The Making of a Humanitarian:
Humanitarians aren’t born. Others often act as inspiration and then people make the choice to follow the example. The story is similar with Frank. He was inspired by a couple he knew in Dillon, Colorado who dedicated their retirement to global charitable outreach; and in 2004 and 2005 Frank had the opportunity to follow their example. He was invited to join a group of volunteers to help fund and build a classroom in Manchay, Peru for handicapped children. It changed those children’s lives. A few years later I was able to visit that school. It was incredible. They find arts, skills, crafts, or trades that each handicapped child can do regardless of their disability. In essence, they give them the essentials to become self sufficient and because of the efforts and donations of others these children can be able participants in society. Follow this link to find more information on child rights. (INSERT LINK TO CORALIES CHILD RIGHTS SOMETHING)
As, I interviewed frank I found that it was those first experiences that left a deep impression on him. He couldn’t go home pretending these people didn’t need help. He told me, “During my two trips I became acutely aware of the dreadful living conditions of a majority of the people living there.” (Bumpus) All this led him to follow the example of his friends and dedicate his retirement to humanitarian aid. That is how it all began.
As, I interviewed frank I found that it was those first experiences that left a deep impression on him. He couldn’t go home pretending these people didn’t need help. He told me, “During my two trips I became acutely aware of the dreadful living conditions of a majority of the people living there.” (Bumpus) All this led him to follow the example of his friends and dedicate his retirement to humanitarian aid. That is how it all began.
Family of Mankind: The Beginning
In 2006, with the coordination of local church leaders and volunteers Frank established The Family of Mankind. His purpose behind the organization was to, “fund the objective of building safe, comfortable and healthy homes for the most needy of Manchay.” (Bumpus) Although, the homes are for the “most needy of Manchay” I can’t help but imagine how hard it is to select the few families who will receive the homes. I was able to witness firsthand the living conditions described by Frank; and if you ask me I would say every single person in Manchay is “the most needy.” Just look at some of these pictures.
Manchay, Peru : A Place of Fear.
According to The Family of Mankind’s website. “Manchay, Peru is a Lima, shanty-town suburb of 50,000 people. It is an extremely dry and barren landscape with very little or no rain. Approximately 25% of the inhabitants do not have plumbing or piped-in water. Water is delivered by trucks to neighborhood tanks or individually owned barrels. It was first populated by refugees from the Andes highlands fleeing a ruthless political terrorist group called The Shining Path that was prevalent in Peru in the 1970s and 1980s. In Quechua, the indigenous language of Peru, Manchay means "place of fear".” (Family). And, as you can see from the picture, these people don’t have much. People set up four walls or sometimes 3 and try and put some kind of roof on it.
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Family of Mankind: Current Efforts
Frank strives to build homes that are, “economical, easily constructed, stable and durable.” (Bumpus) Despite the size; you can see that the quality of the homes provided far exceed anything the family may have had previously. The homes are built with sturdy walls anchored to a cement foundation, and actual metal roofing. I was able to participate in building some of these homes and Frank has done a marvelous job of fine tuning the cost and process of construction to provide what he strives for. He recently informed me that, “The building process is now fine tuned to the extent that four homes can be built in four weeks.” The efforts of Family of Mankind are, “currently funded by family, friends, corporate funds and other foundations.” (Bumpus)
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Family of Mankind: Future Efforts
Frank affirms that, “The great challenge [for future efforts] is to grow the funding to ensure a viable future so that this mission will continue.” (Bumpus) That is dependant on donations from others. So for those of you who feel inclined to donate I can attest of Franks integrity in overseeing the use of the donations given. In Frank’s words, “I feel it is my responsibility to my donors to ensure their donations are spent wisely and relative to the purpose of the foundation.” and “it has always been one of the goals of the foundation that at least 95% of the contributions go directly to the objective.” (Bumpus). If you would like to donate or contact Frank you can visit The Family of Mankind’s website and click on the “Donate” tab. The Family of Mankind is one of many organizations working towards the betterment of mankind. Although the organization is relatively small it continues to improve the lives of more and more people; both the recipients and the volunteers. In 2009, I was blessed with the opportunity to donate my time and some of my resources to the efforts of Frank and The Family of Mankind. It truly impacted my view of the world and my desires to follow the greatest humanitarian of all; God.