Doing What It Takes
A lesson on the dedication of Unbound staff worldwide
By Erin Coleman
May 26, 2021 | 40 Years 40 Lessons
Our co-founder Bob Hentzen coined a phrase to describe the rugged landscapes where families in our programs often live: “Unbound begins where the paved road ends.” In this case, not only did the pavement disappear, the roads themselves did, turning first to sheets of mud and then rivers of murky water. The storms displaced more than 5,000 families in the Philippines, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and Mexico.
In the Philippines, the water rose to the roofs of homes in communities of both Unbound beneficiaries and staff members. Together, families assisted their neighbors using life vests, boats and rescue training provided by parents of sponsored members through Agents of Change grants. Meanwhile, in Guatemala and Honduras, staff distributed packages of food, water and other necessities to families living in shelters.
In Mexico, staff and families gathered in a region five hours away from serious flooding to donate whatever they could spare for the families in most dire need. After gathering about 100 bags of provisions, the teams loaded up a truck and drove toward the floods. When the streets ended in standing water, they switched to boats, navigating them between the damaged homes and businesses of small towns.


Photo 1: Prakash Reddy, who worked with Unbound from 1992 until his retirement recently, helped to coordinate communication between sponsors and sponsored friends in Hyderabad, India.
Photo 2: Purity Wanja, a staff member in Unbound’s Meru program in Kenya, records a parent’s responses for an evaluation gauging families’ awareness of child protection policies.
Our Unbound teams on the ground around the world have experience with natural disasters, having walked with and worked with families before, during and after disasters. Approximately 2,000 social workers, correspondence experts, translators, accountants, coordinators and others work for Unbound in Asia, Africa and Latin America, all local experts who grew up and are familiar with the community and their challenges. In fact, many Unbound staff members around the world were once sponsored or had Unbound scholarships, and chose to serve their communities after they graduated.


Photo 1: Malou Navio, pictured here in her office in Antipolo, Philippines, oversees all Unbound programs in the Philippines in support of more than 46,000 sponsored children and elders.
Photo 2: Yenifer Tatiana Valencia Morales, an Unbound social worker and former sponsored member, is seen here with the motorcycle she uses to zip around neighborhoods in Medellin, Colombia. Yenifer was featured in Pope Francis’ book, “Sharing the Wisdom of Time.”


Photo 1: Staff member Amos Kihoro (right) congratulates Unbound scholar Michael on his educational successes. Amos coordinates the scholarship program and Unbound Awareness Trips in Nairobi, Kenya.
Photo 2: Menphis Rodriguez Moron (left), Unbound staff member from Santa Cruz, Bolivia, listens to and learns from Lucy, the mother of sponsored youth Anny, as they walk together.


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