writer: stephanie kinnunen
photographer: john abernathy
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The night before his corrective eye surgery, Jonas enjoys some pizza at a restaurant in Minnesota. |
| Five orphaned and abandoned children recently received
a gift that will last a lifetime. A Minnesota businessman
spearheaded an effort that brought the five children
from El Salvador to the US for corrective eye surgery.
Misalignment of the eyes can affect vision and depth
perception. There is also a social stigma attached to
this condition that could prevent these children from
having a normal life. As they become adults, it could be
difficult for them to find a good job or be accepted by
peers. Without the generous assistance of a non-profit
organization, a congresswoman, numerous host families,
a hospital, a pediatrician, a surgeon, nurses and donors,
this gift would not have been possible. |
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Six-year-old Jonas was abandoned Hector, who was abandoned by Five-year-old Brian arrived at NPH
by his mother in El Salvador. He both of his parents, is nine. He with his two brothers, Saul and
arrived
at NPH as an infant. arrived at NPH in January, 2001 Jonathan, in November of 2005 |
Jonas, Hector and Brian are the youngest of the five
children that came to Minnesota for surgery. The five
children live at the Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos (NPH)
home in El Salvador. “Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos,”
or “Our Little Brothers and Sisters,” operates nine
homes that care for over 3,000 orphaned and abandoned
children. Friends of the Orphans is the fundraising arm
of NPH. Their mission is “dedicated to improving the
lives of the orphaned, abandoned and disadvantaged
children through our support of the NPH network of
orphanages in Latin America and the Caribbean.”
NPH and Friends of the Orphans also provide
comprehensive health care services for their children.
One doctor and two nurses are on staff at the NPH
home in El Salvador to care for their 428 children. In
Honduras, NPH has a home called the House of Angels,
where profoundly physically disabled children are
individually cared for and nurtured daily, for their entire
lives. In Haiti, NPH opened a hospice that was run by a
priest who returned to the US to get his medical degree.
The priest then went back to Haiti and has since opened
a large free hospital outside of Port au Prince. |
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| "[My host family was] very friendly with me the
entire time . they gave me good food to eat. It
was all new for me. We went to a field to watch a
hockey game where [my host family's son] played. It
was beautiful to be able to see the landscape full of
snow. Even though it was very cold, I was happy. The
conversations I had with [my host family] were fun
. since we didn't understand each other very well."
Vanessa is 19. She arrived at NPH in early 2004. |
"We arrived [in] Minnesota and I was very surprised
when I got off the plane because everything was
very pretty. The people [and] the things were very
different than in my country. There was a lot of
snow and I had never seen anything like that; it
was marvelous. I met [the family that sponsors me]
. they received me with much love. We went out
with the entire family; we were playing in the snow,
and we also went to mass. It was like a dream for
me." Estela arrived at NPH in 2002; she is now 19. |
Although Estela and Vanessa are young adults, they can
stay at NPH El Salvador until they have completed their
education. NPH believes that their children should have
the opportunity to attend college or a trade school in
order to build a foundation of the skills needed to become
successful adults.
Father Ron Hicks, regional director of NPH Central
America, related the story of the girls’ return to El
Salvador: “I saw Estela and Vanessa at the same time.
Estela immediately ran up to me with the biggest smile
and gave me a hug and kept on saying, ‘Gracias Padre.’
Vanessa, on the other hand, saw me and went the other
way. She reappeared about 10 minutes later … in her
nicest clothes with her hair pulled back in a pony-tail.
She approached me like a princess. … It was the first
time I have ever seen her with her hair not covering
her face, and making eye contact instead of shyly
looking down or away.” |
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