Unsere kleinen Brüder und Schwestern

Father William B. Wasson, founder of OUR SMALL BROTHERS AND SISTERS

"Bringing hope and dignity to the lives of those who feel helpless and abandoned is one of the most generous and inspiring tasks to which one can devote one's life."
– Father William B. Wasson (1923 - 2006)

Father William B. Wasson was born on December 21, 1923, in Phoenix, Arizona. He had always been concerned about the plight of the poor. He graduated with a degree in law and social sciences from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He then traveled to Mexico, where he was ordained a priest by the Bishop of Cuernavaca in 1953. Soon after, he founded a daycare center for poor children. A year later, he took a boy out of prison who had stolen money from the collection box because he was hungry. Padre Wasson took the boy into his care, along with eight others who were in his cell. That was the beginning of "Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos™" (NPH), Spanish for OUR LITTLE BROTHERS AND SISTERS.

• What we do

  • Health

  • Education

  • Nutrition and Sustainability

  • Neighborhood assistance

  • Children with disabilities

  • St. Damien Children's Hospital

  • Where we work

How it all began...

It all began in August 1954 with a street boy in Mexico who had stolen money from the collection box in Padre Wasson's church to satisfy his hunger. Padre Wasson asked to be allowed to take the boy in to save him from prison. The next day, the juvenile court judge sent more children into his care. A week later, there were eight, and by the end of the year, 32 street children were living with him. Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos™ (NPH), Spanish for "OUR LITTLE BROTHERS AND SISTERS," was born.

More than 20,000 children have found a home in our family so far. Children's villages have now been established in eight other countries: Honduras, Haiti, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Peru, and Bolivia. Currently, around 2,500 children are growing up in this loving and protected environment.

The volunteer program

The volunteer program at OUR SMALL BROTHERS AND SISTERS offers various opportunities to get involved. We invite people from all walks of life to join us in our efforts to give orphaned or homeless children a life of dignity. The most important requirements are a willingness to integrate into the community and an open heart and mind.

Our program offers volunteers a variety of professional, personal, and intercultural experiences that would be difficult to gain elsewhere. Volunteers are extremely important to us as they support our staff and serve as caregivers for our children.

Our volunteers have the opportunity to use their skills and knowledge to help others. We often have highly qualified people coming to us who we could hardly afford to pay or who would be impossible to find in the country itself. In addition, volunteers always bring new ideas and perspectives that prove helpful in working with our local staff to accomplish our daily tasks.

• How you can help

  • Donations

  • Volunteering

  • Bequests

  • Sponsorship

Thanks to your help, in 2024 we were able to...

... provide training for over 5,200 children and young people , with 300 young people graduating from our workshops and vocational schools.

... help families in the surrounding area over 70,000 times as part of our neighborhood programs .

... lovingly care for around 400 children and adults living with chronic illnesses and/or disabilities at NPH.

... help women and children around 55,700 times in our St. Damien Children's Hospital in Haiti.

... conduct over 18,000 medical consultations in our health centers.

Office and foundation headquarters: Altenhofstrasse 46, 8008 Zurich
Management Switzerland: Mr. Guido Mühlemann
Auditor: PricewaterhouseCoopers AG, St. Gallen
Supervisory authority: Swiss Federal Supervisory Authority for Foundations (ESA)
Member of proFonds, umbrella organization of charitable foundations in Switzerland