The Three C's of Cadanino Children, Caregivers and Culture

  As you may know we believe that our job is to help the three legged stool. So often we are focused exclusively on the children. That is natural and of utmost importance. We believe we as an organization focus too little on the caregivers. After a period of almost two years we are once again experiencing high turnover of nurses aides (nineras).   This is good and bad.

  Our plan for employing nineras is to give single Mom's a job and a start in their work careers. As such,  we show them a non-binding contract when they start work letting them know that the job is only for six months. We try to remind them that the objective is for them to quickly find better and permanent employment. At present we have three people who are with us about 2 years. And others are here over a year.  The plan for this to be a first step on a career needs to be reviewed and enhanced.

  While the present turnover is likely a good thing it is also a source of disappointment and frustration. As the foundation only employs about 8% of the work force at the center,  the over all morale and teamwork has been suffering. I'm not at liberty to divulge much about the many problems the center
has,  but feel free to contact me with questions of specifics.

  We plan to use this time of change and upheaval to learn and grow the program. We need to offer more comprehensive development plans for the  nannies.  Please pray for All...

The Three C's Children Caregivers and Culture.

Back to Cadanino

Great to be back here. Flew in at 1:00 pm ate a quick lunch and went to see the kids. All are well Aaron is doing better. He is skinny, but consuming Ensure and regaining his strength. Gershom is much better since his stomach surgery. They took out part of his intestine and he was hospitalized for a month. He is back to his cheery gregarious self.
A few disappointments and conflicts here and there, but all in all a good start to the new year!

Whew... what a year...

Carmen Maria put together this presentation - Very Compelling imho


Brochure Presentation

From the Family of my dear friend and Mentor -

               Life's Lessons-

  This is the letter of tribute that Tod's four daughter's wrote about their Mom and Dad.
Their Dad, Tod Parrott was one of my best friends and a business mentor and coach to me.

What They Taught Us: Tod and Peggie’s 26.2 Miles of “Lessons for Life” 

(By The Parrott Girls)

Mile 1: Show Up.  Mom and Dad were always there.  Every sports game, race, wedding, funeral, and more. They always showed up.

Mile 2: Teamwork:  Like a sport, Mom and Dad ran our family household by emphasizing that everyone plays a part and has an important role. Each role is vital to the rest of the team. Each of us was vital to the success of the whole. 

Mile 3: Be Proactive and Go for It.  Use your drive. Dad and Mom always had an incredible vision. For work. For family. And for our futures. 

Mile 4: Always Request a Round Table.

Mile 5: Be the First to Say Hello.  Never wait for someone else to see you. Be the first to make eye contact, approach, say hello and engage. They first taught this to us when we were the “new kids” on the playground after our move. We still put this life lesson into action as adults. 

Mile 6: Laugh.  Laugh a lot. 

Mile 7: Read.  Read a lot. 

Mile 8: Be Brave and Be a "Stand Up Gal." 

Mile 9: Be Generous.   Each of us had the honor of working side by side with Dad on the Bonfire Foundation's mission. We had a front row seat to see his generosity and it's after effects on people and the world. 

Mile 10: Never Underestimate the Impact of Any Encounter.  Dad flew in to meet Colleen at one of Joe's tournaments. He landed and took a 45 minute cab ride to the golf course. The cabbie had a picture of his daughter on the dashboard; so Dad asked about her.  Dad could tell he was a good father. He followed up with the cab driver the next week and gave him a Bonfire application to pass along to his daughter.  Bonfire put her through college. 

Mile 11: Love.  Base everything you do in love. Dad and Mom taught this one by action. 

Mile 12: Family First.   Family always comes first. 

Mile 13: Second Chances.   Give them out often. 

Mile 14: Embrace the Unknown.   Dad and Mom were so brave to move our family across the country. With the foundation of many other life lessons including love, family first, and taking risks, they taught us to embrace the unknown... to not be afraid. 

Mile 15: Respect Your Spouse.   Mom and Dad had a beautiful mutual respect for each other which was the base for their deep love.   44 full years of love. 

Mile 16: Experiences.  Mom and Dad gave the best gift - travel.  We gained the best education through the experiences on those fun family trips.  They took us on the concord and on a cruise through the Panama Canal.   We also travelled to Greece, Australia, Barbados, Bermuda, Ireland, Scotland, London, France, Germany, Austria, and Costa Rica.

Mile 17: Faith.  They taught us to continue to develop ours.  

Mile 18: Unshakable Optimism. 

Mile 19: Support.  For our life choices - incredibly enthusiastic support. 

Mile 20: Be True to Yourself

Mile 21: Go the Distance. Ok we are at mile 21.  This could be the official "wall" for some people in a marathon. Everything starts to hurt. Dad and Mom taught us to power through and “go the distance.”  

Mile 22: Don't Give Up. 

Mile 23: Stand Back Up.   And if you fall.... Just simply stand back up. Just get back up. Dad had some experiences in his professional life that beat him down. But true to Mom and Dad’s life lesson for us, he learned from from the fall and then he got back up. 

Mile 24: Lighten Up.  This is a beautiful trait that Kristen and Traci inherited from dad. If one of us got a little too emotional or took life a little too seriously, dad would remind us to lighten up by coming up with one of his clever, witty comments. He often managed to turn our tears of sadness into tears of laughter.

Mile 25: Keep your Heart Big.

Mile 26: Ask for Forgiveness not Permission.     

Mile 26.2: Give peanuts in the shells, black licorice, and raw onions a chance (Just a few of Dad's favorites.)

Another Day another terrific activity for the Kids

  The wonderful people of Picadilly Restaurants invited the kids of Fundaninos to a Christmas party at their flagship store. It was a great time for everyone!!

In my other life...

  I play a financial executive with an expertise in Performance Measurement for Money Management Industry. It is an honor to be involved with the First Rate Investment Company in Arlington, Texas.
Their annual user conference has turned into one of the most important events in the Performance Measurement industry.

Arlington, TX, December 19, 2011 – First Rate today announced 
Jamie Waller as its 2012 First Rate Performance Conference distinguished moderator. Mr. Waller has substantial knowledge of the performance measurement industry and is recognized as a thought leader in performance reporting, portfolio construction, compliance, technology and operations.

Taking place at the Four Season Resort and Club Dallas on March 26^th and 27^th, First Rate’s 2012 Performance Conference provides a great opportunity to stay abreast of industry trends, learn more about First Rate solutions and network with peers in the performance measurement industry.

This exclusive two-day event examines and explores a wide range of performance measurement topics that are sure to be valuable to both current and future First Rate Performance clients with presentations and contributions by acknowledged leaders in the wealth management and financial services industries.

For more information about the 2012 Performance Conference, speakers or agenda, please visit:

http://www.firstrate.com/investmentperformanceconference2012.

Fundaninos 15 year olds Party and 18 year olds!!

  A wonderful extravaganza giving these kids a chance to celebrate their special birthdays like kids from intact middle class families. This well planned and beautiful event allowed several young woman to wear beautiful, new and special formal gowns to celebrate a rite of passage.  Probably similar to a sweet sixteen party in the States. A Quincenaro is a 15 year olds party and often parents spend more on this event than any other single event in a daughter's life. In Latin countries it is HUGE??

One year anniversary of Father Rocco's passing

This morning Father Michael Della  Penna  celebrated a very moving and meaningful Mass to commemorate the one year anniversary of the death of Father Rocco.
Father Rocco Famiglietti was an amazing Franciscan Priest who had a huge impact on the children in this country with so much poverty. His vision created the lasting legacy of
   Valley of the Angels 












Father Rocco Famiglietti, OFM

                   1919 - 2010





Father Rocco was a Franciscan Friar of the Immaculate Conception Provence for more than 60
years.  He lived in various parts of Central America, primarily Guatemala, where he saw first hand the
devastating effects poverty, sickness and lack of education had on the young. 
From his early days as  a missionary, formed by  faith, he sought to create a place to meet the needs of the forgotten children.  Focusing on their integral human development, he founded the Valley of the
Angels Orphanage which opened in January 1993 with 26 children.  When he passed away on December  18, 2010 the Orphanage had over 200 children.  
Papa Rocco has left us a legacy of love, supported by  solid education and good moral teaching.

Thank you! The Village Church and the June Missions Team !!

  The donations arrived!!  A suitcase weighing over 100 lbs filled with educational materials!!
Wow. Some really great and appropriate teaching tools. God is good. We are also very thankful for the financial  donations that arrived at the same time. But the best present of all was your  "presence."  In fact, presence is always a better gift than presents. Everbody still asks for you and asks when you are coming back. What a wonderful week that was.
The materials will be put to good use and they are very much appreciated!!


Merry Christmas !!

Please pray for Juan Pablo.

  He's been in the hospital for three weeks. He nearly died from a mass in his intestines.  He is still unable to eat and the mass may have been cancerous. He is one of our kids who happens to be in his early forties.  He's a pretty nice kid and had lived  with a foster family prior to be sent back into the "system."