The Love of Family

Dina* was 10 years old when she arrived at NPH El Salvador and found the loving, stable family she had never had.

Dina graduating from high school Reported by Carmina Salazar
Communication and Project Coordinator, NPH El Salvador

May 17, 2017

Dina* shared a small house with her mother and sisters; she did not know anything about her father. One day, her mother took the girls to the house of a woman who was their neighbor and left them there. Dina was six years old then and she had a feeling that something bad was about to happen. As a matter of fact, she was right. Her mother had left the country in order to look for work and she had promised her neighbor to help her with money so that she could take care of the girls. Unfortunately, her mother never sent anything.

The woman grew tired of having the girls with her without receiving any compensation, so she decided she could no longer care for them. Luckily, an uncle of the girls found out about the situation and took the girls in. There, Dina spent the following five years of her life. She attended school and made friends. She remembers that her best friend cried a lot when she found out Dina’s life was going to change in 2009.

That year, Dina moved to NPH along with her sisters. She was 10 years old when she arrived and she found a new family who received her with love. Dina continued studying and learning; she joined the dance group and found out she is naturally talented to dance folklore music! She was so good that she got to travel to the United States to represent NPH El Salvador three times.

With time, Dina realized that NPH is the family she never had when she was little. The NPH family has celebrated with her important milestones in her life like her quinceañera and her high school graduation. “I am aware that if I had not entered NPH, my life would have been very different. Once, I ran into the girl who used to be my best friend in third grade, the one who cried a lot when I moved to NPH, and she told me she had not finished her studies and that she had two babies and was pregnant at the moment. I care for my friend and it was hard for me to see her in that condition. I was very thankful for my life in that moment because I could appreciate everything I have received at NPH. Even though my mother abandoned us to live in another country, I had everything I needed when I was growing up. I am currently doing my year of service and I want to continue studying at the university; I know I am able to do it because NPH has made me believe in myself.”

“I might not have a normal family, like everyone else, but I have received the love of an extended and diversified family who has been there to support me in every aspect of my life. I am very thankful with my NPH family because they have shown me that they love me.”

*Name changed for privacy purposes.

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Photo above: Dina graduating from high school. Photos below: Dina when she arrived at NPH; Dina during a presentation of the dance group in Santa Ana; Dina (right) with her older sister at her 9th grade graduation.