Everyone deserves to have health and hope.

AMOS Health and Hope (AMOS) is dedicated to reducing preventable deaths and improving the health and well-being of people who suffer from the unjust conditions of poverty. Our programs empower local leaders to build upon their strengths and respond to the needs they identify within their communities. 

Our Mission

AMOS Health and Hope reduces health inequities in Nicaragua by empowering local leadership to prevent disease and save lives.

Our Vision

Motivated by our Christian faith, we envision a world:

With health for all people

Where no child dies from a preventable disease

With effective and empowering health care

Our History

The dream for AMOS began in 1967 with the work of Dr. Gustavo Parajón, a physician, medical missionary and American Baptist pastor. Faced with overwhelming need in the poorest rural villages, 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 an integral health care initiative devoted to local leadership development. The heart of Dr. Parajón’s work focused on 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. 

Dr. Gustavo Parajón in 1967, vaccinating a young child in Nicaragua.

Our Christian Values

At AMOS, Jesus’s example inspires our core values:

Love our neighbors through long-term relationships:

Achieving health equity is a shared responsibility that cannot be accomplished in one day. We live out the Gospel and put love into action by building long-term partnerships based in trust with the people we aim to serve and those who help us serve them.

Serve those most in need by working in vulnerable communities:

Our faith calls us to serve in the places with the greatest barriers to good health and well-being. We provide communitybased health services and health education to people who lack access to existing health care systems in Nicaragua – focusing on families who live in extreme poverty, especially women and children.

Respect all people, without distinction:

We are all children of God and worthy of love and respect. We serve and work alongside those in need without distinctions based on who they are, what they have or do not have, or what they believe.

Be good stewards of the resources we have:

The resources entrusted to us are given as a blessing. We use these resources wisely and leverage partnerships to make the greatest impact for the greatest number of people. We document all our activities and results in order to share the impact of our work with the communities, churches, governments, individuals, and other organizations that help make it possible.

Empower communities for service by training local leaders:

The solutions for addressing health inequities are not new or high-tech. They lie in the hands of our world’s greatest resource – its people. We empower local leaders to use the strengths they already possess to generate solutions for urgent needs and implement health interventions that are beneficial for the whole community.

Work for justice:

We seek a world where there is health and hope for all – no matter where you are born, and no matter where you live. We are committed to implementing solutions that reduce health inequities that disproportionately impact people who are poor.

Strive for excellence:

Because both our love for our neighbors and the challenges we must overcome are great, we strive for excellence in all that we do through evidence-based practice, continuous learning and improvement, and an unwavering commitment to our values.