FFK Newsletter 2009

7/31/2019 FFK Newsletter 2009

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Success in Nicaragua Page 2 Where your dollars go Page 3Fiesta! Page 4Host Families Page 5 Parishioners travel Page 6 Others chime in Page 7

January 2009

inside...

Nicaraguan Celebration at St. Isidore School The children of NPH Nicaragua performed their rich cultural music and dance mesmerizing the students of St. Isidore as they gazed in awe. The performance was exciting and uplifting, enjoyed by all that attended.Several students and teachers were selected from the audience to join in on one of the dances they had smilesfrom cheek to cheek as they spun around with the performers. Throughout the day, the NPH children visitedeach of the classrooms and answered questions by the students with the help of volunteers acting as translators.The pequeos were able to spend time with the 8 th graders during lunch

break -- a valuable opportunity for the students to practice their Spanish.During this luncheon, the kids all blended together. What began as twovery distinct groups, representing life from different ends of thespectrum, became a big room full of teenagers, all with similar interestsand ideals. Kids from both groups felt the connections.

Father Franks Kids

Uno, dos, tres.and off they went, twirling and smiling, whileothers strummed violins and gui-tars evoking traditional soundsfrom a foreign land. The St. Isi-dore students were taken aback at their glowing faces, awash inhappiness. How can they be sohappy, when they have no par-ents?, asked one St. Isidorefirst-grader. Later, when two of the pequeos visited her class-room, she learned the secret totheir happiness. One of the girls,a former orphan, now a proud resident of Nuestro PequeosHermanos, described in detail her living conditions prior to be-ing saved by the staff at NPH.She had lived in the street, eat-ing from garbage cans and was-nt able to attend school. Now,she has family. She has 345 brothers and sisters to call her own. She has a warm, safe

place to sleep at night. She hashealthy food to eat. And, shegets to go school.

La Biblioteca!St. Isidores SchoolLibrary sponsored aprogram wherebybooks were pur-chased at wholesaleprices during theFiesta and theschools bookfair tobuild the Pequeosa library at NPH.238 books in 2008!


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AlmaI was born in Puerto Cabezas, in the Atlantic Northregion of Nicaragua. My father disappeared before I

was born and my mother passed away when I was avery young girl. Once we were orphaned, our grand-mother tried to care for us. Most days there was onlyenough rice and beans for one meal. Thanks to God,my grandmother learned of NPH and asked for help.In this place, my brothers and I found family! I havehad a wonderful life here. I have many friends whoare more like my siblings; because our caregiverstaught us the importance of family. I was also taughtto think about my future and to think about myyounger siblings. Currently, I work in the human re-sources department at NPH and I will finish my stud-ies at the University. My goal is to work to the bene-fit of my younger siblings at NPH and to strengthenthe links of love and friendship with them. I am verygrateful to be provided with these opportunities tohelp myself and I am proud to be apart of this greatfamily!Alma Washington

Maudiel In 1992, while violent demonstrations in thecentral park of Granada were in full swing,

two young brothers and their sister made their way to NPH. Although he doesnt remember much about this time, he does remember that af-ter his mother died, his father was unable to carefor him and his siblings. What he remembersmost about Father Wasson, the founder of NPH

Nicragaua was the feeling he got when the kindman gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek.Maudiel grew into a polite, generous, honest andhandsome young man. At 19 years old, he is htemiddle of his first year of service. His supervi-sor reports that he is a real asset to us here at

San Jorge. What I really appreciate aboutMaudiel is his willingness to do whatever we ask from office work to hard labor in the beanfields. Maudiel is looking forward to finishinghis studies in Managua as he has dreams of studying computer engineering at the university.Maudiel says, I am very proud that I can helpthe home in my year of service, because theyhave provided me with great opportunity toachieve my goals.

Nicaraguan Success Stories


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Students from Monte VistaHigh School collecting for

Father Franks Kids

What is a Container? And where is it going?

Lean : Every penny that is raised goes directly to the children living in the NuestroPequeos Orphanages or to their neighbors who are in distress. Father Frank beganthis ministry in 1998 when he saw the need to get funds and goods quickly and di-rectly to the children in need in Central Americawithout overhead or redtape.There are no salaries or fat-cat benefits to pay. Everyone at Father Franks donatestheir time and talents.

Green : Besides funding the forty-foot shipping containers of new and recycledgoods bound for Honduras and Guatemala, funds this year were used to supplyhomes with furniture, kitchens and bathroom essentials such as sinks, faucets,

stoves, showers, and toilets. From cribs to computerswe have shipped it.Giving : Two emergency food shipments were sent to Haiti. 6,500 pounds of beansand rice will feed not only the children who live in the orphanage but also their neighbors who are starving after being ravaged by three back-to-back hurricanes.$3000 was quickly wired directly to Jetro, a wholesaler of beans and rice in Mi-ami. Friends of the Orphans arranged for the shipping container and provided thelabor to load the shipment. Within 96 hours the very needed food shipment was es-corted through customs by Father Rick Frechette M.D., the Director of NPH Haiti.Without a large chain of command, this ministry can work nimbly to get the help tothe people who need it most.

2007 Shipments30,000 pounds!

Guatemala200 boxes of clothing

300 pairs of shoes9 boxes school supplies

9 boxes bedding and towels25 bicycles and repair parts

Honduras150 boxes of clothing

300 pairs of shoes11 library study tables

12 computers8 desks with chairs

300 backpacks7 boxes school supplies

5 boxes bedding and towels25 bicycles and repair parts

El Salvador 230 Catholic Bibles for

Children in Spanish

Crown Worldwide and Encar TradingCompany are responsible for assistingwith shipping these 40 foot containersfull of supplies to the orphanages.Caritas, an international poverty relief organization assists with the movementof the containers through local customsin country to help defray the heavy feesthat can sometimes be associated withthe receipt of goods from the UnitedStates. Father Frank's Kids is veryfortunate to have such willing andcapable connections in support of all of the children in need.

Danville Girl Scouts collectShoes for the NPH Homes

Lean, Green, Giving Machine!


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This year, Father Franks Kids ministry hosted their 2 nd Annual Fiesta.This is the largest fundraising event annually. The Fiesta was held atSt. Isidore on Saturday, 27 September 2008 and included carnival-styleactivities for children, a delicious Mexican buffet dinner, a fabuloussilent auction fund-raiser, and a photo gallery of the children of NPHseeking God Parents, as well as the live music and dance performance bythe visiting group of children. The Fiesta began with a 4:00 mass wherethe children sang and played music for the congregation. Followingmass, they all headed over to the Fr. Cardelli Center for the Fiesta. Itwas a sell out crowd with nearly 700 people in attendance and raisednearly $70,000. The troupe performed the Ballet Folklrico, a traditionalmix of cultural dance and music. The girls wore colorful culturalcostumes it was like candy to the eyes gazing upon their flowingskirts as they swirled around the stage while listening to upbeat music.The dances are depictions of traditional Nicaraguan life. They are basedon cultural experiences from the men going to the fields to hunt and farm

and then returning to the women who prepare the food. The childrenthen performed the following day at all three of the Sunday St. Isidoremasses providing more exposure to additional St. Isidore parishioners.They were able to see these happy and loving children.

Fiesta 2008

Thank you!!!

Your amazing generosity at the fiesta provided nearly $70,000 to fill the following open requests from orphan-

ages in four countries:

NicaraguaMedication

Clothing A New Water System

A family Program A Radio Communication System

For between Campuses

El SalvadorClothing and Shoes

GuatemalaDormitory Provisions

Mini-Bus

L i v e Y o u r

F a i t h

The children experienced thesights of the San Francisco

Bay Area and were able to visitfamous landmarks such as theGolden Gate Bridge, AT&TPark, the Blackhawk

Automotive Museum and thenew $500 million dollar Califor-nia Academy of Sciences Mu-seum -- special memories tosavor for a lifetime.


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Danville Teens Live Among the Orphans

July 2008Teenagers of St. Isidore Parishtoured the NPH facility atCuernavaca, Mexico. The trip tothe school was memorable andleft a lasting impression for those who participated. Thefifteen teens from St. IsidoreParish fully immersedthemselves in the day-to-dayactivities of a child living at NPH Mexico. The boysand girls shadowed the resident children eating andsleeping amongst them, and even assisting with dailychores. The trip was an opportunity for the teens toview life from an NPH childs eyes. The teensgained meaningful insight that they will be able toapply in their lives here at home appreciating andsavoring basic creature comforts.

My experience at the NPH orphanage was life-changing. I encountered more love and unity in that little isolated 300-acre orphanage than I have ever encountered in this huge land mass we call the USA.

I cannot begin to comprehend the hardships the chil-dren endured, yet despite all this, they taught ME thetrue meaning of gratitude and love --the true mean-ing of being thankful. They are close-knit family of about 500, and are bursting with thanks for eachlittle possession and privilege they have -- even a

pair of earrings I gave a little girl as a gift, or the food thats put before them. Their world revolvesaround the emotion called love and they never tire of expressing it. I am waiting anxiously for the next tripdown to the orphanage where I can once again beinfused with the awesome feeling of cherishment and love that I discovered there.

Kelsey, 16 years old

Parishioners visit Orphanage

April 2008St. Isidore Parishioners metPequeos and toured the facilitiesat Cuernavaca, Mexico. Wewere absolutely delighted to

personally meet so many wellcared for children at theorphanage in Mexico. says Bar-

bara McGovern. There are over 600 children living in a safe andsecure compound comprised of

classroom buildings, dormitories, green grassy soccer fields, an expansive garden from which they harvest their own produce, a barnyard where they raise their own pigsand chicken eggs and a chapel. Patrick McGovernmarveled, They were wearing uniforms very similar tothe ones worn at St. Isidore Catholic School! Thesechildren are clearly living wholesome lives, are being

provided a strong academic education and practical lifeskills. The children at NPH Mexico are all afforded ahigh school education and opportunity to either learn atrade or continue their education at the university level.

These childrenat NPH Mexicoare getting thekind of life skillsand educationwhich will

prepare them to be the futureleaders of their country.

A boy makes new friends in Peru xxx 2008Xxx went to Peru to visit his grandparents and decidedto spend the afternoon playing soccer with the childrenof NPH at the local orphanage. His experience wasthat.just give me at least 100 more charactershere...to finish this story.

Trips to NPH


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Live Your Faith

Committee Chairs

Event PlanningFund Raising

Graphic Artist

Marketing

Secretary

Sponsorship Solicitation

Publications

Web Design

January Annual NPH Meeting Mexico

March 40 foot Container shipping out to xxx

June Teen Trip to NPH Mexico

P age 8

Upcoming Events

Father Franks KidsPO Box 478 Alamo, California 94507

Get Involved

Would you like more information about Father Franks Kids? Would youlike to know more about the children, see pictures or read past newslet-

ters and articles that have appeared in the newspapers? You can do thisand more by going to the Father Franks Kids web page on the internet at:

www.fatherfrankskids.org

Now accepting donationsthrough PayPal.

On The Web

C o n

t a c

tDick Sanders(925) [email protected]

JulyParishioner Trip to NPH Mexico

September Fiesta 2009

October 40 foot Container shipping out to xxx

Documents

FFK Newsletter 2009