was established in response to the thousands of children left homeless by the earthquake.
St. Louis, a temporary child protection camp for over 120 vulnerable and displaced children. The camp, located in Tabarre, is constructed out of shipping containers. Capacity of the camp will eventually be 350.
Father Wasson Angels of Light, an emergency response program for children living in tent cities. This day camp provides educational activities and meals for 2,500 children. Youths who grew up at NPH/NPFS help coordinate the various programs. The program plans to open a primary school for 700 students and offer about 60 jobs.
St. Germaine Rehabilitation Center, providing physical therapy, a special needs school and a meal program. A prosthetics lab and physical therapy program for amputees began shortly after the earthquake.
The St. Luke Foundation, developed to manage numerous outreach programs in the poorest areas surrounding Port-au-Prince. An affiliate of NPH/NPFS, the foundation's most recent project is an adult hospital that was opened right after the earthquake. Additional programs include schools, clinics, food and water distribution, and dignified burials.
St. Francisville, a facility that produces a variety of goods, including cement blocks, cobblestones, bread and pasta. There are also workshops for automotive mechanics, sewing, printing and digital production. The goods and services are used by NPFS and St. Luke as well as external organizations. Following the earthquake, bread production was accelerated to 5,000 rolls daily and the buildings were used as a warehouse distribution center.
Organizational structure
President and Chief Executive Officer: Frank Donaghue
Chief Operating Office: Todd Schultz
National Board Chair: Brian Blue
NPH USA is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors. In addition, each of the six regional offices has its own volunteer Board of Directors. Board members have diverse professional backgrounds and expertise, but each actively works to raise funds for and awareness of NPH USA.
The national office is located in Chicago.
Regional Offices:
- Northwest (Bellevue, Washington)
- Southwest (Scottsdale, Arizona)
- Upper Midwest (Saint Paul, Minnesota)
- Midwest (Chicago, Illinois)
- Mid-Atlantic/Northeast
- Southeast (Miami, Florida)
Relationship with NPH
There is close collaboration and cooperation between NPH USA and NPH. NPH USA is a fundraising organization whose primary function is to provide financial support to raise, nurture and educate children living at NPH homes. In the process, NPH USA staff meet on a regular basis with NPH leadership to review programs, approve budgets, plan tours to homes, arrange fundraising events, and support other NPH activities. NPH USA representatives visit the homes in order to experience NPH programs first-hand. Pequeños also make annual visits to the United States to perform at NPH USA-sponsored events where they bring the message of hope to a wider audience.
Funding
According to NPH USA's 2009 audited financial statements, 19% of their revenue came from general donations, 55% from in-kind donations, 8% from NPH designated donations, 1% from investment income and miscellaneous, and 2% from bequests.
In 2009, 14% of NPH USA's revenue came from their child sponsorship program. Individuals, families, churches, schools and other groups sponsor individual children living at an NPH home. Sponsors contribute $30 per month or more to support the basic needs of all the children in NPH's care and develop a relationship with their sponsored child through correspondence. They also have the opportunity to visit the child at the NPH home to get personally acquainted with him or her. As of February 2011, there were over 5,600 sponsors in the United States, carrying more than 6,600 sponsorships.
The remaining 1% of NPH USA's revenue for 2009 came from donations by sponsors to the sharing fund. NPH uses monies from the sharing fund to buy each child a personal gift for their birthday and Christmas, as well as for special excursions, such as trips to zoos or water parks, and to buy treats for all the children.
According to NPH USA's 2009 Annual Donor Report, 87% of its funding was spent on programs, 4% on management and general expenses, and 9% on fundraising.
In 2009, Friends provided over $4.4 million in support of NPH's budget, an additional $1.5 million for projects approved by our Board and another $9.9 million to NPH Homes in in-kind donations such as medicines and clothing.
Accountability standards
A report issued by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) Wise Giving Alliance in February 2010 found that NPH USA met all BBB standards for charity accountability, governance, expenditures, veracity, and public disclosure.
Audited financial statements are available upon request and IRS Form 990s are posted on the NPH USA web site.
External links
- NPH USA official site
- Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (NPH) official site
- BBB Wise Giving Alliance's Charity Report
Source of article : Wikipedia
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