I’ve been wrestling with writing this blog post. Wrestling because the last thing I ever want to do is misrepresent a child or harm their dignity. I am very sensitive to objectifying the lives of the children we are called to serve. This, however, is a story that must be told.
In many parts of the developing and middle income world, the impact from the pandemic has been completely devastating. It has prematurely ended lives, disrupted economies and forever altered societies. This is particularly true for families who – even before the great challenges of COVID – were barely finding the services and supports they needed.
Families living in the experience of poverty with a substance use disorder or mental health condition. Families living day-to-day with limited access to opportunity. Families without support. Many of these families now find themselves thrust into home schooling, scrapping together a meager income through day labor work, and struggling to feed and care for their children.
Through this breakdown – we are witnessing an increase in the number of abandoned children. We’re receiving increased requests to place children in our two Casa Girasoles homes. We’re seeing an increase in children experiencing abuse and violence. We are witnessing an unraveling of the social safety nets.
Read more
That Train a Comin’
/0 Comments/in Blog /by Wayne CentroneThere is a strange feeling in the air. It’s more than just the change of seasons. It feels ominous – like a train barreling down the tracks.
Okay, maybe that’s a bit of a dramatization. Perhaps. However, we are looking toward a change in seasons that will bring change on a number of levels, not just the global pandemic. For many underserved and under-resourced communities, this change will bring more challenges.
All of this means we have gone into planning mode. We’re planning for several scenarios and considering a variety of options. In Perú, spring has arrived and summer is not far in the future – and with the government moving into Phase IV of the reopening, more people will be out and about.
Read more
Day of Peace
/0 Comments/in Blog /by Wayne Centrone“Poverty is the worst form of violence.”
― Mahatma Gandhi
Today is the United Nations International Day of Peace. Strangely enough, the world doesn’t feel very peaceful. It feels upended and disrupted.
Just four days ago, UNICEF and Save the Children published a report. It is the first of what will be many reports analyzing the economic and social impacts of the global pandemic. The report noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed 150 million children into the experience of multidimensional poverty. This multidimensional poverty is about not having access to adequate water, food, education, healthcare, housing, and sanitation. The 150 million represents a 15% increase in the number of children living in a deep experience of poverty. The UNICEF report is a call to action. It is a clarion to everyone.
Read more
A Deep Breath
/0 Comments/in Blog /by Wayne CentroneOverstating the obvious a bit here – things have been stressful lately. No one is immune to that stress. Some are just better at working with, and through, the stressful events that mark our day-to-day life in the time of COVID.
We’ve been receiving messages from around the world asking how we are doing in the Portland area? Thank you for your kind consideration. As I am sure you are now aware, things are otherworldly in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The wildfires are creating pure havoc. We, the HBI staff that live in the Portland-area, live in the downtown area of the city – so we are pretty safe. However, so many people in our area are suffering. The thick sepia-toned smoke that fills the sky frames an eerily end-of-times feeling.
Read more
Fall Fundraiser Campaign
/0 Comments/in Blog /by Wayne CentroneYesterday we officially launched our fall fundraiser campaign Our goal is to raise $100,000 by October 30. Certainly, this is an ambitious campaign – we get it. We also know we’ve got some of the best supporters. We have so many dedicated people that have helped us grow our impact from periodic short-term outreach campaigns, to a full fledged NGO with almost 50 staff and a number of ongoing programs and projects.
It is with the memory of the hundreds of people who have supported our work with donations of time, energy and money over these past 20-plus years – that I feel confident in our goal of reaching $100K by October 30. I don’t think anyone would have imagined we’d be where we are today when we started almost three decades ago.
Check out our campaign, and consider getting involved in one of our simple activities. If you’ve got a few minutes or a few hours, we’ve got options on how you can help HBI. Thank you. Thank you for all the ongoing support and trust.
A Great Family of Servants
/0 Comments/in Blog /by Wayne CentroneI am a bit out of commission. Nothing catastrophic, just a back injury that keeps me from sitting for more than a few minutes. It means I’ve been missing a lot of our meetings and less involved in the day-to-day activities of HBI. This is a big shift – as COIVD has ramp up our work exponentially and our whole team has been meeting in program related Zoom calls, multiple times per day.
From our program directors to our coordinators to the staff working directly in the Ines Project and Casa Girasoles homes, everyone – I mean that – everyone is going above and beyond to ensure we are doing everything we can to support the people and communities we serve. This has meant delivering food and medication to a families in the Ines Project. Its meant spending hours upon hours fielding calls from concerned families and helping them sort through their fears around COVID-19 and the safety of their children. Its meant coordinating online trainings for hundreds of participants – and delicately completing a research study from a computer screen thousands of miles away.
Read more
The Long Winding Road
/0 Comments/in Blog /by Wayne CentroneYesterday, President Martin Vizcarra announced a return to quarantine and mandatory social immobilization for a number of regions in Perú, including Arequipa, parts of Lima, and Ica. President Vizcarra noted the increasing cases and the challenges the health system is having containing the pandemic. He said, “It is preferable to go back a step to generate the responsibility of all.”
This is a sound public health decision. It is a decision that puts the health and welfare of the Peruvian people above politics. It is, however, a decision that will have continued devastating impacts in the lives of people living in the experience of poverty.
It has been over four months since the first declaration of a national state of emergency and corresponding lockdown measures. The pandemic has had profound impacts in the developing and middle-income world. This is especially true in the Peruvian economy and society. People who were vulnerable before the pandemic, are literally falling through the cracks of the social safety nets in Latin America.
Read more
Suffering in the Shadows
/0 Comments/in Blog, COVID-19 /by Wayne CentroneI’ve been wrestling with writing this blog post. Wrestling because the last thing I ever want to do is misrepresent a child or harm their dignity. I am very sensitive to objectifying the lives of the children we are called to serve. This, however, is a story that must be told.
In many parts of the developing and middle income world, the impact from the pandemic has been completely devastating. It has prematurely ended lives, disrupted economies and forever altered societies. This is particularly true for families who – even before the great challenges of COVID – were barely finding the services and supports they needed.
Families living in the experience of poverty with a substance use disorder or mental health condition. Families living day-to-day with limited access to opportunity. Families without support. Many of these families now find themselves thrust into home schooling, scrapping together a meager income through day labor work, and struggling to feed and care for their children.
Through this breakdown – we are witnessing an increase in the number of abandoned children. We’re receiving increased requests to place children in our two Casa Girasoles homes. We’re seeing an increase in children experiencing abuse and violence. We are witnessing an unraveling of the social safety nets.
Read more
Celebrations
/0 Comments/in Blog /by Wayne CentroneToday is Peru’s Independence Day, Fiestas Patrias. It’s a big deal. In any other time, under “normal” circumstances – the entire country is a celebration. A celebration that lasts for days. It’s awesome.
Today, however, the country has declared that only July 28th is a holiday. There are strong warnings to shelter-in-place and avoid travel. People are discouraged from holding parties, and the vast majority of people won’t be celebrating beyond their immediate families.
Times are tough enough without having a little celebration. That is why we had a Fiestas Patrias celebration – virtual – for the Casa Girasoles yesterday. It was a chance to celebrate the culture and passion of the boys – and allow them to connect with one another in a fun, safe manner. Through the power of Zoom (how many of us thought Zoom would be so important in our lives and work just 6-months ago?) we set up cameras at the homes in Urubamba and Ica and held friendly competitions for dance and games. We invited a few of our supporters and staff to join and had our own Fiestas Patrias – COVID-style. It was great. Check it out at: Fiestas Patrias Casa Girasoles
Read more
The Songs Remain the Same
/0 Comments/in Blog /by Wayne CentroneThere is a quickening happening in our work. The pandemic has all but mandated we take stock and tighten up.
This process has been really good. A bit on the painful side – but incredibly helpful to the quality of our efforts. Prior to the global challenge – we were an organization with a number of different moving parts. In fact, it was sometimes hard for people to fully understand the “who” and “what” of Health Bridges. Now, more than at any other time in our history – it feels like the “who, what and why” of HBI are fully aligned.
Read more
Perspectives
/0 Comments/in Blog /by Wayne CentroneBoys at the Casa Girasoles Ica enjoying chocolates they made as a group activity.
Sometimes it just takes a little perspective.
A few weeks back, in response to a pressing need we were witnessing in the older boys who graduated from the Casa Girasoles Program, and were struggling in the pandemic, we started the Tigre Program. The program works with young men transitioning from adolescence and early adulthood into a new phase of their life. Sometimes this is a transition from prison, sometimes it is a transition from a life filled with poor decisions – for most it is a challenging time in their life. One of the young men in the program asked if we could help him connect with books. He asked for the classics. He wanted, more than anything else, to learn and grow.
Read more