blog

Dear reader,                                                                                    

After the hectic period for Proniño, about which you could read in my previous letter, I am now happy to see that we can sail in smooth waters again. The quality of these waters has improved greatly.

I would like to indicate briefly what the current state of affairs is of the organizations supported by us, and I would like to lift a corner of the veil on our action Heroes for Homeless Child.

HOGAR SUYAPA

The nutrition center and the children’s home are advancing according to our wishes. An average of 25 children is housed simultaneously in the nutrition center as well as in the shelter.This year, some of the little ones have been adopted by Honduran and American parents. The space that was freed up was instantly taken by new children.

ASOCIACION HONDUREÑA DE LA MUJER Y FAMILIA ( AHMF )

In 2009 a dashing number of 168 women have followed a course; the courses on offer are very different, e.g. arranging flowers, making jewelry, molding, etc.

More than 140 women participate in the program for family planning and most of them are able to pay the – low – costs by themselves in the mean time.

Later this year, a pilot program will start, with three women starting a small company, supported by a micro credit. We are following this with the utmost interest.

Furthermore, basic activities are being continued unabated, i.e. sex education, women’s rights, etc.

PRONIÑO

The quality of the supplied care has significantly improved. The newly appointed director is a professional, experienced in working with juvenile gang members and street children. He is supported by a full time psychologist and daytime and nighttime attendants.The new administration has been put together in such a way that we expect good management. We are researching the possibility of engaging local service clubs and others in support for the  program

Because of the expanded and new education curriculum, the number of school going children has increased from 46 to 58 within a year!

All these improvements, positively supported by us, mean that costs have increased. This means that our – financial – obligations have increased as well.

THE NETHERLANDS

We announce proudly that we have a new website with the same address

www.homelesschild.org/en

We have a blog with much more regular news items, there are loads of pictures, and many texts have been rewritten and truncated.  We are also quite active on Facebook – see the link on the website’s home page.

Take a look for yourself!

I already told you that we have to focus on our increased financial obligations. Indeed, we have to gain 50% more income.

We ask you, as a friend of Homeless Child, if you would like to support us, so we can continue our work in the future as well.

With the motto Heroes for Homeless Child we propose you to campaign together with us.  What kind of campaigning?  Very soon, you will hear more of us!

On behalf of the children and women of Honduras and our complete team of friends, I send you

Our Warmest Regards

Homeless Child

Charles W. Duijne
Chairman

President’s Fall 2009 Newsletter

Dear reader of this letter,

The Homeless Child committee and its director have had a hot summer. The skies above our projects have cleared, and the future looks brighter than ever, so we think the time has come to fully inform you on the events of the last few months, in the spirit of our usual transparency. However, I will not – and do not want to – overwhelm you with details.

Our director and I are of course at your disposition for answers to your questions. Please contact me at 0544-372817 or cwduijne(at)planet.nl (email address has been formatted to avoid spam)

I would like to stress that the basic principle of all our actions and decision making has been that the interests of the children that need care should not be endangered.

The organizations we support, Hogar Suyapa – dietary centre and orphanage – and AHMF – education of women in the fields of sexuality, birth control and health – are running smoothly. Problems have arisen in Proniño, but luckily only in La Montana, the permanent housing unit.

What was the nature of these problems?

Because of the fast growth and professionalization of these centers (partly thanks to our efforts) the management in charge was not able to go along adequately with these developments. This led to gross mismanagement, which was covered up by the management in a less than decent manner; think intimidation of staff members, unjustified dismissals, abuse of local influence, lack of reporting, and destruction of unfortunate reports.

During May it came to our attention that a number of things did not quite add up. Our director, Bas Wiersma, who had just arrived in Honduras for his annual period of a couple of months of volunteer work, started to investigate thoroughly and diligently what we feared was going wrong. Bas encountered some heavy resistance and obstinacy from the management, and found some cautious support in dismissed ex-staff members and local authorities – the magistrate of the juvenile court, among others.

Consider the fact that the management consisted of husband and wife George and Betty Mealer, who founded these centers and who ran them for years in good conscience.

We always appreciated the emotion the married couple showed for not losing their brainchild. However, our director Bas has always had, and still has, strong emotional ties to our projects as well. What we feared was indeed true. There was some gross mismanagement. Together with our American sister organization ‘Proniño USA’ we declared that a great number of things should be improved within a determined timeframe.

We also declared that there was no more room for George and Betty on an institutional and/or managerial level. We used the suspension of our support – 70 per cent of the total income – after the determined period of time as leverage.

George and Betty declared not to resign and started a smear campaign against our director. They tried to apply their influence in several networks to keep their position.

It became clear to us that unveiling the truth on a local level was going to be very difficult.

Yet the evidence stacked up steadily, through testimonies of a growing number of experts and parties involved. These testimonies all have been captured in writing.

In the mean time, the local committee of the Proniño foundation had called in the Public Prosecutor, who relieved the management in charge of its duties posthaste, removed George and Betty, and confiscated the administration.

Furthermore, immediate action was taken to establish a temporary committee, in which the contributors would reside. This committee consists of five people, among which is our own Bas Wiersma. The temporary committee will appoint a new permanent committee, composed in a way that knowledge, authority, and independence are clearly discernible. The temporary committee is now appointing the new management and executives.

The future committee will comply with all wishes of the biggest contributors, being Homeless Child, Proniño USA, HIMS, and NOTS.

This has already been accomplished as we speak:

• Appointment of a full-time psychologist.
• Daily support for the management by INHFA (Honduran child protection service).
• More counselors for the children.
• An increased number of activities for the children, such as more sports and homework counseling.

You can clearly see that the care we offer has greatly improved.

I would like to compliment Bas Wiersma on the way in which he brought all this to a favorable conclusion in a calm and evenly manner. Well done, Bas.

I am happy and proud to inform you on these developments. The interests of the children have been guaranteed. The new composition of the committee and the management allows us to incorporate our interests better on the level of local projects.

In short, we have a much stronger position than before.

I hope your confidence in us will remain or increase after reading this letter.

I hope you will understand that the increasing quality of the care also implies that our costs will increase. I will come back to that in the future. We need your support as much as we always did.

Our – and your – Honduran children deserve this. Give them a chance.

I salute you, with gratitude,

Homeless Child

Charles W. Duijne

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your tremendous support. Whether you are a volunteer, a donor, a club, association, church or other kind of organization, we value your contribution and dedication. Your heartwarming support, donations, promotional activities and loyalty are encouraging to us all. You help us realize that we’re moving in the right direction.

We hope you will continue to support us.

In this letter I will comment on the projects we collaborated with in 2007. A new educational project for women’s sexuality, rights and birth planning was launched. This project links up smoothly with the other two, since the education is aimed at reducing the number of orphans and street children in the long run.

You have grown accustomed to receiving our plans for the years to follow. I am pleased to announce that our board will soon present a policy report up until 2012. You will receive those papers separately. Therefore, the plans for 2008 won’t be discussed at length.

Proniño

In 2007 we supported Proniño in developing and expanding their organization. As many as 80 children and youths are taken care of, 8 others have since left the program and returned to their homes or now lead an independent life as an adult.

• Homeless Child sends a fixed amount of 3.100$ (2.200 €) per month for operational costs, which is approximately 35% of Proniño’s total budget. We also make donations for certain projects and occasional support.

• In September as many as 7 children were chosen as best or most motivated pupils of their respective classes.

• An agriculture program was started to decrease the costs and offer education in a new trade.

• With help of Homeless Child a program was launched to make jewelry. The earrings, bracelets and necklaces are sold in the Netherlands, Honduras and the US. The proceeds are put in a savings account, and youngsters who aspire to further education, or would like to start their own business, can claim from this, when they leave the program.

• In October a building that was paid for by Homeless Child was opened to serve as an intermediate phase between rehabilitation and the permanent center with an open door policy, enabling a smoother transition

• The collaboration with Proniño has been further improved. The new assistant director and project manager are doing a terrific job.

• Unfortunately, Proniño hasn’t been able to find a new psychologist, but they and we continue to look for one.

• With a donation from www.moments-of-joy.org Proniño built a survival track which the children use for fun and to have competitions

Hogar Suyapa

After having given occasional support to this project for some years, we started a long term working alliance in 2006.

With a donation from Homeless Child we fixed the roof of the nutrition center, where an average 25 children are looked after at any given time.

• Thanks to donations from, among others, Rotary Winterswijk and student union Ichthus from Zwolle, along with a subsidy from the ‘Wilde Ganzen’ and from the Dutch government, we have been able to fund our biggest project yet: a second floor on the orphanage Hogar Suyapa. The housing capacity has thus grown from 24 to 60 children

• Homeless Child also financially supports this project by doubling each new local donation to a maximum of 6000 $ (4.500 €)

Asociacion Hondurena de a Mujer y Familia (AHMF)

To prevent single mothers giving birth to more children than they are able to care for, we’ve started a program on sex education and birth control. This program is offered in conjunction with a local organization and together we offer birth control remedies at a very affordable price. We hope to eventually lessen the local orphan and street children problem. Our first gift of 5.000 (3.600 €) was received in September and is meant to last for an initial six months.

By way of these 3 projects we try to work not only on prevention, but also to offer long term, durable support to children of all ages. All this work is concentrated on the city of El Progreso, and in this way we try to have a lasting positive impact on the local community, and to help to promote the local community’s own efforts and ideas.

The Netherlands

In May the third annual volunteer day was held. This time the manager of Hogar Suyapa was present, to seek funds and raise awareness for poverty.

Our director Bas Wiersma worked in Honduras for three months for the sixth consecutive year. He is involved in helping the existing projects to develop further and sees to it that all donations are used appropriately.

In the last year the number of structural donations has slightly increased, but not enough for Homeless Child to be able to cover all our monthly obligations. People who wish to become donors can now use a notary deed for full tax deduction of their gifts, if eligible under Dutch law.

Since August we’ve had a blog on our website where we share news on a regular basis. Readers are encouraged to comment or share their views.

Special thanks go out to a couple of people who have helped enormously. For instance, Cesar Gomez-Mora, who has been managing the website behind the scenes for the last four years. Christi Norde, who has been a volunteer for several years now, both in Honduras and the Netherlands. And we’d like to mention Greet and Gerrit Klein Kranenbarg, who will soon be working in Honduras for several weeks for the 4th year in a row.

A glance on the future

We are collaborating with www.lokaalmondiaal.net , preparing for a new educational documentary in Honduras to be made in 2008.

We would love to build a new home for abused girls, a group that is often forgotten. In order to realize this goal, however, we need funding guarantees, as well as sufficient expertise and support in Honduras.

On the 14th of January 2008, Homeless Child celebrates its fifth anniversary. We will not celebrate this event, but will take a moment to reflect on everything we have been trying to accomplish in the last five years with your help.

Thanks to everyone who supports us, an increasingly large group of children have more promising futures. We hope we can also depend on your help in the years to come.

The children from Honduras and all of the team members of Homeless Child sincerely wish you a merry Christmas and a happy, prosperous and healthy new year,

All the best for 2008.

As I said in my last message, nothing has changed in the use of your donations, 100% of the money is still donated to the projects in Honduras.

Dear friends, volunteers, donors, clubs, associations, churches and others, I thank you for your support.

In my last letter I indicated that our structural expenses were not balanced by our income. I am happy to announce that we have made progress and our structural income is growing. Also, two large donations are not included in this result. The enormous financial contribution of Rotary Winterswijk (more than 41.000 €) is something I am proud of. Thank you!

The Homeless Child board has decided to use its funds mainly to provide for operational costs during the next year and a half.

Events to date in 2007.

The Netherlands

• Tielke Ausems has stepped down as a secretary after working for our foundation for four years. We have thanked her personally and on your behalf. We, hopefully, have found someone to replace her, and we will let you know soon.

• The volleyball tournament organized by ICHTHUS studentenvereniging deserves special mention: having raised more than 9.000 € in one 24 hour sports event! Excellent, thank you.

• The director of the orphanage and nutrition center that we support has come to the Netherlands at her own expense. She has promoted their work and met many donors and volunteers.

• Following a Belgian initiative, we have started Feel Good Gift Netherlands (Dutch), together with Geef Gratis.

• We are looking for volunteers who can help us create a digital database and also those who can lend legal support for the creation of Feel Good Gift and anyone who can help us attract more visitors to the Homeless Child website. We are also looking for anyone that would like to work with the children in Honduras. Please contact us for all support and information.

In Honduras

Our director, Bas Wiersma, is spending three months in Honduras for the sixth consecutive year. He sees to it that funds are well spent, and that Homeless Child and our donors are well represented. We are happy to announce that our relationship with Proniño has much improved. Accountability and communication are now much stronger.

Hogar Suyapa

• On average 25 children are being cared for in the nutrition center and 20 children, mostly girls live in the orphanage.

• The construction of the second floor on the orphanage is progressing well. Homeless Child contributes 60.000 €, with the help of www.ncdo.nl and www.wildeganzen.nl. (English language websites)

• The nutrition center roof has been repaired and the new roof is strong and waterproof. This follows a contribution of 6.500 € from Homeless Child.

• We have decided to support Hogar Suyapa with a matching grant system. For each dollar raised in Honduras, Homeless Child will donate another dollar. Maximum 6.000 $. Donors are limited to private and small businesses.

Proniño

• 75 boys aged 8 to 17, currently live here. Six have finished the program and are free of drugs. Now that the program is becoming stronger, we strive to offer the future alumni’s more education and independence.

• The new project manager is working well. We will pay half his salary.

• Homeless Child finances a deserved salary increase and bonus system, a psychotherapy program, and part of a two-step rehabilitation program. This represents around 12.000 € annually.

• www.moments-of-joy.org (English language website) has donated a military- style obstacle course to improve team-building and personal development. It has proved to be a huge success. Team spirit and physical condition are much improved.

• We help to finance extra classes to help to speed up the children’s learning.

• We have pledged 3.500 $ for maintenance this year.

• We support a good vocational training program that is adapted to the local market. Proniño is working on an agriculture program to lower costs of food and to offer agricultural education.

• Homeless Child is investigating if we can support a micro-enterprise system to help alumni’s reintegrate into society in the future.

And to finish

Homeless Child has grown and the number of children that we support has grown as well. The cost per child has reduced slightly and our resources are being used as efficiently as possible. It is essential that our growth guarantees structured support to the children.

Dear friends, you have all contributed to this. In name of the children and the board of Homeless Child I thank you all!

Warm Regards

Charles W. Duijne

President