The RISE Program Visits Barnabas House

The Early Childhood Development Team wasn't the only significant visit to Barnabas House

this past week.

Andi Gillen, Director of the RISE Center at the University of Alabama, and Kim Burke, RN and Lead Nurse at RISE, visited our facilities. The RISE Program is a nationally recognized early childhood education program that is dedicated to excellence in service, research, and teaching.

This was a fact finding and relationship building visit following FOB’s selection as the organization to carry on the work of the Honduras Early Learning Program (HELP). Leadership within HELP wished to see their work in early childhood development carried on and chose FOB as a partner and for a significant monetary gift.

Both RISE (1974) and HELP (1994) were started by Dr. Loretta Holder-Brown. Dr. Holder-Brown has a true passion for children's development and early education, especially those children with challenges. Dra. Sandra Corletto, then the Director of Teleton, a therapy center in San Pedro Sula, helped Dr. Holder-Brown put her dreams into action in Honduras.

During Andi and Kim's visit, they learned about FOB program areas, talked with all of the staff about their roles and how they incorporated early childhood learning into their daily care. We also visited with Dra. Corletto and toured one of our current partners, Teletón.

We are excited and hopeful to bring an entire team from RISE to the Barnabas House next year. They will be a great asset in continuing to educate and support our staff, as well as helping to educate parents in our communities about the importance of early learning.