Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos
Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos ( German Our Little Brothers and Sisters ) is a Mexican aid organization based in Cuernavaca . The Christian children's charity maintains orphanages in several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (including Mexico, Honduras, Haiti, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Peru and Bolivia).
history
The organization was founded by the American Catholic priest William Wasson . The foundation in August 1954 was triggered by a 16-year-old street boy who stole money from the offering of the church in Mexico City / Mexico , where William Wasson worked as a clergyman. The priest asked the juvenile judge to be allowed to look after the boy, whereupon the judge sent him more street children over the next few days. By the end of 1954 this group had grown to 32 children. Girls were admitted for the first time in 1959 and 396 children were cared for in 1963. In 1969, Our Little Brothers and Sisters, Inc. was founded in the US state of Virginia to support and coordinate the work of Padre Wasson .
In 1970 a former sugar cane plantation was acquired in Miacatlán, south of Mexico City , and a first children's village was built. In 1986 the organization's first orphanage outside Mexico opened in Honduras , and in the following years facilities were added in Haiti (since 1988), Nicaragua (since 1995), Guatemala (since 1996), El Salvador (since 1999), the Dominican Republic (since 2002), Peru (since 2004) and Bolivia (since 2005). A total of around 3,000 children are currently being cared for, and there have been over 15,000 since it was founded.
The organization now has funding offices in the USA (headquarters) , Germany , Canada , Austria , Switzerland , Ireland , Belgium , France , Spain , Mexico , Italy and the Netherlands . William Wasson was honored with the Order of the Aztec Eagle (Águila Azteca), the highest honor in Mexico, which is bestowed on non-Mexican people for service to the country.
philosophy
According to its own admission, the relief organization sees its mission in providing abandoned and orphaned children with accommodation, food, clothing, medical care and schooling. The children should grow up in a Christian-oriented, family environment in which emphasis is placed on unconditional acceptance and love, sharing, cooperation and responsibility. An adoption by sponsors is not allowed because the children are to be educated to be responsible citizens of their respective countries so as to be able to make in adulthood as responsible, independent and socially active citizens contributing to the development of their respective countries.
The children cared for in the orphanages are given the opportunity of vocational or university training, the former in some of the in-house training workshops. A social year in the facilities is compulsory for all former residents.
nph Children's Aid Latin America eV
The German representation was founded in 1984 and is based in Karlsruhe . The nph Children's Aid Latin America eV (formerly "Our Little Brothers and Sisters eV") is recognized as charitable by the tax office and bears the donation seal of the German Central Institute for Social Issues (DZI).
The organization can be financially supported as part of a sponsorship , individual donation or the support of a project (e.g. construction of training workshops).
NPH Austria - Help for orphans
The children's aid organization has also had a seat in Vienna since 1984 . This location was the first of today's nine European fundraising offices.
Since 2001, NPH Austria has been one of the first Austrian organizations to bear the Austrian seal of approval for donations , thereby guaranteeing objective and verifiable standards in raising and managing its donations.
By raising donations and sponsorships, NPH Austria ensures the care and education of the children as well as the financing of projects. Voluntary volunteers and civil servants are also regularly sent to the project countries. Other important tasks are information work and awareness-raising among the Austrian population for issues of development cooperation in Latin America.
In 2006, two volunteers from the association received the first prize from the Austrian Ministry of Social Affairs as part of the 2006 Voluntaria "Volunteers move Austria - Volunteers move Europe".
Our Little Brothers and Sisters Foundation (Switzerland)
In 1985 the Swiss agency of Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos joined them under the name "Our little brothers and sisters" based in St. Gallen . The Board of Trustees acts on a voluntary basis. The office is located in Zurich .
The foundation in Switzerland is recognized by the Swiss Federal Foundation Supervisory Authority as a non-profit organization and is audited annually by PricewaterhouseCoopers AG . The organization can be financially supported as part of a sponsorship, individual donation or the support of a project (e.g. construction of training workshops). Voluntary volunteers are also regularly sent to the project countries.