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Father Frank’s KidsMarch 2011FiestaWith entertainment provided by pequenos from Mexico“...Never in my 25 years of doing this have I seen an event that had over 700 people participate! And more, the warmth with which the kids and I were received there. Many thanks to all of you and God’s blessings on you for all you have done for our children.” - Father PhilThese young musicians and dancers obviously enjoyed themselves as they performed in their brightly colored costumes.The fourth annu
Citation preview
Father Frank Page 2
A Pequino’s Story Page 3
Fiesta Page 4
Host Families Page 5
Teen Visits to Mexico Page 6
Reaching out to Haiti Page 7
March 2011
inside...
Fiesta With entertainment provided by pequenos from Mexico
Father Frank’s Kids
What a wonderful experience for both the
St. Isidore School students and pequeños
to meet and learn about each other.
These young musicians and dancers obvious-
ly enjoyed themselves as they performed in
their brightly colored costumes.
A Silent Auction Too
The silent auction that takes place during the fiesta has become an “event within an
event”. This year 279 quality items were available. There was something for every-
body. Nice jewelry, a selection of wines and tours, there were parties for children
and adults, garden statuary, iPods, sports items, hand made items from Nicaragua,
Mexican items such as shirts-hand bags-hand painted crosses, and religious items
covered the tables and floor in the gymnasium. Knowing that the proceeds would go
to help the NPH homes made for spirited bidding.
The fourth annual Fiesta, like each of
it’s predecessors, turned out to be “the
best one yet.” This year, 750 people at-
tended and enjoyed the great food, Mari-
achi music and lively dancing. Twenty
pequeños from the NPH orphanage in
Miacatlan, Mexico (77 miles south of
Mexico City) travelled to Danville to
provide the entertainment. From the mo-
ment they arrived they were busy. They
were greeted by ten host families who
generously opened their homes providing
a place for them to stay.
The entertainers spent their first day at
St. Isidore School where they interacted
with the students and demonstrated the
traditional Mexican music and dance.
On Saturday and Sunday they provided
entertainment for the Fiesta and music
at all weekend masses at St. Isidore
Church.
But it wasn’t all work. The pequinos
had lunch and played Spanish Bingo
with the 8th grade class and had yogurt
at the local Yogurt Shack. They were
given a tour of the Giants’ baseball
stadium, toured the Academy of Sci-
ence Museum and did some sight seeing
with a trip to see the Golden Gate
Bridge.
No doubt their time here will be a
wonderful memory.
“...Never in my 25 years of
doing this have I seen an event
that had over 700 people par-
ticipate! And more, the warmth
with which the kids and I were
received there. Many thanks to
all of you and God’s blessings
on you for all you have done for
our children.”
- Father Phil
Page 2
Father Frank Colacicco
Father Frank Colacicco was called home five years ago on February 14, 2006. Some of you did not know Father. For those of you that did, this will renew memories. Father Frank was one of eight children born to Italian immigrants. The family owned an acre of land in the Ocean Avenue district of San Francisco. Father Frank helped to tend their vegetable garden and said he was not destined to be a farmer. He joined the Navy and was assigned to their medical corp. When he was dis-charged, he became a Brother in the order of St. John of the Cross. This order specialized in the medical field. He vividly remembered assisting in the frightening and bloody Watts riots in 1965. He was a Brother for over ten years. He quit and did various jobs, saved his money and opened a retirement home. In 1975 he had a calling, sold the home and went to Rome to study for the priesthood. Father was ordained on May 19, 1979 at age forty-eight and was as-signed to the San Angelo, Texas dio-cese. He served in parishes in Carls-bad, Andrews, Ft. Stockton, Menard, Stanton, Junction and San Angelo. Father drove hundreds of miles say-ing masses at multiple parishes on Sunday and attending to marriages, funerals and sick calls. Willie Ruiz, a parishioner at Our Lady of Lourdes in Andrews, remembers Father well. He said: “I was nineteen that night at the parish hall and we were bobbing for apples. When I went down I felt a strong hand holding me. Coming up looking for the culprit, Father Frank with his wet hand was laughing at me. He said „Priests have fun too you know.‟ “ Art Gandor, a parishioner at St. Josephs in Stanton said: “Father Frank was a holy man. He was brave and always ready to defend Holy Mother Church. His convictions were unwavering. He was real.” Father Frank was a type 1 diabetic and also had coro-nary bypass surgery. Due to health problems, he retired on July 1, 1997 at age sixty-six. He returned to his home area and was accepted in residence by Father Cardelli at St. Isidore parish in Danville. Dolores Raskob, a St. Isidore parishioner (she was the widow of John who built the Empire State Building) and Dudley Kennedy, whom she married, supported Nuestros Pequinos Hermanos. They were close friends and original supporters of Father Bill Wasson who found-ed NPH in 1954. Dolores and Dudley invited Father Frank to be their guest at the annual NPH conference in 1998 in Mexico City. At lunch Father Frank sat next to Sister Phyllis Kelleher who worked with NPH in Mexico from 1972 to 1978. In 1995 Sister came back to NPH
and opened Casa Asis, a NPH home in Nicaragua for children ages five and under. Father Frank and Sister Phyllis were not attired in their religious garments. Father said: “I am FATHER Frank.” Sister replied: “I am SISTER Phyllis.” Father asked “Where is your habit?” Sister replied “Where is your Roman Collar?” That was the beginning of a strong and productive friendship. Sister Phyllis persuaded Father Frank to form a support group at St. Isidore Parish. After listening to Father Frank‟s homily in 1998 about the children of NPH, St. Isidore parishioners Tori and Ann Ferrante, with assistance from the Ital-ian Catholic Federation, collected goods, stored them in their garage, and shipped the first container to
Casa Asis. Pat Black, a parishion-er, said: “I was relieving at Casa Asis for two weeks at Christmas. Father Frank and Sister Phyllis used to argue about how to do things like a couple married for fifty years. But he was always there when she needed something for the children. Dick Sanders and his wife Pat were in Managua at the hospital when Father died from the stroke he received two months earlier. The nurse opened his hand and gave Dick a rosary which she said he held since the day of his stroke. Dick gave the rosary to Ishmael Leon, director of NPH Nicaragua, who was like a son to Father Frank. The funeral mass was held at the church built by funds from
Father Frank‟s inheritance and assisted by St. Isidore parishioners. Father Ron Hicks said the mass with the six hundred children from NPH Nicaragua attend-ing. Father was buried in a beautiful grave down the hill in front of the church. The next day, St. Isidore pa-rishioner and current president of Father Frank‟s Kids, Mike Hertel, along with Father Paulson Mun-danmania, a St. Isidore parish priest at the time, came to visit the grave. They were attending an an-nual NPH conference in Honduras (too late for them to attend the funeral mass). Father Paulson said: “I saw the work that NPH does and was very im-pressed. Every dollar collected is spent on a great cause. The children are well fed and cared for. The houses and school are institutions of love. Praise the Lord for what our parish does through Father Frank‟s Kids.”
We are committed to maintaining Father Frank’s Legacy.
Page 3
A Pequino’s Story
Pequeño is the nickname of orphaned and abandoned children who live in a Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (Our Little Brothers and Sisters) home. They maintain that nickname when they leave the home. In 1973 Gustavo “Gus” Cruz was eight years old when he and his two older brothers entered the NPH home in Mexico. His mother had just died from breast cancer. His father who fathered and lived with another family was almost unknown. His Godfather arranged for them to join Fa-ther Wasson‟s home. Two bus-ses stopped to pickup he and his brothers. He got on the first bus and was told the brothers would see him soon. His bus went to Acolman Hacienda for the younger children and his older brothers bus went to the home in Cuernavaca. for older children. He kept waiting for his older brothers bus which never came. His first day was in tears. But he soon made friends and was happy. Gus and the other children had adequate but meager food rations. He said they were always hungry. He and some of the boys used to hike in the hills and roast cactus to satisfy their hunger. In the early days the home was growing fast. Father Wasson travelled frequently to the states to raise funds. (In later years John Wayne, Helen Hayes, Raquel Welch, Placido Domingo to name a few along with support groups in Arizona and Vir-ginia helped to support the chil-dren). Gus was a city boy (Mexico City). At the home he saw cows and hogs for the first time. This was exciting to him and he spent as much time as possible watching the animals. Gus joined the musi-cal and dance group. He was on the first fund raising tour to Virgin-
ia . He was thrilled touring Wash-ington DC. Gus remembers getting in big trouble. He and some of the boys were sent to the fields to pick to-matoes for the home. They were caught selling some of the toma-toes to neighbors. Father Wasson told them that instead of the one year service they had to give back to the home after completing high school it would now be two years. After Father cooled down instead of the second year of service, he gave each boy ten pesos. He told them they were to go to town and give the pesos to someone in need. Gus was a good student. After high school he gave his one year of service working as a cook and in the fields. He was one of four out of sixty in his graduation class chosen to go to Yarnell College in Prescott, Arizona. He studied busi-ness for two years. But due to lan-guage difficulties he dropped out. He returned to the home and was made director of Casa Buen Senor overseeing twenty boys in tech-nical school. He became close to Father Phil Cleary. He also worked doing bookkeeping for the home. Although he dropped out of school in Prescott. Fr. Phil arranged for him to go again to school in Tyler, Texas. He struggled and after six months he dropped out. In the meantime Gus over the years became friends with another pequeña – Caridad. She started Acolman at age five with four sis-ters and five brothers. At age fif-teen she was his official girl friend. After dropping out of Tyler Col-lege , Gus felt ashamed and did not want to face Father Phil. Ra-ther than work at the home, he decided to get married and go to Northern California where Caridad had two brothers. Gus found work as a janitor. He has worked hard to achieve his current position. He is in charge of maintenance for Shea Properties “Elan” complex in San Jose con-
sisting of nine hundred and forty one units. He has a secretary and ten people working under him. Gus and Caridad‟s ambition is to someday own their own apartment house that they could manage and maintain. They are saving toward that goal.
Gus and Caridad have two boys , one in high school and one in junior college. They were thrilled to visit with Father Phil last year when the musical group came to St. Isidore Church in Danville, California. Their future looks bright. By the way Gus‟ english today is excellent.
Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos creates families for life, enabling children to transcend poverty and grow into caring, contributing em-bers of their communities. It is a love-filled journey that began long ago with one man, whose vision and philosophy remain the driving force behind NPH‟s dedication to the children. Over 16,500 children like Gus have grown up in the NPH family. Today there are 3,380 pequeños living in the nine NPH homes:
Bolivia 69 Dominican 196 El Salvador 446 Guatemala 348 Haiti 597 Honduras 527 Mexico 806 Nicaragua 320 Peru 71
In 2010, 755 pequeños were attending secondary and voca-tional schools. An additional 188 were attending a university.
Page 4
Fiesta 2010
Thank you!!!
Your amazing generosity at the fiesta provided $89,000 (before expenses)
to fill the following open requests from orphanages in six countries:
Peru
Medical supplies for the in-house
clinic and baby care for a year
Provided $1,400 to help build needed
bed rooms
Honduras
Fund Little Steps Day Care Center
which enables single mothers to work
and study
El Salvador
Purchase Cookware for the kitchen
which feeds 500 people 3 meals a day
Haiti Purchase Medical Supplies which are
not normally donated
Nicaragua
Musical Instruments and material for
uniforms
School Supplies for 350 children
Mexico School Supplies for pre-school
through middle school and after
school work
We Want to Thank You for the
great donation we received from you
and your team this month, the con-
tainer arrived to our house finally,
and the things on them has been dis-
tributed in all the areas of the house.
And we will start a baseball team,
every body is very exited about it. Thanks again for helping our
home. Best regards
Bianka Garcia-Granados Directora Administrativa
N.P.H.Guatemala
Guatemala
Tonantzin Amapola Fabian Lauriano Age 15
Tonantzin is beginning her third year of middle school this year, which is equivalent to 9th grade. She enjoys listening to music, playing soccer, jumping rope, and reading books, especially the Twilight series. To-nantzin has been in danza for seven years, and feels alive when she is dancing. She enjoys identifying more with her culture by learning different regional dances. When she grows up, Tonantzin wants to be an ac-tress in Hollywood. She also wants to open an orphan-age in France, where one of her godparents is from, and help others like NPH has helped her.
Francisco Jesus Ortiz Diaz Age 15
Francisco will be entering his third year of middle school this year, which is equivalent to 9th grade. He is excited to be in his last year of middle school, and have more responsibilities in the home, such as providing help where needed on the weekends. Francisco enjoys swimming and playing volleyball. He got to swim a lot this summer in the pool in Miacatlan. His favorite foods are pizza and hamburgers, and his favorite color is red. Francisco would like to study architecture when he is older.
Meet two Performers
Being Godparents
NPH has made it possible to con-tribute towards the care of a child in one of their homes. This oppor-tunity to be a godparent has been offered during the four fiestas at St. Isidore Parish and the results below show the tremendous ongo-ing generosity of the people who attended these events:
Children Annual Amt 2007 39 $19,480 2008 47 $22,580 2009 60 $27,120 2010 18 $ 7.080
Total 164 $76,260
Page 5
Host Families
Last October, my family and I hosted two girls from the Father Frank‟s Orphanage in Mexico and it was a week I will not forget. The language barrier wasn‟t even a problem with these girls who were so sweet and funny. We in-stantly bonded and I felt as if we had been friends our whole lives. We did things that I do with my best friends here and it showed me that no matter their situation, they were really girls just like me. We read magazines and made faces to express our opinions on different celebrities, and even though we couldn‟t talk, we could still understand. We sang popular mod-ern-day songs even if we were each singing in a different language. We even played the Wii and they sure were great at it! Having them here made me feel like I had two
sisters and I missed them so much when they left. Our whole family fell in love with them and we were all crying when they had to go. Not very
many people can make them-selves a member of the family in just a week, which just goes to show how incredible these girls were. I learned so much about their culture and about them and I am so glad that my fami-ly chose to host this year. It was a week that, without a doubt, I would call one of the best in my life. With their ener-gy and their spirit, they are not
people I will soon forget. I had the best time ever and I can‟t wait to host again next year.
- Marina Gee (12 Years Old)
Marina Gee (Center)
with guests
A Letter from Father Gerry
Page 6
"Last summer was my first time traveling to Mexico
with Father Frank’s Kids and it was truly an amazing
experience. My favorite part was bonding with my six
year old godson, Luis. When I met Luis for the first
time, the only things that I knew about him were sim-
ple facts, like his name and birthday. As I interacted
with him and became more familiar with him over the
course of the week, I learned more about his life and
his personality. We had fun playing on the playground,
going to a water park, eating pizza, and coloring pic-
tures together. He showed me his favorite stuffed ani-
mals and taught me some new games. Although I was
able to play and interact with Luis through games and
gestures, it was much more
difficult to actually talk to
him. We did simple things
together that did not require
speech because I only spoke
and understood Spanish on a
very basic level. Despite this
language barrier, we got
along well together, and most
of time, I could understand
what he was thinking or feel-
ing by his body language. His
adorable smile won me over when we first met and our
time together has become one of my most cherished
memories. It is amazing that a small child could make
such a profound impact on my life. I am staying in
contact with him through letters and the drawings, and
I hope to visit Mexico again next year so that I can
continue to get to know Luis and be a part of his life."
- Katie Wolfert
For the past three summers I have spent a week at the happiest
place on earth. This place is not Disneyland; it is an orphanage in a
small town, three hours outside of Mexico City. The orphanage is
called Casa San Salvador in Miacatlan, Mexico. I go there with an
organization called Nues-
tros Pequenos Hermanos
which raises awareness and
funding for eight orphanag-
es in Latin America and the
Caribbean. This trip is the
highlight of my summer.
Each of the more than 600
kids is amazing to spend
time with. Even though
most of them come from
battered homes or from life on the streets, they are the happiest kids
I have ever met. They are so happy, with so little, it makes me ap-
preciate how much I have. After each trip I come home and am
thankful for all the material goods I have, but also for my family.
While these kids have each other, most of them do not have parents.
I make the trip to support the kids, but what they do not know, is
that they teach me valuable life lessons, like how important family
is, and how thankful we should be for what we have. In my daily
life my appreciation of my family is not always visible; we get in
arguments and sometimes do not get along. But at the end of the
day I love them, and I tell them this so they know that I do appreci-
ate them. This experience with NPH has made me a more compas-
sionate person and has shaped my personality to be as such. Each
year I leave the orphanage in tears because of the deep love and
compassion I feel for the children and I miss them all year long. I
consider them to be a part of my family. These family members are
not blood relatives, but related through wonderful experiences. I
stay in special contact with two boys whom we have “adopted” and
financially support throughout the year. I come home from this trip
and give more of myself to my friends and family. I take all the
love and compassion I have for the kids and try to spread it around.
To do this I share my stories about the children and encourage peo-
ple to get involved with NPH. The kids have taught me that I
should appreciate all that have, especially all the people who care
about me. Because they have had such traumatic experiences and
difficult lives I know how lucky I am to grow up with a house and a
family who care about me.
- Lauren Domingues
2011 TEEN MISSION TRIP TO THE NPH ORPHANGE IN GUATEMALA Tuesday August 2nd –Wednesday August 10, 2011
35 teenagers, along with chaperones, will have the opportunity to sleep,
eat, work and participate in recreation with the orphans.
This trip will enable our teens to enter into another culture and language,
and more specifically, the lives of orphaned and abandoned children.
Contact Father Frank’s Kids for more information
Teen Trips to NPH
Who would have thought that an eight year old could
have such an impact on my life? Visiting my sponsor
child in Mexico was an incredible experience. I
learned so much from her humble life that it has
changed my outlook on life. The
moment I saw her grinning face
and welcoming arms I knew
immediately she was a happy
child living a great life. Spend-
ing the next few days with Mar-
garita opened my eyes to how
simple and sweet enjoying life
could be. It truly showed me
that there is no need for materi-
alistic possessions. As I said
before, we went into the trip
knowing we are to be big role models for the kids,
however I beg to differ; Margarita has been the role
model for me. She has helped me to realize the real
beauty of life and to value it for its simplicity.
- Isabel Bustamante
Page 7
Haiti
Providing Medical Care
As part of NPH’s mission to truly serve the needs of the
poorest children, Haiti National Director (and physician)
Father Rick Frechette started it’s first medical center in
1989. The new St. Damien Hospital in
Tabarre, a 45,000 square foot facility,
was opened in 2006. The hospital
provides high quality medical treat-
ment for disadvantaged and destitute
poor children in Haiti.
St. Damien’s has 120 beds, includ-
ing an 18-bed emergency unit, a 10-
bed pediatric intensive care unit, and
a nine bed cancer center.
The hospital is staffed with 18 pe-
diatricians, 50 nurses and 60 certified
nursing assistants, as well as eight lab
technicians, one x-ray technician and
three x-ray auxiliary technicians.
When the earthquake struck, St. Damien Hospital became a
trauma center, with sick patients lying in beds, on the lawns, and
anywhere they could fit a cot. The quake inflicted 20,000 orthope-
dic injuries. Teams of doctors, nurses, and other medical profes-
sionals from all over the world flew to St. Damien to help care for
the wounded. Within the first three weeks, the hospital attended to
over 10,000 adults and children.
Father Frank’s Kids
By the guidance of the HolySpirit I had a brief in-troduction to Chuck Haupt, executive director of Medshare. This is a non profit organization which collects medical discards at their two locations (Atlanta area and S.F. Bay area) from 300 hospitals. These discards are unused (often set up for a surgi-cal operation but not used). Medshare volunteers sort, mark and store the items and make them avail-able in places of need. Over the last 10 years, Med-Share has gathered more than $65 million worth of medical supplies and collected over 10,000 pieces of equipment. As a result of our meeting, Chuck flew to Haiti, visited our NPH hospital, and committed to send six 40’ containers of medical supplies chosen by our NPH staff. Through De-cember 5 containers have been sent to St. Damien’s Hospi-tal. The shipments have included hun-dreds of boxes of disposable supplies and pharmaceuticals that the St. Damien Hospital staff need to care for the chol-era patients they are treating. Also included were soaps, diapers, exam gloves, catheters, as well as pallets of medications, Pedialyte, and hand sanitizers. MedShare shipped much needed operating room equipment including a surgical table, anesthesia machine, and a portable x-ray unit.
- Dick Sanders
In the remnants and the destruction that surrounded us, we created new homes, built new hospitals and created new lives in the memory and in the inspiration of those we lost. When tragedy hit again and a cholera epidemic surged into Port-au-Prince, we summoned this resilience and strength to treat thousands of desperately sick patients. When the political unrest closed down all the hospitals in Port-au-Prince, we stayed open. We could not have done it without all those who rushed to help, who donated their time, money, energies and sup-plies and gave us their love, prayers and spirit. To those who filled us, and Haiti, with the sense that we could tri-umph over all of this and combat whatever lay ahead, we thank you.
- Father Rick Frechette
From Danville with love!
Responding to the urgent need
in Haiti during 2010:
St. Isidore School sent $12,000
St. Isidore Church sent $25,000
Father Franks Kids sent $13,000
Father Frank’s Kids also pur-
chased and sent seven tons of
rice and beans
Page 8
February 2012 Annual NPH Meeting in the Dominican
Republic
April 40 foot Container shipping to Honduras
July Parishioner Trip to NPH Mexico
Page 8
2011 Events
Father Frank’s Kids PO Box 478 Alamo, California 94507
Getting Involved
Would you like more information about Father Frank‟s Kids? Would you like to
know more about the children, see pictures or read past newsletters and articles
that have appeared in the newspapers? You can do this and more by going to the
Father Frank‟s Kids web page on the internet at:
www.fatherfrankskids.org
Now accepting donations
through PayPal.
On The Web
Co
nta
ct
Mike Hertel (925) 855-9407 [email protected]
August Teen Trip to NPH Guatemala
October
Fiesta with entertainers from El Salvador
40 foot Container shipping to El Salvador
If you’ve got a talent, a big heart and
some time to spare, then we’ve got a
job for you. We are looking for volun-
teers to help with:
Committee Chairs
Event Planning
Fund Raising
Graphic Artist
Marketing
Sponsorship Solicitation
Publications
Web Design
(You can also find us on Facebook)