I don’t usually post stories of children participating in our programs, but today, I want to tell you about a boy. I’ll call him Luca.
Luca was born in Romania. His mother struggled with mental health-related conditions and had difficulty keeping the family together. They moved frequently. One move took them to Rome, Italy, where his mother worked in a hotel. Another member of the hotel staff was a man from Perú.
This man promised Luca’s mother a wonderful life if she moved to Perú with him. She took a leap of faith and moved to Perú with her two daughters and Luca. Once they got to Perú, instead of stability, they were devastated to realize their hope for a better life had become a grave and violent situation.
Luca started spending more and more of his time on the streets. He fell into trouble because he was unable to navigate the challenges around him due to language and cultural barriers. Luca was 15 years old when he came to live at the Casa Girasoles.
When he came to us, Luca had already been in three foster care homes. These were pilot foster care homes that the government had established to deinstitutionalize the child welfare system.
His third foster care placement was with a police officer, who, as Luca would later tell us, seemed like a nice man at first, but tragically, he perpetuated more violence in Luca’s life. Afraid and alone, the only thing Luca knew to do was run.
When the case worker brought him to us, Luca was not interested in yet another failed placement without his family. He worried about his two sisters, and he worried about his mother. He was 16 years old and just wanted to be a boy. Luca lived with us for about a year, and it was the first time since he was “9” years old that he had experienced a stable, safe, and nurturing environment. We helped him to understand what it would mean to build a life for himself.
Thanks to his resilience and the healthy attachment he developed with his new caregivers, Luca started to find his way in the world.
Take a moment and try to put yourselves in Luca’s experience. It is hard to fully imagine how challenging it must be to be a boy from Romania plopped into the desert city of Ica in Perú. Not knowing the language, not having any fundamental cultural understanding of social factors around you, but being expected to find your way in the world in a family of abuse, violence, and displacement.
Sadly, this scenario has played out and affected many children in Perú.
For kids like Luca, there is hope. Today, Luca is living with his girlfriend. They are expecting a child, and he has a steady job working at one of the large agriculture processing plants. He stays in contact with the Director of the Casa Girasoles. He recently told the Director that the time he spent with us at the Casa Girasoles was the best time of his life.
The story I am telling you is complex. Nothing about this work is simple.
Before coming to Casa Girasoles, there were many places and spaces in Luca’s life where things fell apart. The care and support systems that were supposed to help him did not serve him. We know that targeting only one of these challenges will never change the complexity of the circumstances. And the big picture.
That is why what we are doing is so incredibly important. We care for over 60 children, deliver training to thousands of healthcare workers, and help re-empower young adults who got lost in the child welfare system. We are also an organization building and providing collaborative models for children, youth, families, and organizations to use towards fulfilling and healthy lives for themselves and their communities.
We are championing children and the communities that care for them. Join us!
Our Commitment – wayne centrone
/0 Comments/in Blog /by Wayne CentroneWorking with children and families living in the experience of multidimensional poverty is a unique and challenging journey that often goes beyond professional boundaries. It is a journey of deep personal exploration and recognition of our vulnerabilities. We have come to understand that a deep emotional connection with the people and communities we serve means facing undeniable struggles and challenges – and embracing a profound joy from the transformative power that emerges from the relationships.
We recognize that building bridges is about investing in long-term impact.
We don’t measure the outcomes and impact of our work in days or weeks but in years and decades. It requires a slow and steady commitment to stay in connection and relationship – even if the challenges seem overwhelming. We ground our work in the belief that people living in the experience of extreme multidimensional poverty know what they need to build the lives they deserve. We can best support their visions for their futures through deep connection.
To keep us continually focused, we follow some clear directives. These are not rules but guidance and reinforcements for our work. Our efforts are grounded in deep awareness, committed connection, and empowering relationships.
This is who we are. This is our commitment.
Investing in Children and Youth, wayne centrone
/0 Comments/in Blog /by Wayne CentroneIt’s been a while. I stepped back from blogging (goodness, I never thought I would use that word). I am offering a little story as we unfold the new year. It is a story of hope. It is a story of possibility—a tale of investment. I hope you enjoy the story. Please message us and let us know how we can help keep our HBI community better connected to this beautiful work. The work of building a world where every child has access to health, hope, home, and purpose. Enjoy!
Once upon a time, in a world filled with chaos and conflict, a group of wise leaders decided that investing in children and youth was the key to healing the world and bringing peace.
They knew that the future of their world lay in the hands of the next generation and that by nurturing and empowering them, they could create a brighter and more harmonious future for all.
So, they began investing in education, healthcare, and community development programs focused on children and youth. They built schools, clinics, and community centers where young people could learn, grow, and thrive.
They also created programs that focused on developing life skills, leadership, and empathy so that young people could become confident, compassionate, and responsible members of society.
As a result of their efforts, children and youth began to flourish. They gained access to education, healthcare, and opportunities that were once out of reach. They learned how to communicate, collaborate, connect in meaningful relationships, and develop a deep sense of purpose and belonging.
Over time, the world began to change. Communities once divided by conflict and mistrust began to unite in peace and harmony. The next generation of leaders emerged, inspired by the values of compassion and cooperation.
And as the years passed, the world became brighter and more hopeful, all because of the wise investment in children and youth.
Happy New Year 2024
/0 Comments/in Blog /by Wayne CentroneWhen something ends, something new always begins.
As we end 2023 and look forward to the promise and uncertainty of 2024 – I am a bit torn. A part of me is mourning the loss of yet another year. I feel sad about the changes that continue all around me. I’m nostalgic for the experiences that are now distant memories.
At the same time, I am excited about a new beginning. A clean slate. A chance to keep building and rebuilding the work we have now invested in for nearly 30 years.
So here is to 2024 and the new frontiers. Without a doubt, 2024 won’t be without its challenges. We have an expanded responsibility for a staff of over 40 people and two child welfare programs – but there is so much to look forward to.
It is exciting to know that we are helping to create a world where every child has access to health, hope, home, and purpose.
Here we come 2024 . . . We are just getting started.
30 Days of Impact
/0 Comments/in Blog /by Wayne CentroneWe’re posting daily stories about how you impact the lives of families and children in Perú. Follow all the stories on our 30 Days of Impact webpage or by subscribing to our emails. To receive our email updates, scroll to the bottom of the webpage and complete the subscription request or contact us at info@hbint.org. Thanks for all the support.
30 Days of Impact 2023: Starts on Novemebr 24th
/0 Comments/in Blog /by Wayne CentroneConstructing Futures, One Pedal Stroke at a Time – wayne centrone
/1 Comment/in Blog /by Wayne CentroneGreetings from the Sacred Valley of Cusco. The weather has changed in the high mountains, and spring has brought rain. It is just beautiful. A lush Eden of a place.
I want to tell you a story about one of the boys in our Casa Girasoles program. I will call him Raul. Raul has always been a bit shy. He was the sort of adolescent that blended into the background. When we started our Girasoles Sanos Cycling Team, Raul took to the bike like a fish to water.
Thanks to the generosity of Mike Colbach and BicycleAttorney.com from Portland and a group of committed volunteers (Hugh Givens, Kevin Chudy, and Laura Miller), the bike team has grown to support the boys at each Casa Girasoles home. The program is a lifeline for some of the boys.
Last week, Raul competed in his first bike race. A cross-country event that went from the city of Cusco to the town of Urubamba in the Sacred Valley. The race took a route that included technical descending, tight single track, and a mountain pass of over 15,000 FASL.
Raul was third overall. Competing against seasoned riders and elite competitors, he took a spot on the podium. In all our work, with all our efforts – nothing has been more effective to help connect more deeply with Raul (and to help him connect more deeply with himself) than a bicycle.
Thanks, Mike, Hugh, Kevin, Laura, and Team!
Going Up River – wayne centrone
/0 Comments/in Blog /by Wayne CentroneYesterday, we received a new boy at the Casa Girasoles. The boy, only three years old – was greeted with love and affection. He was given welcoming presents and showered in the care of all the other boys and staff. Although I am happy because I know we will offer this young boy a genuine chance at the future he deserves – I am also a bit sad. Sad for the family so fractured that their little boy was removed. I am saddened for the thousands and thousands of other children suffering in families without the support they need.
There is a story – a parable – that is well-known within social justice circles. The story has several different versions – but the allegory is always the same. I share an arrangement called “The Town by the Bend in the River.” It is hard to know entirely who the original author of the story is – but I found this version on the website The Vitruvian Man.
Once upon a time, there was a town that was built just beyond the bend of a large river. One day, some children from a small town were playing beside the river when they noticed three bodies floating in the water. They ran for help, and the townsfolk quickly pulled the bodies out of the river.
One body was dead, so they buried it. One was alive but quite ill, so they put that person into the hospital. The third turned out to be a healthy child, who then they placed with a family who cared for it and who took it to school.
From that day on, several bodies came floating down the river, and every day, the good people of the town would pull them out and tend to them – taking the sick to hospitals, placing the children with families, and burying those who were dead.
This went on for years; each day brought its quota of bodies, and the townsfolk not only came to expect many bodies each day but also worked at developing more elaborate systems for picking them out of the river and tending to them. Some townsfolk became quite generous in nurturing to these bodies, and a few extraordinary ones even gave up their jobs to tend to this concern full-time. And the town itself felt a particular healthy pride in its generosity.
However, during all these years and despite all that generosity and effort, nobody thought to go up the river, beyond the bend that hid from their sight what was above them, and find out why, daily, those bodies came floating down the river.
This work – the work of committing to long range goal of changing the way children get the care they need and striviung for systematic change in the way child welfare services are delivered – demands, requires, that we keep a focus on both the current need of every child we are called to serve . . . AND, we must always be looking up the river to address the true compelling complexities better. We owe it to the children and families!
What about Luca? wayne centrone
/0 Comments/in Blog /by Wayne CentroneI don’t usually post stories of children participating in our programs, but today, I want to tell you about a boy. I’ll call him Luca.
Luca was born in Romania. His mother struggled with mental health-related conditions and had difficulty keeping the family together. They moved frequently. One move took them to Rome, Italy, where his mother worked in a hotel. Another member of the hotel staff was a man from Perú.
This man promised Luca’s mother a wonderful life if she moved to Perú with him. She took a leap of faith and moved to Perú with her two daughters and Luca. Once they got to Perú, instead of stability, they were devastated to realize their hope for a better life had become a grave and violent situation.
Luca started spending more and more of his time on the streets. He fell into trouble because he was unable to navigate the challenges around him due to language and cultural barriers. Luca was 15 years old when he came to live at the Casa Girasoles.
When he came to us, Luca had already been in three foster care homes. These were pilot foster care homes that the government had established to deinstitutionalize the child welfare system.
His third foster care placement was with a police officer, who, as Luca would later tell us, seemed like a nice man at first, but tragically, he perpetuated more violence in Luca’s life. Afraid and alone, the only thing Luca knew to do was run.
When the case worker brought him to us, Luca was not interested in yet another failed placement without his family. He worried about his two sisters, and he worried about his mother. He was 16 years old and just wanted to be a boy. Luca lived with us for about a year, and it was the first time since he was “9” years old that he had experienced a stable, safe, and nurturing environment. We helped him to understand what it would mean to build a life for himself.
Thanks to his resilience and the healthy attachment he developed with his new caregivers, Luca started to find his way in the world.
Take a moment and try to put yourselves in Luca’s experience. It is hard to fully imagine how challenging it must be to be a boy from Romania plopped into the desert city of Ica in Perú. Not knowing the language, not having any fundamental cultural understanding of social factors around you, but being expected to find your way in the world in a family of abuse, violence, and displacement.
Sadly, this scenario has played out and affected many children in Perú.
For kids like Luca, there is hope. Today, Luca is living with his girlfriend. They are expecting a child, and he has a steady job working at one of the large agriculture processing plants. He stays in contact with the Director of the Casa Girasoles. He recently told the Director that the time he spent with us at the Casa Girasoles was the best time of his life.
The story I am telling you is complex. Nothing about this work is simple.
Before coming to Casa Girasoles, there were many places and spaces in Luca’s life where things fell apart. The care and support systems that were supposed to help him did not serve him. We know that targeting only one of these challenges will never change the complexity of the circumstances. And the big picture.
That is why what we are doing is so incredibly important. We care for over 60 children, deliver training to thousands of healthcare workers, and help re-empower young adults who got lost in the child welfare system. We are also an organization building and providing collaborative models for children, youth, families, and organizations to use towards fulfilling and healthy lives for themselves and their communities.
We are championing children and the communities that care for them. Join us!
Empowerment – wayne centrone
/0 Comments/in Blog /by Wayne CentroneOur work has changed so much over the nearly 30-years of our existence.
What started with a strong focus on medical outreach has morphed into a full fledged NGO that seeks to provide vulnerable Peruvian children and their families with opportunities toward a life built on health, hope, home, and purpose.
With our Communities of Excellence (CoE) model, we work with nonprofit, government, and private organizations to standardize services and programs on a national scale to ensure that children and families living in poverty have access to the quality caregiving and medical treatment they deserve. The CoEs are community-driven, collaborative, and replicable program models focusing on self-advocacy for children and families and training for childcare providers.
As we made the shift from an organization focused on direct services delivery – although we still have the privilege of serving nearly 60 children in our Casa Girasoles Programs – to an organization that seeks to build models that can be scaled in a variety of cultural and geographic settings – HBI has grown from an organization that was U.S. based leadership to an NGO registered in Perú, with Peruvian leaders and Board. We are proud to employ 42 staff members, all but two are Peruvian. We are incredibly proud of this shift. It means that we are an organization seeking to support lasting change for children and families in Perú – through Peruvian leadership!
We are also serious stewards of the funding we receive to do this work. We are committed to make every dollar count to every single youth, every family, every professional we have in the scope of our work. Over 92% of HBI’s funding goes directly to support our programs and pay our staff.
Why is this so important? Because it represents a shift to a model that empowers in-country change through in-country leadership.
I am so proud of how far we have come. I am even more proud of the amazing leadership and staff we have working everyday to serve the needs of some of the most marginalized children and families in Latin America, in a pathway for long-term, sustainable change.
Heaps of Gratitude!
/0 Comments/in Blog /by Wayne CentroneWow! I mean – W-O-W!!!
We are so incredibly honored by the tremendous generosity and support we received at our A Bridge to Change fundraiser event held at Andina Restaurant on Tuesday, September 19th. We filled the room with a completely sold-out crowd. The four-course wine paired meal was a huge hit – as always – and was highlighted by having Sra. Doris and Sr. John (owners of Andina) in attendance.
Thanks to the outpouring of support, we raised almost $83,000 for our work. This is a HUGE blessing and something we will be ever attentive stewards toward utilizing the investment we received.
Thank you to all the amazing supporters of Health Bridges who make our event a giant success!