even be called an extended family. It is actually a community with life-centered values, characterized by a spirit of cooperation and responsibility." The Homes Miacatlán, Mexico, opened in 1954, with over 430 children (an additional 140 attend a vocational high school in Cuernavaca) Rancho Santa Fe, Honduras, opened in 1985, with over 400 children (an additional 100 live and study in Tegucigalpa) Kenscoff, Haiti, opened in 1987, with over 430 children (an additional 350 from the Kenscoff community attend the onsite school; NPH also operates a home, school, pediatric hospital, rehabilitation center, and higher education program in Tabarre) Jinotepe, Nicaragua, opened in 1994, with over 250 children (an additional 175 are supported through scholarships or live in student homes in Managua) Parramos, Guatemala, opened in 1996, with over 300 children (an additional 150 are external students) Texistepeque, El Salvador, opened in 1999, with over 300 children (additional university students live in student homes in Santa Ana) San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic, opened in 2003, with over 230 children San Vicente de Cañete, Peru, opened in 2004, with over 100 children Portachuelo, Bolivia, opened in 2005, with over 100 children History The first home was established in Mexico by an American priest, Father William Wasson, after a fifteen-year-old boy was arrested for stealing from the poor box of a small church in Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico. Father Wasson didn’t press any charges, instead asking for the boy’s custody. By the end of the year he had 32 children living at a small rented house, which became known as Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos. Wasson solicited funding and food for the home, traveling extensively to procure funds for his ever-growing family until his death in 2006. A hurricane in Honduras prompted Wasson to aid in the relief efforts by founding a second children's home in that country. Wasson then targeted Haiti, one of the most impoverished countries in the world, building a home higher up in the mountains, away from the abject poverty of the city streets. Houses were then built in Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and the Dominican Republic. To date over 16,000 children have been cared for in NPH homes in the countries of Honduras, Haiti, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Peru, Bolivia, and Mexico. In Haiti, the poorest country, NPH also built the largest pediatric hospital of the Caribbean area, "St Damien", thanks to father Richard Frechette. This facility