Yesterday was our first in-person event in three years – A Bridge to Change. Thanks to all of you, it was a huge success.
We had a great turnout. Everyone had a wonderful experience sharing delicioso food from Casa Zoraya, amazing Pisco sours from Una Mas Bartending (and Caravedo Pisco), pacific northwest wine pours from the venerable Elk Cove Vineyards, the best beer on the planet from Gigantic Brewing, and an enchanting MC for the event in HBI Board Member Benjamin Grass.
Even if you were not able to attend the event, we wanted to share a few of the highlights. Posted below is an excerpt from the words shared by HBI’s Executive Director, Wayne Centrone, during the event. We look forward to seeing you in 2023! Thank you for all your support . . . and remember, #BetheBridge
Hello, everyone, and welcome. Thanks for being here. A very special thank you to our Volunteers, Board of Directors, staff and all of you – the family of HBI. For those in the room who do not know me, my name is Wayne Centrone, and I am the Executive Director of Health Bridges International (HBI).
Wow, it’s been three years since we have all been together and – it’s not just that it’s been three years, but it’s been a unique and crazy challenging three years for all of us here and I’ve been thinking a lot about where to begin.
This work, the work of our organization has been a beautiful and adventurous road of learning, growth, adaptation, and success. It has included all of you, our incredible donors, and supporters, our talented and dedicated HBI team and hundreds of healthcare workers and partners with whom we carry out our work in Perú and South America.
As I reflect on HBI’s evolution over the past 20-plus years, our work has taken us from direct health services delivery to now being in a position where we are meaningfully impacting the long-term care to thousands of children worldwide. Yes…worldwide. Not just in Perú. This afternoon, I am excited to share HBI’s evolving story because there is a lot to share!
Before we do that, let’s try something new! I’d like you to join me in a brief participatory activity. I promise it won’t be hard and you won’t need to put down your drinks.
I’d like you to think about why you’ve taken time from your busy lives to spend this afternoon with HBI? Take a moment and ask yourself what is it that has brought you here, to HBI’s event?
Now I’m going to ask you to turn to the person on your left, and maybe also on your right and share with each other what is it that has brought you here? I’m going to walk around and listen in. I’m curious about your responses!
So, take a moment to reflect – and have a chat with your neighbor and I will call you back in a few minutes.
I heard many varied/different/mixed responses to the question of Why am I here, at an HBI event?
Many of you will have different understandings of “Who is HBI”? And you know what, they are all correct, in some way.
This afternoon, we want to take you on the journey that we have been on, and the focus of our vision and purpose which is that we envision a world where… every child has access to health, hope, home, and purpose.
This afternoon we will share how your support changes lives and reshapes futures; and we invite you to learn just how important your support is in the lives of thousands of children and healthcare workers.
When we started Health Bridges, we had a simple idea. Our vision was this – our conviction that building bridges between resources and needs – changes the playing field. It creates a “sum of all parts” is greater than the whole solution.
In our first decade of work – we put our efforts into building bridges around health care challenges. We mobilized short-term medical and dental outreach clinics, and we provided care to thousands of children. This important work helped us learn a great deal about building partnerships, working in collaboration, and understanding the unique cultural, linguistic, and social context of community-based work in Perú. This work prepared us to quickly adapt and respond to continuously changing needs and today, this has become an even more relevant skillset as there is increased urgency to be nimble and effective in the wake of local and global changes and crises.
You know those life defining moments that just kind of get stuck in your head, almost like someone snuck a picture into your hard drive? Well – here is one of those crystalizing –– memories for me. Early on, when we still ran the Team Perú outreach trips, we brought groups of volunteers to help with our schools-based outreach project.
One afternoon we took the group to a large market in Lima where you can buy just about anything. It was known as a black market, not because the items were illegal, but mainly because they were brought into the country without paying taxes; and as you can imagine, the prices were much lower.
I was standing outside the market with one of the volunteers when I noticed a woman with her young child walking down the street. She was asking people for money and telling her story of living without a husband and struggling to feed herself and her children. She was begging.
I had seen this exact scenario countless times. But this time, something felt different. There was a crushing quality to knowing the solutions this family needed to stay together, to grow, to thrive – they did not fully exist. Something deep inside of me said, “I need to do something. We must help create a change.”
After talking with the woman, and offering her some money, I walked back over to the volunteer, a person who is an excellent friend of mine who happens to be here right now; and I said, “[my life goal] is to make sure no child is ever in a situation like that again.”
At the time, I wasn’t fully sure what I meant by that statement, but it has impacted my life and it has been a catalyst for my work and purpose ever since.
That memory has been a centering/grounding influence that has driven me and our team to shift Health Bridges from an organization that built bridges of support through our four pillars of training, connecting, consulting, and serving – into an organization that seeks to radically reinvent child supportive services (child empowerment services) in Perú . . . and later, the whole world. Let me say that again.
HBI’s progressive work means that we have cracked the code and we have transformed into an organization that seeks to radically reinvent child supportive services in Perú AND we want to take our proven models and practices and support other organizations to champion change for children and mothers.
How did we crack the code? For over two decades, with your support, HBI has become a trusted advisor and partner with governmental agencies like the Peruvian National Institute of Mental Health and professional associations like the Peruvian College of Nurses and the Midwives and well-respected multinational organizations like Caritas – the branch of the Vatican and Catholic Church involved in social outreach around the world.
Our team is embedded, and we use our influence and earned trust to drive/execute solutions that work and improve the lives of children, mothers, and healthcare workers.
Health Bridges International is a nonprofit organization that seeks to create a stable home environment for children in Perú who live without it. We aim to provide vulnerable youth with a life built on health, hope, home, and purpose by building with local champions evidence-based models that protect and empower these children.
For over 20 years, we have partnered with academic institutions (such as Yale, Thomas Jefferson University, St. Olaf College, Linfield University, Universidad Catolica Santa Maria, LaSalle University, and subject matter experts and academics from non-governmental, governmental, and private sector partners to invest in programs and projects that build scientifically rigorous approaches to empowering child welfare providers.
Our capabilities focus on the following areas: teaching institutional care takers, influencing government policy, and training other organizations in evidence-based practices and tools to care for formerly homeless, abandoned, and marginalized children.
HBI’s Centers of Excellence, such as, Casa Girasoles, the care homes for abandoned and runaway boys that we operate in the Sacred Valley of Cusco and the city of Ica – are model community-driven programs that deliver standardized frameworks for child welfare providers like NGOs, government agencies, educational institutions, and youth organizations. By incubating best practices, the Centers promote evidence-based models that help children and families become self-advocates, strengthen child support service providers, and uplift the entire community. We are championing children and the communities that care for them.
To take this work to the next level, we need your help. We need you to invest in us. When you make that investment, in a small, effective, and nimble NGO operating on $750,000 per year, serving the needs of some of the most marginalized children in Latin America, you help us build a pathway for long-term, sustainable change.
We don’t take your investment lightly. We are committed to transparency to all our donors and to full accountability. We pledge to show you how all your support is used. We continuously seek to make the most of every dollar you so generously provide. One way we do that is to dedicate over 92% of all monies we receive directly into programs.
What’s our end goal? Well, I guess it is to make our work obsolete. We envision a day when training teams will run around Latin America, building networks, or learning communities to advance lifesaving newborn resuscitation.
We look forward to the day our efforts focus on supporting organizations worldwide to build their own Centers of Excellence. We want to be the behind-the-scenes champions who are helping child-welfare champions, champion change. We envision a world where every child has access to the life they deserve. A life of health, hope, home, and purpose.
So, I ask you to join us in our mission.
Will you Be the Bridge?
Thank you so much for being here. It is a true delight to be in your presence.
A Month of Thanks: Day 3 – Beautiful Beds
/0 Comments/in Blog /by Wayne CentroneJuan (not his real name) had never slept in a bed by himself. For all his six years, he shared a twin mattress with his two brothers and older sister. They lived alone in a single room – without a bathroom or running water.
When Juan and his brothers came to live with us at the Casa Girasoles home, the staff first showed him around the room where he would be staying. They had prepared a bed, especially for Juan, with brand-new Spider-Man sheets and a warm blanket. When Juan saw the bed, he exclaimed with delight – “I’ve never seen such a beautiful bed.”
We’re thankful for beautiful beds and the comfort of sleeping in a safe, secure, loving home. We are grateful that Juan and his siblings are receiving the care and support they need to build the lives they deserve.
We are also thankful for all the generosity we receive from our family of supporters. Thanks to you, we are reaching children like Juan – and changing lives . . . one beautiful bed at a time.
A Month of Thanks: Day 2 – Babies
/0 Comments/in Blog /by Wayne CentroneWe love babies. We’re thankful for the impact the Newborn Resuscitation Train-the-Trainer Program is having on saving lives in Perú.
Dr. Bob Gehringer and Dr. Roberto Tarazona meet with the leadership of the Peruvian College of Nurses to expand the NRTP train-the-trainer program.
It was November 2019 when Lic. Catherine Tejada Aguirre was in the high mountain city of Pasco in the Peruvian Andes, holding a newborn in her arms. The baby was in a poor state, with an Apgar score of only 4 out of 10. Baby Luz (not the childs real name) had a limp body with a bluish appearance, a low pulse rate, and barely any response to simulation. Her situation is similar to 10% of babies born in homes and health centers across the country.
While progress has been made and neonatal mortality rate in Perú has fallen from 16 deaths per 1,000 live births (2000) to only 6 (2019), the rate in rural and underserved regions still lag behind. In these areas — home to almost half the country’s entire population — around 75% of women give birth at home alone or in small clinics with only a single healthcare professional because they do not have the same access to health services as those in urban areas.
Working with local organizations, communities, and government units since 2014, we at Health Bridges International have learned that the country’s healthcare system has yet to standardize training for medical professionals in neonatal resuscitation. Healthcare professionals in Perú need support to consistently develop crucial skills in neonatal care.
The three other medical professionals in the room attempted resuscitation efforts for Baby Luz. They went through several attempts but Baby Luz showed no signs of improvement. The services of a certified neonatal resuscitation specialist was needed.
Without hesitation, Lic. Catherine, a neonatal resuscitation trainer, stepped up to help resuscitate Baby Luz. She led her colleagues through the steps in providing warmth, clearing the airway, drying, and stimulating Baby Luz. With her assistance, Baby Luz’s condition improved. They applied positive pressure ventilation and Baby Luz spontaneously started to breathe. Within an hour, Baby Luz was well and breastfeeding. “What I learned in this [NRTP] course gave me a solid understanding to perform resuscitation and to be able to save lives,” says Lic. Catherine.
To provide medical and health professionals critical support, we sought to create and replicate a newborn resuscitation training and teaching model. Under the direction of HBI’s Medical Director, Dr. Bob Gehringer, and co-developed with the Perúvian College of Midwives, the HBI Neonatal Resuscitation Train-the-Trainer Program (HBI NRTP) is an official certification program that trains midwives to provide contextualized training to colleagues in their own communities. The program creates a powerful multiplier effect: since 2014 with over 130 trainers trained in 246 regions, more than 20,600 participants have received neonatal resuscitation training and an estimated 5,200 babies per year have been saved. We support our partner’s leadership in ensuring that this certification becomes part of future licensure requirements for all midwives in Perú.
A Month of Thanks: Day 1 – Bicycles
/0 Comments/in Blog /by Wayne CentroneWe’ve had a bike team at the Casa Girasoles for a few years. The boys at the Casa Girasoles Ica and Urubamba have been racing their bikes in the local communities – and winning!
One problem has been not enough bikes for all the boys. We’ve never been able to amass a large enough bike inventory so that all the boys can ride simultaneously.
Well, that is changing . . . thanks in significant part to the generosity of Oregon Bicycle Attorney, Mr. Hugh Givens, Mr. Kevin Chudy (Bike-n-Hike bike stores), and Mr. Mike Colbach. Thanks to these fantastic folks – and many others – we’re amassing an inventory of bikes that will allow every boy to ride (and race)!
On our 2022 Gravel Adventure Camp week – check out this video – the great team from Oregon Bicycle Attorney delivered brand-new Specialized mountain bikes. To add icing on the cake, a wealthy family in Ica heard about the bike camp and read an article that stated we still lacked bikes for the smallest boys – and, well . . . they donated three scoot bikes.
Bicycles are more than a mode of transportation or exercise for the Casa Girasoles boys. The bicycles we have received are therapeutic interventions. When the boys are on their bikes, they connect differently. They open up. They heal.
We are so thankful for the bikes. We greatly appreciate all the support we have received to develop the Casa Girasoles Cycling Team and create a whole new pathway of healing for the boys.
A Month of Thankfulness – wayne centrone
/0 Comments/in Blog /by Wayne CentroneI love the Holiday Season.
From Thanksgiving through the New Year, I get giddy with excitement. Part of my joy is in slowing the pace of life. The busyness of life gives way to a bit more time for reflection and patience. Things seem to take on a different focus over the Holiday Season.
The work of HBI is about a community – a group of passionate change-makers. We are blessed to have a fantastic team of dedicated staff and a community of generous supporters. That is why we are planning to start this Holiday Season with a series of blog posts around the thankfulness we feel at HBI.
From our work in the Casa Girasoles program to help formerly abandoned boys find the pathway to the lives they deserve – to our newborn resuscitation training program – we are making a difference. Much of this difference is because of the trust and generosity we receive from hundreds of donors and supporters. Thank you.
To start our Month of Thankfulness, I want to tell you a brief story of appreciation: Juan* (6), David (4), and Carlos (7) lived with their 12-year-old sister. She was the only mother they had ever known. One day their older sister went to the local police station to ask for help. She couldn’t continue raising the three brothers on her own.
A case was opened with child protective services for the four siblings. To support their transition to safety, the children were brought to the Casa Girasoles. With HBI’s connections – a loving, supportive home was identified for the 12-year-old, as the Casa Girasoles Program only accommodates boys. Thanks to the tireless efforts of HBI’s Social Worker, the team established a plan to support the reunification of the children as quickly as possible.
The three brothers quickly settled into their new home at the Casa Girasoles. The goal is to reunite the siblings with a family member who can take all four and keep them together. However, for now – we are thankful that through the generosity of donors and supporters, we have the staffing, financial resources, and connections to help these precious young boys and beautiful young woman begin to rebuild their lives.
Thank you for helping HBI create safe, loving environments to rebuild the lives of traumatized, neglected and marginalized children. Together we are changing lives.
*Names have been changed
What a Week! Amazing.
/0 Comments/in Blog /by Wayne CentroneBuilding Connection – wayne centrone
/0 Comments/in Blog /by Wayne CentroneI like to ride my bike. When I am in Lima – I have a ride route that takes me along the coast and up to a national park at the southern tip of Chorrillos.
During the week, traffic is the main enemy. People, dogs, strollers, and bicycles are everywhere on the weekends and holidays and require a level of attention similar to dodging knives.
Riding along the Lima coast is magical, even with the stress of the constant vigilance of the many moving dangers. One can gain so much cultural and social interplay over being in a car or on foot. A bicycle is a sort of magic carpet ride. It is a more profound way for me to stay connected.
For a few years, we have organized a bike team for the boys at the Casa Girasoles. The group, called Girasoles Sanos or healthy sunflowers, is a therapeutic outlet for the boys and staff. A magical connection happens when the boys are out riding.
This week we are holding our first Gravel Camp in Ica. We have a group of volunteers coming from the United States, and we will spend six days riding, laughing, and connecting with the boys and staff from the seat of a bicycle. We have a full slate of adventure rides that take advantage of the hundreds of kilometers of gravel roads in and around Ica.
Following a well-deserved lunch and shower in the afternoons, our group will lead the boys through a series of bike maintenance workshops and wood block ink printing. The group has organized many activities to engage the boys and aid in their learning.
More than anything, this is a trip about connection. We will connect with the boys, ourselves, our environment, and the Peruvian culture. I will be posting updates – along with photos and videos – throughout the week.
Check out the HBI blog throughout this next week for more details on our first Gravel Adventure Camp.
Learning by Doing . . . and Being – wayne centrone
/0 Comments/in Blog /by Wayne CentroneWe have a tradition at the Casa Girasoles. It is a tradition of inclusivity and activity. We strive for all the children to learn by doing, and to create community connections through their activities and experiences.
This last week the boys and staff at the Casa Girasoles Urubamba went on a three night camping trip. The trip was designed around teaching leadership skills and working together as an inclusive team. One of the activities the boys engaged in was an outreach trip to an elder care facility. They helped to shape an afternoon of activities and spent time connecting with their older neighbors.
This is the ‘learning by being’ part of our philosophy at the Casa Girasoles. It is based on the idea that we all need relationship and connection – and, that is not about us doing anything for another person. It is about “being” present in another persons life. Talk about a great life lesson to learn at a young age.
The following is an excerpt from a story told by the director regarding the camping trip and the impact on the boys. I love hearing about the amazing work the team is doing, and I hope you do as well. Thanks for all the continued support. Cheers!
“Each camp we do is a very different story, and this was no exception, we formed two teams and in each team among its members were from the smallest to the oldest, they were given the rules of the game and the things that the judges were going to take into account for the awards, then the teams that had the best attitude, companionship, the team that did not give up despite the circumstances, the motivation among their teammates were awarded. important things, to form their characters.
We really saw a good behavior during the whole camp, in spite of the free moments that each one had in which they could play, others slept, others rode bicycles, others played spinning tops, the little ones in their world that only they understand, at the end of everything before retiring after having folded everything and finished we started with the awarding, and as I said the teams were awarded not only because they won in the games but their attitude, companionship, resilience, etc. Both teams were up to the task, all the members were happy. And just when everyone thought the camp was over, there was one more award, which, no one expected, least of all the kids, and they didn’t know what they were going to be rewarded for. And here comes the little story and reflection of this camp.
Without anyone knowing, I secretly indicated four people among our tutors and volunteers, and they themselves did not know who the others were. I told them to observe indistinctly which child or young person was the most restrained, the helper, the one who did things without an order from the leader or a tutor, the one who did things on his own initiative. When I gathered the four of them together and asked, there were several opinions, several names among them, but the one that stood out the most among them all, there was one who was seen helping the little one, then they saw him helping in the kitchen, he was helping to carry the dishes, he did not complain about anything, and in spite of his age, he surprised us with his good attitude.
All the kids couldn’t imagine why the award, after a pause, was given to the person who during the camp had the initiative, was restrained, and was a helper. So… his name is Frank, to see how surprised he was, to see his face full of happiness was the best even he could not imagine it, we were all filled with great emotions, it was a great lesson for the youngsters, for the youngest and even for the tutors.“
We Had a Party . . . and it was a great success!
/0 Comments/in Blog /by Wayne CentroneYesterday was our first in-person event in three years – A Bridge to Change. Thanks to all of you, it was a huge success.
We had a great turnout. Everyone had a wonderful experience sharing delicioso food from Casa Zoraya, amazing Pisco sours from Una Mas Bartending (and Caravedo Pisco), pacific northwest wine pours from the venerable Elk Cove Vineyards, the best beer on the planet from Gigantic Brewing, and an enchanting MC for the event in HBI Board Member Benjamin Grass.
Even if you were not able to attend the event, we wanted to share a few of the highlights. Posted below is an excerpt from the words shared by HBI’s Executive Director, Wayne Centrone, during the event. We look forward to seeing you in 2023! Thank you for all your support . . . and remember, #BetheBridge
Hello, everyone, and welcome. Thanks for being here. A very special thank you to our Volunteers, Board of Directors, staff and all of you – the family of HBI. For those in the room who do not know me, my name is Wayne Centrone, and I am the Executive Director of Health Bridges International (HBI).
Wow, it’s been three years since we have all been together and – it’s not just that it’s been three years, but it’s been a unique and crazy challenging three years for all of us here and I’ve been thinking a lot about where to begin.
This work, the work of our organization has been a beautiful and adventurous road of learning, growth, adaptation, and success. It has included all of you, our incredible donors, and supporters, our talented and dedicated HBI team and hundreds of healthcare workers and partners with whom we carry out our work in Perú and South America.
As I reflect on HBI’s evolution over the past 20-plus years, our work has taken us from direct health services delivery to now being in a position where we are meaningfully impacting the long-term care to thousands of children worldwide. Yes…worldwide. Not just in Perú. This afternoon, I am excited to share HBI’s evolving story because there is a lot to share!
Before we do that, let’s try something new! I’d like you to join me in a brief participatory activity. I promise it won’t be hard and you won’t need to put down your drinks.
I’d like you to think about why you’ve taken time from your busy lives to spend this afternoon with HBI? Take a moment and ask yourself what is it that has brought you here, to HBI’s event?
Now I’m going to ask you to turn to the person on your left, and maybe also on your right and share with each other what is it that has brought you here? I’m going to walk around and listen in. I’m curious about your responses!
So, take a moment to reflect – and have a chat with your neighbor and I will call you back in a few minutes.
I heard many varied/different/mixed responses to the question of Why am I here, at an HBI event?
Many of you will have different understandings of “Who is HBI”? And you know what, they are all correct, in some way.
This afternoon, we want to take you on the journey that we have been on, and the focus of our vision and purpose which is that we envision a world where… every child has access to health, hope, home, and purpose.
This afternoon we will share how your support changes lives and reshapes futures; and we invite you to learn just how important your support is in the lives of thousands of children and healthcare workers.
When we started Health Bridges, we had a simple idea. Our vision was this – our conviction that building bridges between resources and needs – changes the playing field. It creates a “sum of all parts” is greater than the whole solution.
In our first decade of work – we put our efforts into building bridges around health care challenges. We mobilized short-term medical and dental outreach clinics, and we provided care to thousands of children. This important work helped us learn a great deal about building partnerships, working in collaboration, and understanding the unique cultural, linguistic, and social context of community-based work in Perú. This work prepared us to quickly adapt and respond to continuously changing needs and today, this has become an even more relevant skillset as there is increased urgency to be nimble and effective in the wake of local and global changes and crises.
You know those life defining moments that just kind of get stuck in your head, almost like someone snuck a picture into your hard drive? Well – here is one of those crystalizing –– memories for me. Early on, when we still ran the Team Perú outreach trips, we brought groups of volunteers to help with our schools-based outreach project.
One afternoon we took the group to a large market in Lima where you can buy just about anything. It was known as a black market, not because the items were illegal, but mainly because they were brought into the country without paying taxes; and as you can imagine, the prices were much lower.
I was standing outside the market with one of the volunteers when I noticed a woman with her young child walking down the street. She was asking people for money and telling her story of living without a husband and struggling to feed herself and her children. She was begging.
I had seen this exact scenario countless times. But this time, something felt different. There was a crushing quality to knowing the solutions this family needed to stay together, to grow, to thrive – they did not fully exist. Something deep inside of me said, “I need to do something. We must help create a change.”
After talking with the woman, and offering her some money, I walked back over to the volunteer, a person who is an excellent friend of mine who happens to be here right now; and I said, “[my life goal] is to make sure no child is ever in a situation like that again.”
At the time, I wasn’t fully sure what I meant by that statement, but it has impacted my life and it has been a catalyst for my work and purpose ever since.
That memory has been a centering/grounding influence that has driven me and our team to shift Health Bridges from an organization that built bridges of support through our four pillars of training, connecting, consulting, and serving – into an organization that seeks to radically reinvent child supportive services (child empowerment services) in Perú . . . and later, the whole world. Let me say that again.
HBI’s progressive work means that we have cracked the code and we have transformed into an organization that seeks to radically reinvent child supportive services in Perú AND we want to take our proven models and practices and support other organizations to champion change for children and mothers.
How did we crack the code? For over two decades, with your support, HBI has become a trusted advisor and partner with governmental agencies like the Peruvian National Institute of Mental Health and professional associations like the Peruvian College of Nurses and the Midwives and well-respected multinational organizations like Caritas – the branch of the Vatican and Catholic Church involved in social outreach around the world.
Our team is embedded, and we use our influence and earned trust to drive/execute solutions that work and improve the lives of children, mothers, and healthcare workers.
Health Bridges International is a nonprofit organization that seeks to create a stable home environment for children in Perú who live without it. We aim to provide vulnerable youth with a life built on health, hope, home, and purpose by building with local champions evidence-based models that protect and empower these children.
For over 20 years, we have partnered with academic institutions (such as Yale, Thomas Jefferson University, St. Olaf College, Linfield University, Universidad Catolica Santa Maria, LaSalle University, and subject matter experts and academics from non-governmental, governmental, and private sector partners to invest in programs and projects that build scientifically rigorous approaches to empowering child welfare providers.
Our capabilities focus on the following areas: teaching institutional care takers, influencing government policy, and training other organizations in evidence-based practices and tools to care for formerly homeless, abandoned, and marginalized children.
HBI’s Centers of Excellence, such as, Casa Girasoles, the care homes for abandoned and runaway boys that we operate in the Sacred Valley of Cusco and the city of Ica – are model community-driven programs that deliver standardized frameworks for child welfare providers like NGOs, government agencies, educational institutions, and youth organizations. By incubating best practices, the Centers promote evidence-based models that help children and families become self-advocates, strengthen child support service providers, and uplift the entire community. We are championing children and the communities that care for them.
To take this work to the next level, we need your help. We need you to invest in us. When you make that investment, in a small, effective, and nimble NGO operating on $750,000 per year, serving the needs of some of the most marginalized children in Latin America, you help us build a pathway for long-term, sustainable change.
We don’t take your investment lightly. We are committed to transparency to all our donors and to full accountability. We pledge to show you how all your support is used. We continuously seek to make the most of every dollar you so generously provide. One way we do that is to dedicate over 92% of all monies we receive directly into programs.
What’s our end goal? Well, I guess it is to make our work obsolete. We envision a day when training teams will run around Latin America, building networks, or learning communities to advance lifesaving newborn resuscitation.
We look forward to the day our efforts focus on supporting organizations worldwide to build their own Centers of Excellence. We want to be the behind-the-scenes champions who are helping child-welfare champions, champion change. We envision a world where every child has access to the life they deserve. A life of health, hope, home, and purpose.
So, I ask you to join us in our mission.
Will you Be the Bridge?
Thank you so much for being here. It is a true delight to be in your presence.
Walking With – wayne centrone
/0 Comments/in Blog /by Wayne CentroneWhen we started this work, our Health Bridges path, we spent a lot of our time and efforts “doing for.” We mobilized resources, organized volunteers, and implemented projects. Ours was the mode of action.
“Doing for” is good work. It is essential to work. It is not, however, the type of impact that leads to long-term, sustainable systems change. To elevate our actions to another level, we had to change our focus from “doing for” to “doing with.”
Shifting our efforts to collaboration meant we moved away from the idea that we somehow owned our work and into the understanding that everything we do is in collaboration. This partnership approach to service and development has guided our efforts for over a decade. We work closely with the communities we support. We listen attentively to their needs and desires. We spend the necessary time and effort to understand the complexity of the challenges they face fully.
Credible experts have long established the training curriculum and materials for newborn resuscitation. There has – however, been a gap between the curriculum and implementation. Through years of collaborative service, we have gained insight into how to help catalyze change. For our Newborn Resuscitation Training Program, this means assisting groups and professional associations to bridge the pieces of standardizing and facilitating training in saving babies lives. We built the bridge that allows agencies, institutions, and professional guilds to implement their team of trainers.
Regarding our work with vulnerable and marginalized youth, we have learned that there is no one solution to the enormity of the challenge in child welfare. There is no single solution. With significant commitment, we have invested in learning the complex gaps in child welfare care delivery and support. We are using that knowledge to build a model and platform that will help reshape care for thousands of Peruvian children living in residential, group, or foster care environments.
The work of walking with and alongside communities is a great responsibility. It takes enormous investment in relationships and personal connections. It is a fantastic way to work; the collaborative, community-centered partnership type is the only type that will create change.
Join us for our first in-person event in over 3-years on October 8th. Come and learn how you can #BetheBridge
#BetheBridge – The Story of Sr. Sabino and Srta. Esther
/0 Comments/in Blog /by AdminWhen we became part of the HBI team, our first step was understanding that we would be the parental figures for 20 children with complex family histories and challenging backgrounds. Our job was to provide a home environment because a family setting is the best way for children to cultivate a sense of safety, autonomy, and love.
The first days are always the hardest, because the children find themselves in a completely foreign facility with people they don’t know. In the beginning, most of them refuse to speak to us and have a hard time adjusting to order, structure, and routine. So our second step was to accept that our days in Casa Girasoles would be long and hard, but that change would eventually come as the children learn to see that we are adults they can trust.
Each day at Casa Girasoles starts with a prayer. We wake the children up, get them ready for school, and send them off. When they’re back home from a day of lessons, we share hearty meals together, bake or do carpentry, help them with their homework, and play games. They learn and have fun through these different activities, and it heartens us to be part of that. Nothing compares to the enormous joy we share with a child when he receives his ID card or when he finishes the school year proud of his grades.
Taking our steps together
We work because thousands of children in Perú are denied their right to a wholesome family life. And so, though we are not their biological families, we become their family – parents, siblings, uncles, and aunties – all cheering for their happiness and success.
As the children grow under our care, we grow alongside them. We take training courses in education and pick up useful skills, like baking. We are also constantly learning from the children themselves: they teach us to be tolerant, to be creative, and to fulfill our promises. In each child, we see a world of possibilities and a promising future. And being their proud houseparents, we commit to take the steps alongside them, with love and respect, to help them reach that future.
You can take the steps with us too by becoming an HBI Champion today. #BeTheBridge and sign up here.
#BeTheBridge features the people championing Peruvian children who are transforming their own futures. In our first story, Sr. Sabino and Srta. Esther share their experience as Directors and Houseparents to the boys of Casa Girasoles. HBI translated the interviews from Spanish to English.