Amos Health and Hope Inc

Our Vision

Through our partnerships, we seek:

• Health for all people
• A world where no child dies of a preventable disease
• Effective and empowering health care 

Our Impact

AMOS has helped achieve:

• Access to basic health care services for more than 12,000 people in 29 remote rural communities in Nicaragua.
• A trained network of health promoters that provide basic services to the most vulnerable people in their communities.
• Access to essential medications for communities that are hours away from the closest medical clinic.
• Reduction in the rates of child mortality in just 5 years in 14 communities of San Jose de los Remates in the region of Boaco.

Communities empowered to make a difference 

Another life saved
 
Adriana Lopez is now 28 years old, has 7 children, and nearly hemorrhaged to death when she had a miscarriage with her eighth child. But her community’s health promoter, Pedro Pablo, knew just what to do when Adriana´s husband came to tell him what was happening. He found a hill with a cell phone signal, and because our health promoters are recognized by the Ministry of Health (MINSA) as first responders to emergencies, he was able to get an ambulance dispatched to Sabalete – a 90 minute drive from the nearest government health outpost.
 
The community organized a team of 50 men and women from the village who took turns carrying Adriana out of her home in a makeshift hammock through a patchwork of rugged footpaths, through field and jungle in the dark of night, to the road where the ambulance met them. When the health center doctor stepped out of the ambulance, he stood in awe, as he was met by 50 humble men and women from one of the poorest places in Nicaragua who had just saved Adriana´s life.

As he gave Adriana an IV to stabilize her before bringing her back to the government hospital, he asked, “How is this possible? What kind of community is this?”
 
To which the community members replied,

"We are strong because we are more than organized — we are united.”

Our History

The dream for AMOS began in 1967 with the work of Dr. Gustavo Parajón.  Faced with overwhelming need in the poorest rural communities, Dr. Parajón frequently remarked:

"In Nicaragua, a doctor shouldn’t just be a doctor; a doctor must also be a teacher.”

This vision for empowerment gave birth to a broad health care initiative that continues to focus on local leadership development.  The heart of Dr. Parajón’s work focused on the communities themselves, teaching local people to provide basic primary health care services, thereby dramatically reducing unnecessary illness and death.  This focus on strengthening communities through education and preventive care lives on in AMOS today under the direction of Drs. David & Laura Parajón.

At AMOS Health & Hope our core values are inspired by Jesus’ example: a commitment to serve alongside those most in need, to live out the Gospel through love in action, and to celebrate with local leaders as they work towards bringing peace, justice and health to their communities.

Our Values

• Service to Those in Need: Our vision is to provide high quality health services to people in need who lack access to adequate health care.
• Respect: We serve those in need without distinctions based on gender, age, color of skin, ethnicity, religious affiliations or other beliefs.
• Loving Our Neighbor: We focus on the vulnerable sectors of society in Latin America — people living in extreme poverty, especially women and children.
• Empowerment for Service: We teach local leaders to identify problems according to local needs, develop solutions and implement health interventions that are beneficial for the whole community, especially those who are most vulnerable.
• Stewardship: We seek sustainable and effective approaches to global health problems through partnerships with local communities, churches, governments, individuals and other organizations.
• Peace and Justice: We seek a world of peace where there is health and hope for all.