Dear Friends:

Welcome to the Burn Children Care Foundation of Nicaragua Website. I would like to share with you a story that both completely changed my life and introduced me to the world of burn children.

 On October 21st 1989, my husband and I were traveling on SAHSA airline (Honduran Airline) from Managua to Miami with a stop in Honduras.  The unexpected happened and the airplane crashed into the Honduran Cerro de Hule Mountain at 7:50 a.m.  The accident has ever since been classified as the most tragic in Central American aviation history.  Tragically, 149 lives were lost and only 9 of us survived.  I thank my husband who helped me out of the enflamed plane and I also thank God who protected us from the explosions. 

We were transferred to the Mercy Hospital in Miami, Florida, U.S.A., where we underwent multiple surgical interventions.  I can assure you that the limit of the pain was the same as life itself, as I often felt that any slight increase in the intensity of my suffering would be without any doubt the cause of my death.  But that was not the case and I managed to survive the third degree burns and 62 fractures in my face and body.  

Today I understand what I couldn’t back then: the reason for my survival, which manifests itself every second of everyday. That reason is to provide help and care to others. Everyday, I take a step forward in helping the children and people of my country by dedicating my life’s work to the Burn Children Care Foundation (APROQUEN).

I am convinced that I am not here by mere coincidence, but by the will of God.  God has given me a purpose, a purpose to carry out a mission in our country of Nicaragua. A mission that can be interpreted by the words of our slogan as,

“Turning Tears into Smiles”.

Vivian Pellas ASD