Southeast Region
Founded in 2005 following the formation of the national Friends of the Orphans organization, the Southeast regional office is located in Miami, Florida. It encompasses the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee.
In addition to fundraising, the office obtains in-kind donations, such as new clothing, school and medical supplies, and health care items, from individuals and corporations and ships them to the Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (NPH, Spanish for "Our Little Brothers and Sisters") homes. In-Kind gifts mean less of each home’s budget is used for basic needs — freeing up funds for costly healthcare items, building maintenance, and other critical areas. If you are interested in making an in-kind donation, please contact Sherman Humphrey, Director of Corporate Relations and In-Kind Giving, at (305) 595-0025or shumphrey@friendsus.org.
Notes & News
Luncheon Raises Over $53,000
On Thursday, May 8, 2008, Friends of the Orphans Southeast Region hosted the 2nd Annual Faces of Hope Luncheon at the Coral Gables Hyatt Regency in Miami, Florida. 250 guests attended to learn more about the important work of Friends of the Orphans and Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (NPH, Spanish for "Our Little Brothers and Sisters"). Reinhart Köhler, co-founder of NPH Honduras and NPH International's Family Services Director, shared stories from his 23+ years of experience with NPH. In addition, Alfredo Benitez, who recently became the NPH Country Liaison based in Miami, spoke about his experiences growing up at NPH Mexico and working for the NPH organization.
Thanks to the help of the Southeast Regional Board and a network of local volunteers, over $53,000 was raised during the event! In addition, 20 attendees joined the Friends’ Child Sponsorship Program. As sponsors, they will provide on-going emotional and financial support for a child at an NPH home and have a long-term, direct impact on the child's life.
Our thanks to the Regional Board, event sponsors, volunteers and everyone who attended for making the luncheon a huge success!
Featured Friends
Kyra Abbott
Miracle of the Heart
This is the true story of a very blessed little girl named Yvrose (pronounced EveRose) Louis. She is the fourth born of five children and is five years old. Yvrose’s mother died three years ago, and her poor, peasant father was obliged to place his four youngest children into the Nos Petit Frères et Soeurs/Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (NPFS/NPH), French/Spanish for Our Little Brothers and Sisters, Haiti children’s home as he simply did not have the means to care for them on his own.
Yvrose was born with Tetrology of Fallot, a combination of four congenital heart problems that caused her heart to mix oxygen-rich and oxygen-poor blood together. This meant that her body was constantly oxygen deprived, and she would have ‘blue baby spells’ where she would become very air hungry and blue (cyanotic). Also as a result of her heart problem, Yvrose is quite tiny for her age as her heart could not support normal growth rates.
Yvrose was selected and sponsored for surgical repair (open-heart surgery) at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Hollywood, Florida, through the Rotary Club "Gift of Life" program. This surgery would give Yvrose the opportunity to live a more normal and active life, well into adulthood.
As a volunteer with NPFS/NPH Haiti and fluent Creole speaker, I was selected to serve as Yvrose’s "surrogate mommy" during her trip. Yvrose and I bonded really easily, and I know she was happy to have so much attention devoted solely to her. She is a very easy-going child, very bright, very warm, and very easy to love.
I am a Registered Nurse with a pediatric background, including pediatric emergency, and am used to seeing and caring for really sick children both in Canada and Haiti. But none of my previous experiences prepared me for the stress and emotions I would experience the day of Yvrose’s surgery. She was rolled into the operating room on the morning of January 24, 2007, and I had little doubt that anything would go wrong, but felt rather anxious nonetheless. I had been informed of the risks involved with the surgery and had signed her consent forms. Naturally, I felt responsible for her, and prayed for only the best outcome. It was a long five hours until I would see her again. Read more...