A MESSAGE FROM OUR FOUNDER
Dear Friends,
The origins of Nueva Esperanza del Norte are rooted in a 1986 PBS documentary featuring the folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary in a commentary on the little known troubles in El Salvador and Nicaragua. Both countries had been experiencing great economic, political and social unrest which led to civil wars with atrocities and suffering occurring on each side. The PBS commentary left a powerful image within me as to how such destructive forces born out of despair and greed leave children without parents, parents without children and families without homes.
In 1990 still moved by that documentary, I traveled to El Salvador as the civil war was winding down. From a very modest orphanage setting in Zacatecoluca, El Salvador, I brought back 4 year old “Julito” to join his adopted mother Diana, and 6 year old sister Jessie…our family. He was a child of the civil war.
Since then I returned to El Salvador a few times and each time I would observe a country of great economic impoverishment and social contradictions, but undeniably I would see a spirit of its people as remarkable as the landscapes that surround them.
When I returned in 2005, I attended the high school graduation of a young Salvadoran woman my family had come to know through an introduction made by a Maryknoll lay missionary. The high school graduate was Marta, a bright and talented young woman with but very limited prospects. She too was a child of the civil war.
Motivated by the desire to effect positive change, Nueva Esperanza del Norte Inc. was soon founded to provide educational opportunities in the United States for talented Central American students.
Today we celebrate that three children of the civil war, Marta, Maribel and Samuel, under the auspices of Nueva Esperanza del Norte, Inc., are enrolled in university programs in upstate New York. Marta and Maribel are at Skidmore College and Samuel is a student at SUNY Canton. Their commitment, their passion, is to return to their home communities, becoming agents of change and beacons of hope for a spirited people who have suffered greatly.
Marta, Maribel and Samuel are pioneers in this project, enveloped by courage and driven by desire. Their families back home, in Mejicanos, wait with pride and gratitude, for the hope created, and the hope shared, by these children of the civil war and the friends of our organization.
In closing, I'd like to extend a personal thanks to:
Tony and Peg Mangano and family for opening their hearts and home
The Staff at Adirondack Community College
Sasha Diamond-Lenow, Skidmore Intern and Volunteer (immense appreciation for working so closely with Marta and Maribel)
The Staff at Green Mountain College
The Staff at St. Lawrence University
The Staff at Siena College (particular thanks to Brother Brian whose guidance was critical)
Double H Hole in the Woods Camp (who got us rolling in 2006 by employing students)
Special recognition and thanks to our volunteer Board of Directors who have shared and supported the vision
The benefactors of time, money and talent whose contributions really did make a difference
Now, the work of Nueva Esperanza del Norte, Inc., must continue because we believe that A World of Change Can Change the World.
Fondly,
Kevin O'Brien
President, Board of Directors
Nueva Esperanza del Norte, Inc.
3831 Main Street
Warrensburg, NY 12855
518.623.2144