I support NPH because they are my family and my home…

 

Below is a reflection written by sponsor and Mid-Atlantic/Northeast Junior Board member Caroline Swenson.

 

I love to travel, but for some reason whenever I leave home there is always a lingering sense of homesickness in the pit of my stomach. The feeling lasts throughout the plane ride, and usually the first few days of any trip. However, traveling to NPH DR is different. The instant I step onto the grounds, through the blue painted gates, I feel like I am home. Each year I am humbled by every single kid I share a smile with. The amount of love encompassed in that one home is incredible. Words will never be able to describe the feeling you get when a kid sprints up to you, shouting your name with the biggest smile on their face after a year of separation. Or the feeling of the tightest, warmest, most loving hug you get before you are forced to drag your feet back into the visitor house for the night. The feeling of knowing that you are unconditionally loved by this enormous family is a feeling I never want to lose.

 

 

There are so many reasons why I support NPH. I support NPH because of these memories, and millions of others. I support NPH because I support opportunities, and that is exactly what NPH gives to deserving kids. I support NPH because I believe in the smiles and giggles and genuine happiness I see when I visit the Dominican Republic every year. I support NPH because they are my family and my home, and I know for a fact that every time I am dragged onto the plane back to the US, the homesickness is a thousand times worse than before.