Honduras, Meet NPH:
New public relations office hard at work
December 25, 2008 - Honduras
Founded in 1986, our home here in Honduras is the second oldest of all nine NPH homes. Despite having been around for over 20 years, there are still many people and organizations throughout Honduras who have never heard of Rancho Santa Fe. One reason for this may be that the vast majority of NPH’s funding comes from donors throughout Europe and the United States, insulating the organization from contact with entities it would otherwise depend on. Change, however, is on the way. | |  | |
HSBC Bank employees help beautify gardens for our children at Casa Angeles to enjoy.
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In April we created a formal public relations office in the capital city of Tegucigalpa to promote NPH throughout Honduras and strengthen relationships with organizations in both public and private sectors interested in supporting our home and our children. We are excited about this office and its potential for bringing in extra support for our home, especially during a time of such economic instability abroad.Though we have always been an international organization, and would not exist without the generosity and hard work of our thousands of supporters abroad, we strongly believe in the potential of our little country and the Honduran people to take the responsibility to care for their own. Through our public relations efforts, we aim to more directly involve Honduran businesses, government agencies and other NGOs in our work here, inviting them to join us as partners in providing a future for these children. One way we have been doing this is through establishing community partnerships inviting businesses to involve their employees in service projects with our home. On Saturday, November 15th, 60 employees from HSBC Bank came to visit Casa de los Angeles, our home for disabled children in Tegucigalpa. These young people, along with CEO, Jonathan Hartley, and his wife, Yvonne, worked on various service projects in our home, and brought donations for our children. It was a really special experience for all as the employees got to know our home and spend time with our children, proving their company’s commitment to social responsibility and community building. Mrs. Hartley continues to support our children and has become a godmother to Cesar, one of our special young men who just completed his 15th birthday. Through this partnership with HSBC Bank we will be placing donation containers at over 20 different locations to inform people of our work and bring in extra funding. We look forward to deepening this partnership with HSBC and other businesses in the capital area. Other achievements we are proud of this year include securing a special government donation toward the purchase of educational materials for our children and being one of the organizations nominated for the Honduran government’s “Human Rights Award” for 2008. Throughout the year local and national newspapers have published articles about our projects, introducing NPH to many who had never heard of our home before. We also will hold our first fundraising dinner in January, giving us the opportunity to share our mission with 60 important public figures and locate national godparents for our children. Aside from building relationships with potential donors, our coordinator has been developing partnerships with other NGOs. As she shares, “The idea is not just to raise more funds and receive more help for our home but also to get our name out there for the kids who need us—to send the message that our doors are open.”
Patricia Graham
Home Correspondent
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