Esperanca, Inc.

Since our founding in 1970, Esperança has strived to impact the lives of the underserved. Focusing on the areas of food security, clean water, housing improvement, health education, and disease prevention, Esperança aims to empower communities by creating sustainable, quality of life improvements. We have found it most effective to provide people with tools to have a positive impact on their lives, because we believe our work is most effective partnering with communities in a collaborative effort to have a positive impact on health. We provide communities with resources and information that will allow them to change their own lives. In turn, our partner communities choose their own priorities thereby ensuring self-determination. Esperança currently partners with non-governmental organizations in Bolivia, Mexico, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Peru, and Phoenix, AZ. Internationally, surgeons travel to volunteer their time in medical missions to train local staff; communities take charge of construction tasks when we partner to build homes and water systems; agricultural projects utilize local farmers; in Phoenix and internationally, members of the community conduct health prevention education. This model translates into communities being transformed by promoting and teaching lasting change.

Esperança seeks to improve health outcomes by implementing a variety of initiatives across our seven sites, currently consisting of, Bolivia, Mexico, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Peru, Ecuador, and Phoenix. We create partnerships with locally run non-governmental organizations that are based in the countries and communities with work with. In doing this, we are able to create sustainable change empowering those in the community. Our partners are responsible for deciding their priorities annually which determine the direction of heath and development projects. In addition, Esperança incorporates its partners’ strategic plans into our own. Since our inception, our surgical teams have conducted more than 16,000 surgeries in Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, and Nicaragua. Our volunteer doctors are able to create sustainable change by training local medical staff providing them with the tools to continue care for patients seen, in addition to imparting knowledge to local doctors and staff that allow them to conduct future surgeries on their own. In Peru, Nicaragua, Bolivia, and Mozambique, our local partners are building or improving water systems to improve access to clean water and sanitation in a variety of ways, such as installing wells for drinking water and building latrines. Our annual shipment to our partners in Nicaragua provides them with 1.8 million dollars’ worth of donated medical supplies. The international food security and nutrition programs provide community members with the necessary training to plant and cultivate crops to improve peoples’ diets and provide additional income for families in Bolivia, Nicaragua, Mozambique and Peru. Disease prevention and treatment is a critical tool to improving health both in our international sites, and in cooperation with our local partners in Phoenix, AZ. Obesity and oral health are national issues that are affecting underserved communities at alarming rates. Community educators are key to implementing our evidence-based curricula for families in the underserved communities of Phoenix. Community educators are used in our international sites as a way to provide individuals with the tools to avoid preventable illnesses such as Chagas, malaria, cholera, HIV/AIDS, respiratory infections, diarrheal diseases and maternal and infant health internationally and oral health and obesity prevention in the USA.

Esperança is uniquely positioned to work with a number of countries and communities. Since 1970, we have operated in fourteen countries, giving us the expertise necessary to carry out our current work and prepare for future projects. Our model identifies locally run community partners who have a clear understanding of their community’s needs, and with our assistance, they are able to effectively implement projects for the most vulnerable communities. In addition, our model of partnering with a variety of community organizations allows us to think both strategically and innovatively about the delivery of services and the development of new projects. We continually seek out new partnerships to strengthen our services and explore the development of new projects that will transform lives. International and domestic staff bring a wide background of expertise, including the delivery of culturally appropriate education, a critical tool in effectively communicating with the communities we serve. For our international and domestic programs we have formed partnerships with a number of organizations including the Parson’s Murphy Pediatric Dental Clinic, Mission of Mercy, Arizona State University, Mayo Clinic, Maricopa Community Colleges, Project Cure, Desert Mission, Stryker Sustainability Solutions, Hospital Victoria Motta, Westech Recyclers, City of Phoenix, local health departments, and a number of elementary school districts. These partnerships allow us to form collaborations insuring optimal delivery of services. Esperança has been in operation for more than 44 years proving that we utilize a sustainable model for the delivery of services. Our annual operating budget comes from diverse sources including grants, private donations, and gains on our endowment.

Esperança is planning to expand its programming to further impact communities in need. Domestically, we are exploring the development of multi-layered classes for adults building on our current curriculum that will focus on preparing culturally appropriate meals to include physical activity and community gardening, in order to better address issues of nutrition and obesity. Our domestic program is also looking to offer its services to additional communities, including expansion in communities currently served, to better address the obesity epidemic in young, underserved children. Oral health education is an integral part of the overall health of the communities we serve. We are exploring the expansion of our education to extended areas of Phoenix. Internationally, we hope to develop deeper partnerships with our current partners where we have made significant strides in tackling health issues, to further the reach to other communities not currently being served.