Dear friends,
This year we received 33 children from different states of Mexico. 70% of them came to us from conditions of extreme poverty, mainly from indigenous communities where they did not have the opportunity to go to school. I am proud to see how they have adapted to life in the homes of NPH Mexico. Our home, “Ciudad de los Niños”, in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, celebrated 12 years of existence. We are happy that two young people from that home are now college graduates!
We had 165 graduates in total, 9 of them are now University Graduates and qualified Engineers! We celebrated graduations behind closed doors to continue protecting our children and young people from contagion.
All our young people over 15 years of age received the two doses of the COVID vaccine, as did all our staff. Our team of doctors and nurses have very attentively given talks about safety measures to avoid contagion, and the entire staff has made an enormous effort to implement all the necessary measures. In addition, the vaccination schedule for the youngest children was completed.
The pandemic has been a challenge for everyone, and even more in in our case, where we care for over 600 boys, girls, and youths. I know it has been difficult, especially for the little ones, as we had to suspend face-to-face classes, outings, family visits, and other events to protect them.
Despite all the care and strict prevention protocols we implemented since the beginning of the pandemic, we had some children and adolescents infected with COVID. This was the case of our university students. In addition to studying, the university students do their internships in companies and use public transportation. However, they were all caught early and we were able to act rapidly and provide them with the necessary medical care to prevent the virus from spreading to the rest of our population. I want to thank all the collaborators, the children, and young people for their patience and responsibility to take care of themselves.
There were difficult moments this year when I felt hopeless, not knowing where to go next. I reread all of Father Wasson’s books looking for inspiration and ideas, and we managed to put several measures into practice. We turned to our sponsors and donors and their response was so wonderful that it encouraged me to move ahead and sleep in peace. Thank you, thank you very much for the invaluable support you gave us immediately, we are forever grateful!
During the summer holidays, we were able to gather all the children, youth, and adolescents who live in our homes so that they could share time together. Something that I really appreciate is the coexistence between our children and adolescents of all ages. When someone asks them, what do you like most about NPH? Most of them answer, “my friends.”
I am proud of each child and our staff who have made such a great effort to overcome obstacles regardless of the circumstances. It has not been easy, but each one has contributed with suggestions, ideas, time, and a lot of love for NPH. Once again, we have been able to confirm that NPH is a real family!
We end 2021 with faith knowing that with the help of God and our benefactors, Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos will continue to be the home of many Mexican children and adolescents who today have the opportunity to get ahead. I have hope for the future, hope helps us to be strong and trust in a better tomorrow, and that is how I see the life of each one of our children.
I am so grateful, you have made possible everything we achieved!
United in the Mission,
Rafael Bermúdez Gutiérrez
National Director, NPH Mexico