Who We Are

GET TO KNOW US!

Our Mission

It is the mission of Little Angels of Honduras (LAH) to reduce infant mortality in Honduras by assisting with the provision of optimal conditions for pregnancy, birth and newborn care. LAH is a publicly funded entity that supports national education and perinatal policy change.

 

Our Vision:

The vision of Little Angels of Honduras is to provide generations of parents in Honduras with the gift of hope and the ability to take their babies home in their arms.

 

Our Values

Little Angels of Honduras is a faith-based organization, but it adheres to a non-proselytizing policy. Our values are the following:

Respect for life: LAH defends the sanctity of human life.

Affordable access to health care: LAH believes that access to health care is a human right, and thus should be made affordable at a price that all individuals, regardless of socioeconomic status, are capable of accessing.

Local Incarnation: LAH strives to be incarnate in the society in which it provides services through formal relationship with the government, cooperation with the Ministry of Health, and pervasive network building. It is integral to the vision of LAH that local leadership participate and excel in reducing the country’s maternal-infant mortality.

Education: LAH pursues the education of:

  • Young women to prevent adolescent pregnancy.
  • Mothers during both the prenatal and postnatal period.
  • Primary caregivers who provide small community care.
  • Nurses and doctors who provide specialized perinatal care.

Partnership:

LAH believes firmly that partnership is essential to success and therefore seeks to partner with both public and private entities whose mission complements that of LAH.

Our Story

A word from our co-founder, Katie Castro:

“On March 19th, 2013, my daughter Lily was born with multiple birth defects that required medical intervention. She was born in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, where my husband and I were serving as missionaries. Unfortunately, although we were unaware of it at the time, Honduras’ high infant mortality rate is most closely associated with their incapacity to give adequate care to babies born needing additional intervention. Our daughter’s condition deteriorated in Honduras until we were able to transport her to Texas Children’s Hospital at two weeks of life. Sadly, by that time, the window of opportunity for our child had closed. Five days after arrival at Texas Children’s, our sweet Lily passed away as her daddy and I sang to her lullabies.

In the midst of our search for comfort, her daddy and I returned to Honduras and began the appalling process of discovery of the situation plaguing newborns in the country. We were devastated as we toured the newborn ward and saw the conditions, and our hearts were broken as we learned that 56% of all infants born needing some kind of medical intervention die because of a lack of physical space to hospitalize them. Our recently empty arms ached at the thought of so many other parents losing their children to a lack of a resource so simple.”

Our Team

Meet Our Co-Founders

Meet Christian!

Christian Perry is a passionate Healthcare Designer, Planner & Architectural Leader working for the Architecture firm Clark Patterson Lee (CPL) located in Rochester, NY. Previously Christian worked for the healthcare design firm Ewing Cole in New York, NY and Philadelphia, PA. Prior to employment in the United States, Christian lived in Honduras pursuing his passion with Little Angels of Honduras, healthcare design, social change, and service.

Meet Katie!

Katie Castro, has been a missionary in Honduras for the past 15 years where she fought to reduce gang violence among teenagers. Most recently, following the death of her infant daughter in April 2013, she has fought for justice and dignity for mothers and infants throughout the country of Honduras. She is an activist in the implementation of Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) and is well versed in the country of Honduras healthcare structure.

Meet Dr. Young!

Dr. Alejandro Young is the Chief Neonatologist at the largest public hospital, Escuela Hospital, located in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Dr. Young has dedicated his entire professional career fighting for the health, safety, and life of newborns within the country of Honduras. He is a visionary implementing new practices and technology into the healthcare system of Honduras.

 

Board of Directors & Advisors

Little Angel’s leadership is formed by directors from across the U.S. as well as Honduran directors. The board of directors meets annually. The following people form part of the Board of Directors:

  • Christian Perry- Co-Founder, Board President, Project Architect, New York
  • Dr. Alejandro Young- Co-founder, Board Vice-President, Neonatologist, Honduras
  • Katie Castro- Co-Founder, New York
  • Karen Russell- Board Treasurer, Accountant, New York
  • Dr. Lynn Dunham- Pediatrician, New York
  • John Centi- Business Entrepreneur, New York
  • William Platnick- DevOps Engineer, New York
  • Emily Davis- Community Director, New York
  • Vignelli Center for Design- Marketing and Branding, New York
  • Dr. Augusto Sola- Neonatologist, President of Ibero-American Neonatology Society, California
  • Dr. Ernesto Dala- Neonatologist, Honduras
  • Federico Alvarez- Development Banking, Honduras
  • Lizzeth Villatoro- Corporate Attorney, Honduras
  • Mario Aguilar- Architect, Honduras

Little Angels also has a board of advisors that are consulted regularly and who provide guidance and collaboration to benefit the organization’s mission. Members of the Board of Advisors include:

  • Dr. Mardelle Shepley- PhD in Healthcare Design, New York
  • Dr. Alex Bitterman- PhD in Marketing, New York
  • Dr. Heinrich Hermann- PhD in Architecture and Religion, Massachusetts