Founded by Father William B. Wasson in 1954 in Mexico, Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (NPH), Spanish for ‘Our Little Brothers and Sisters,’ is St. Damien Pediatric Hospital’s parent organization. NPH transforms the lives of orphaned, abandoned and disadvantaged children with homes, healthcare and educational programs, making a positive impact in Latin America and the Caribbean. Currently, NPH is raising more than 3,200 children and providing scholarships, meals and healthcare services to an additional 2,300 children in nine countries (Haiti, Bolivia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Peru). Annually, NPH provides more than 100,000 services through community outreach programs.

 

In 1988, NPH opened its Haiti program as Nos Petits Frères et Sœurs (NPFS), French for ‘Our Little Brothers and Sisters. While the initial goal of NPH/NPFS was to build a permanent home for orphaned and abandoned children, a great number of the children being served were dying from treatable illnesses, demonstrating a desperate need for a hospital that could treat chronic and other debilitating pediatric illnesses. In response, in 1989, Father Rick Frechette, CP, D.O., a priest and medical doctor, co-founded St. Damien Pediatric Hospital.