Download - Child_Posters_(feb-11)
Nuestros Peque– os Hermanosª International
Opened: 1954Children living in home: 720, Total child population: 822
Opened: 1954
Mexico
Natalia age 13 I live with 600 of my brothers and sisters in
Cuernavaca, Mexico. Mexico is very big and some people thinks it’s all
desert, but where we live it’s actually more tropical.
In my house there are only 25 girls so those girls are
really my closest sisters. Because there are so
many of us in the home, it’s important to have
responsibility and that everyone in the home
shares in doing the chores. Every morning I
make my own bed and then carefully put my stuffed
penguin on the pillow – he’s my favorite because
my grandma gave him to me before I came to NPH
and this year at Christmas, the other girls and I even
designed our pinata like a penguin!
Every day after school, we all eat lunch
together and it’s my favorite chore to
serve lunch especially when it’s one of
my favorite foods. I love potato cakes
and I also like the beans and tortillas we
eat most days. At our
home, there is a whole
room for making
tortillas. Because there are so many of us,
you can just imagine how many tortillas it
takes to feed all of us! After lunch I always
wash my school uniform and hang it to dry
so that it’s clean for the next day. Then I start
on my homework right away because like I
said, I have lots of dreams and education is
very important.
Really, of all the activities at school, not
including math, dance is my favorite. I
work hard at everything I do and enjoy it,
but dancing zumba is the best because
I get to channel all my energy into it.
Zumba is a dance that is set to Latin
music and has all kinds of dances in it like
salsa, merengue, bachata, and mamba. I
also like arts and crafts, soccer, volleyball,
and basketball and sometimes it’s hard to
do all the things I like to do in one day!
Math is my favorite subject in school,
I think it’s the easiest and I love
numbers. If I get good grades, I can
become whatever I want when I
grow up. I don’t know exactly
what I want to be because I like
too many things. I want to learn
more about everything before I
make a decision. But if I really
had to chose right now, I’d
be an astronomer. Stars are
beautiful and a mystery.
Nuestros Peque– os Hermanosª International
orlin age 10 When I was five, I moved from Talanga to NPH, which
isn’t far away. I am happy to have so many kids around all the time because we
get to play soccer and baseball. Soccer is easier to play because all you need
is a ball. I like to watch the Honduran
teams play, but baseball is also fun
and if we don’t have a bat and a
ball, we use a wooden plank or the
end of a broom and a tennis ball.
Every morning we wake up so early
(at 5:00 am!) because we have a
lot to do before school starts. First
we have to sweep, mop and take
out the trash and make our beds,
and then we eat breakfast. I like
breakfast and we usually eat beans
and rice with sour cream, or a cooked egg with a cheese.
On Sundays we get cereal or granola and a banana and of
course we always drink milk.
After breakfast when we are all dressed,
we start walking to school. My
favorite subject in school is math. In
the afternoon we do our homework
and I like to work in the farm to
get fertilizer for the plants and
collect the eggs. It’s cool because then we eat all the food we grow
and even the milk we drink is from the cows in the fields even
though they kind of scare me because they are so big.
When we are done, I take
a shower and then I make
sure that I washed my school uniform and I
shined my shoes for the next
day. Then we get to eat dinner
and then I play with my
brothers in my home and with
my caregiver.
At Christmas we do a big
bonfire and people dance and
eat tamales and receive little
bags of candy. But on normal Saturdays we have dances or talent shows
and if it’s not raining then we sometimes watch a movie on the side
of the building, but it’s my favorite when we get to have competitions
between all the houses.
Sundays are good too because I get
to play all day. If I could decide, we
would go to swim at the water dam
and then I would climb a mango tree
and pick the mangos, or tamarindos
because those are good too. Some
day, when I am all done with school,
I will become a car mechanic and I
can even learn how to do that here
at the ranch. Then I will learn to drive
a car too but I will still like soccer,
swimming and eating mangos.
Opened: 1986Children living in home: 475
Total child population: 607
honduras
Nuestros Peque– os Hermanosª International
Victoria age 6 Rice and Beans. I love rice and beans.
And sometimes we get to each chicken too with vegetables but
mostly we eat beans with rice, or corn, and that’s OK because
it’s my favorite! It’s everybody’s favorite, right? Oh, and I like
sweet porridge too. We eat that at night and sometimes in the
morning. We also get to eat mangos sometimes which are good
but very messy and sometimes we eat fried bananas.
I also love hugs, and singing and dancing and playing soccer. I like
playing with my friends, sisters and brothers, mostly the girls, but the boys
are OK sometimes too. I laugh all the time, but really don’t like to play
hopscotch. I prefer hugs. We also make our own kites out of plastic bags.
School is fun especially because
I didn’t get to go before I came
to St. Helene. But we have to get
out of bed very early to be ready
on time. And it’s cold in Kenscoff!
Most people think Haiti is very
hot, but in the mountains where
we live, it’s rainy and cold. But I
have nice warm jackets and a nice
warm bed and I have lots of dolls
on my bed – they are my favorite toys. I make my bed every morning, take
a shower, eat, clean the dishes, then we go to school. There we learn math,
French and songs. I like French, but Kreyol is better. When I grow up I don’t
know what I want to be. I am only six.
After school I get to play with my friends on the
playground where the older kids are, or we play
in our house with our toys. Then we have to
make sure everything is clean and we work
on our schoolwork. Then we eat dinner and
go to sleep. Sometimes at night we get to
drink sweet
milk which
I like and
sometimes
we get to
watch a
movie.
On Sundays we walk to the town for
church which is far way and takes about
an hour to get there and then we have
to walk back up the big hill to get back.
But I like going there because then I get
to see the cows and the trees and the
mountains in our town. I like church
too because we sing lots of songs and
when Father Rick is doing the mass at
St. Helene, we get to stay and watch the
kids dance. Sometimes I get to dance
too, and sing in front of everyone.
Opened: 1988Children living in home: 746 Total child population: 3,767
Victoria age 6
haiti
Nuestros Peque– os Hermanosª International
Kerry age 10 I am in third grade and this year I was second best in
my class so the house director gave me a backpack and new shoes as a reward.
In English class I received a diploma for a project on life in the
city. In my spare time I like to play our national sport baseball.
I play soccer as well and like to play games such as Memory
and love to ride a bike. My older brother Alex is my favorite
playmate, apart from him, Kenny is my best friend. I like to play
hide and seek with both of them.
I also have another brother,
Kessler, and three of us brothers
live in the My Little Angels section
in the home. We also have two
sisters, Anai and Khadija and they
both live in the baby house. I like
to walk but I also like to ride bikes
or go to the beach to look for small
crabs. One day, Kessler even found
a small turtle! That was before,
though and now we live in a new
home that is not close to the beach. It is called Casa Padre Wasson. It’s not on
the Island of Ometepe like the old house; it’s in Jintope on the mainland. All the
kids are at the same home now and there is a lot more space, which means a
lot more space to play.
My favorite sport is baseball,
but I can only play when I
am done with my chores.
We all have chores and we
switch which ones we have
to do. I like mopping but I
really don’t like sweeping. I also love chess. The only kid
who can beat me is my brother Alex but one time I even
beat one of the tios!
My favorite food to eat is
Gallo Pinto (spotted rooster).
It has that name because
there are rice and beans
and the beans on the rice look like polka-dots.
I also love guiso, it’s a stew with cheese and
vegetables.
Opened: 1994Children living in home: 256
Total child population: 373
K
nicaragua
Nuestros Peque– os Hermanosª International
Fidelia age 13 Guatemala, my country, is very beautiful. We have
volcanoes, rivers, lakes, many trees, and a beautiful blue sky. NPH Guatemala
is located in the highlands of Guatemala. This means that during the days
the weather is hot, but at night it is cool.
In my home, I live with 16 other girls all of whom are my age
so they are my house sisters in addition to my other three
sisters. I like living here. My section is very cool and I always
have friends around me. My best friend is Susana. We like to
joke together a lot and play soccer.
Every morning we wake up early at 4:30 am because before
school, we get dressed, eat and do our morning chores. Our
chores in the morning include sweeping, mopping, washing
dishes after breakfast, cleaning the bathrooms and the stairs outside the section.
Finally when we are all dressed in our school uniforms, we eat
breakfast and I especially like when we have plantains. This year my
uniform has a red and blue plaid skirt with a white shirt and a blue
sweater, but in October I will finish sixth grade and graduate from
primary school. That means that next year in January I start middle
school and I will wear a different uniform, it will be a blue skirt but
still with a white shirt and blue sweater. My favorite subject in school
is history – I love to learn about our ancestors. After I finish school, I
want to become a lawyer because I want to defend
innocent people.
At 11:00 every morning we get a short break from
classes for recess. I like to play soccer or
basketball and enjoy a snack of bread, fruit,
or atoll (a popular drink made of corn flour
and water). Soccer is definitely my favorite
sport and my favorite team to cheer for is
Argentina. After recess, we go back to class until 2:00 when we go
home to eat lunch. My favorite lunch at NPH is rice with chicken and
salad with cucumber, tomato and lemon. But, if I could choose to have my
very favorite lunch, it would be pizza with ham and a lot of cheese! We make them here in
our own bakery.
After lunch we do our homework until
we go to dinner at in the main dining
hall with everybody from the whole
house. My favorite dinner is black beans
with sour cream and platains. After
dinner I have free time with my friends
until we go to bed. I like to listen to
music and study.
On the weekends, I like it when our
section walks to the nearby town of
Parramos. There, I like to walk around the
park, attend mass, watch the people, and buy
snacks. Mostly, I just like to spend time with
my friends and I am so happy that I have so
many who are always around me.
Guatemala, my country, is very beautiful. We have
volcanoes, rivers, lakes, many trees, and a beautiful blue sky. NPH Guatemala
is located in the highlands of Guatemala. This means that during the days
In my home, I live with 16 other girls all of whom are my age
so they are my house sisters in addition to my other three
sisters. I like living here. My section is very cool and I always
have friends around me. My best friend is Susana. We like to
joke together a lot and play soccer.
Every morning we wake up early at 4:30 am because before
school, we get dressed, eat and do our morning chores. Our
chores in the morning include sweeping, mopping, washing
dishes after breakfast, cleaning the bathrooms and the stairs outside the section.
Finally when we are all dressed in our school uniforms, we eat
breakfast and I especially like when we have plantains. This year my
uniform has a red and blue plaid skirt with a white shirt and a blue
sweater, but in October I will finish sixth grade and graduate from
primary school. That means that next year in January I start middle
Opened: 1996Children living in home: 334
Total child population: 439
Fidelia age 13
guatemala
Nuestros Peque– os Hermanosª International
Opened: 1999Children living in home: 415
el salvador
Azuncena age 10 I live in El Salvador and I used to live with my family,
but two years ago I moved to the NPH home so now I have a lot more brothers
and sisters than I used to which means I have a lot more kids to play with. This is
especially good because I love to play
soccer and now I always
have enough people to play
a real game with. We even
get to play in tournaments
sometimes where we all
wear the same uniform
and get to travel away from
home.
After we play a lot of soccer, my favorite treat to eat is french
fries. They aren’t Salvadoran and I like Salvadoran food
too like tortillas, beans and chicharron (pork ground into
a paste) but I like french fries the best, who doesn’t? If I
had to pick, and most of my brothers and sisters would
agree, I would eat fast food all the time – hamburgers,
french fries and Coke! Pupusas are the typical dish in
El Salvador and at our home. It is a thick hand-made
tortilla filled with beans, cheese and sometimes pork.
I am in the fourth grade and my favorite class in
school is English and maybe someday I will be able
to travel to a country where they speak English so
I can practice. I hear that the United States has a
lot of fast food so I would like to go there. I like to
study after school, because if I
work hard and try to remember
everything I learn during the
day in school, then when I get
older, I can become an English
teacher. It would be a good job. As a teacher, I would get
to teach the kids not only the material, but how to have
good manners too because it is very important to be
polite to everyone you meet. Going to the computer
lab is fun too. We learn the different programs and get
to practice our typing skills. When we are done with
our work, we can play a game.
When I am done studying after school, I also like to hang
out with my friends and sometimes we play soccer too.
At our home we have a lot of room to play. We have sport
courts and big fields too. We also can walk to a river that
runs right through the middle of our land! In addition to
Soccer, I also like to dance and sing. Some of my friends
are part of our home’s dance group and they get to dress
up in traditional
Salvadoran dresses
and travel all over
the country to
perform. Looks like
fun, but I think I
will stick to sports
and school.
Nuestros Peque– os Hermanosª International
Estrella age 1 1 When I grow up, I would like to be a dentist, an actress or the host
of a television program. I like to act because I like expressing myself through theater. I also
like playing baseball; it is the Dominican sport. I like to play dolls and babies with the other
girls who live in my house, and I have a lot of toys on my bed, but my favorite things to do
are singing and dancing.
Music and dance are very important in my culture. I like listening to
hip-hop, reggaeton and meringue music with my friends. I think
I am a pretty good dancer, but most Dominican people are,
and I am part of the folkloric dancers group at my home. We
get to perform for visitors in the home - I like to dance for the
visitors to show them what I do and what I know how to do.
I also like to sing. I go
to church at my home
with my friends every
Wednesday and Sunday
and I have been in the church choir for five months. My favorite
part of going to church is singing. I like singing because it is for
God and it makes me happy.
I am a good student
and am at the top of my class. My favorite subjects are
Mathematics and Information Technology (IT). But school
is great because it’s so close that it only takes me a few
minutes to walk there from my home. I am in the seventh
grade and I am also studying English, Spanish, social
and natural studies, science, French, agriculture, sewing
and dance. I think education is important because if I
didn’t study what would I do? What would I learn and
what would I give to my family? Like, I take agricultural
classes where we grow fruit and vegetables that we actually eat!
When I go to school I wear my school uniform. When I need to dress up, I wear jeans and nice tops.
My everyday clothes are very different to what I wear when I go out; they are basic.
It is very hot here so I have to wear clothing
that allows air to come in. I do all types of
chores to help around the house; I do the
dishes, I mop, I sweep and I clean.
When I grow up, I would like to be a dentist, an actress or the host
of a television program. I like to act because I like expressing myself through theater. I also
like playing baseball; it is the Dominican sport. I like to play dolls and babies with the other
girls who live in my house, and I have a lot of toys on my bed, but my favorite things to do
Music and dance are very important in my culture. I like listening to
hip-hop, reggaeton and meringue music with my friends. I think
I am a pretty good dancer, but most Dominican people are,
and I am part of the folkloric dancers group at my home. We
get to perform for visitors in the home - I like to dance for the
visitors to show them what I do and what I know how to do.
I also like to sing. I go
to church at my home
with my friends every
Wednesday and Sunday
and I have been in the church choir for five months. My favorite
part of going to church is singing. I like singing because it is for
Estrella age 1 1
dominican republicOpened: 2003Children living in home: 209Total child population: 252
My favorite food is a dish of white rice, beans and spaghetti,
but we also eat “La bandera” which is a Dominican dish of rice,
beans and chicken. It is called “La Bandera” (the flag) because
the rice, beans and chicken represent the three different colors
of the Dominican flag. The other kids also like meat and fish but
I still like the rice with beans and spagetti best. “Habichuelas
con dulce” is my favorite dessert. It is a sweet bean liquid
dessert that we usually eat on Easter; it’s a Dominican tradition.
Nuestros Peque– os Hermanosª International
Cecilia age 14 When I grow up I would like to be an airline stewardess so that I can travel
the world and see new places. I am most interested to travel to
Mexico. No wonder my favorite subject is Communications
because I like to talk and spend time with my friends. My closest
friends at NPH are my three roommates, Triny, Leticia and Wilma.
I just finished fifth grade this year but we
are changing schools since we are moving
soon. I liked gym class the best because we learned
how to play volleyball which is fun for
me because I never played it before. We
have special gym uniforms that we wear on the day we have class. Our
other uniform is a skirt with a sweater because the mornings can be very
cold here but it warms up during the day.
When school is over we change out of our
school uniforms and wash them while we wait
for everyone else to return home from school.
My favorite food is fried rice, or spicy chicken,
but my favorite food that the cooks make
here at NPH is locro, a squash stew
with cheese and other vegetables. It
is served with white rice.
After lunch, we finish chores and
start on homework in the dining
hall or if we finish early we can
have free time. Going down to the
river that is in back our the house is fun
because we throw rocks into the water and pick
fruit like nances to eat. Sometimes we see people
going by on rafts.
Our new houses are almost ready to move into. This means our entire home
and staff will move to another town, 45 minutes away from where we are
now. We get to go to a new school and have brand new bedrooms.
I have three sisters, Maryluz, Anibel and Samantha. I
am the oldest. We have lived at NPH for a little over
a year. I have a necklace that my mom gave to me
which I wear all the time. It is of Jesus.
When I grow up I would like to be an airline stewardess so that I can travel
the world and see new places. I am most interested to travel to
Mexico. No wonder my favorite subject is Communications
because I like to talk and spend time with my friends. My closest
friends at NPH are my three roommates, Triny, Leticia and Wilma.
I just finished fifth grade this year but we
are changing schools since we are moving
soon. I liked gym class the best because we learned
how to play volleyball which is fun for
me because I never played it before. We
have special gym uniforms that we wear on the day we have class. Our
other uniform is a skirt with a sweater because the mornings can be very
cold here but it warms up during the day.
When school is over we change out of our
school uniforms and wash them while we wait
for everyone else to return home from school.
My favorite food is fried rice, or spicy chicken,
but my favorite food that the cooks make
here at NPH is locro, a squash stew
with cheese and other vegetables. It
Opened: 2004Children living in home: 68
peru
Nuestros Peque– os Hermanosª International
Anthony age 12 I love playing soccer every day with my friends. Also
in school we play volleyball, and get to run around the playground. I go to
the local school where I am in fifth grade. The NPH driver drops us off every
morning and then picks us up and we go back to the house to have lunch.
My favorite food is chicken and
when it’s your birthday and you
get to go into the city were we
get hot wings. You also get to go
to the movies or go shopping and
then have cake. Parties like Christmas and Three
Kings Day are my favorite at the home because
we get to eat special food and we each get a gift.
Lunch is our biggest meal and we have usually
have rice, vegetables or potatoes, soup and
sometimes fish or chicken. For lunch we
all eat together in the main dining hall.
Breakfast and dinner is served in our own
home. The food is much better here
than where I came from.
After lunch, the group that I live with, 14
of us, start on our homework and then
afterwards it is soccer time! Sometimes
we walk to pick mangoes or play games
or puzzles. Before dinner it is time for
chores and to wash our uniforms.
Our tias make cheese empanadas
which we can have for dinner or
breakfast. It is fun to help mix the dough. I know
how to swim because where the NPH house was
before we had a swimming pool. My twin brother
also learned how to swim and it is nice to have
him with me because we play together. We like to
sing Michael Jackson and to dance.
Also when we get the chance to
watch cartoons. My housemates
and I like Ben 10, a adventure
character with special powers.
I was thinking that I would like to be a police
officer or a professional soccer player when
I grow up. Or maybe a career that has to do
with math because that is my favorite subject
at school.
Opened: 2005Children living in home: 86
Anthony age 12
bolivia
Lunch is our biggest meal and we have usually
have rice, vegetables or potatoes, soup and
sometimes fish or chicken. For lunch we
all eat together in the main dining hall.
character with special powers.
Nuestros Peque– os Hermanosª International
rev. william bryce wasson
December 21, 1923 - August, 16, 2006
I grew up in Phoenix, Arizona where I attended St. Mary’s High School
and parish. My parents also had a home in Yarnell, Arizona which is about
1.5 hours outside of Phoenix. We would spend our summers in Yarnell, a
quiet, peaceful, retirement town.
When I was 30 years old, after I graduated from university,
I traveled to Mexico where I was ordained as a priest.
I was assigned to a small parish in the market district of
Cuernavaca, Mexico. I saw the immediate need for a daycare
for poor market children, who would spend all day helping their
parents sell goods. Then my first son arrived at our chapel.
Hungry with nowhere to turn, he stole money from the poor box.
After visiting him in jail, and discussing options with the local
judge, I won custody of him and eight other boys.
I try my best to do things according to the scriptures. That is how
I founded and named NPH, from Matthew 25:40, “Truly I tell you,
whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters
of mine, you did for me.” Hence the name, “Our Little Brothers and Sisters”, Nuestros Pequeños
Hermanos, was born in 1954.
My favorite foods are deserts; ice cream, fruit pies, custards and candy. I love
sharing these treats with the children. I always carry around a bag of goodies to
hand out wherever I am. Café latte is also my favorite drink.
My motto has always been, a child is only good because of somebody.
You can teach him all of the religion in the world but he is not going to
be good unless it is because of somebody in his life that he wants to copy
who is good. That is the only way to lead a child to goodness, because
of somebody.
Every night and every morning I pray for the children. I pray that God will
bless them and keep them close and lead them into a life of mercy rather
than justice and teach them how to be merciful to one another.
What I enjoy most is spending time with my children. It is important to listen with your
whole heart and being. It is also important to smile and be joyful. When I see a child
or someone with a serious or sad expression, I try to lighten their mood by smiling. I also
believe in only saying positive words. It doesn’t matter whether someone is rich, poor,
young, old, educated, uneducated, good or bad, you can have something in common
with every single person. Having a wit and a sense of humor is also helpful in being a
father to so many children. Some of my proudest moments are seeing when older
youths take on the role of being the older brother or sister to the
younger ones.
I love the scripture and study it with a passion. I also learned Arabic and
Hebrew and wrote three books based on the scripture. Other interests
I have are psychology, theology, geography, history, and cowboy
movies, which I love watching with the children. I also enjoy traveling
and taking the children with me so that they can experience new
cultures which can open their eyes to the outside world.
I grew up hearing
music. My mother Mary,
was a beautiful pianist
and my brother Barney
played the guitar. I
played the accordion
and in the early days
at NPH we would
have funny little talent
shows where I would be
persuaded to play and
the kids and everyone
would sing along.