Honduras 02/08

Honduras is such a beautiful country. As I cruised along the countryside visiting different orphanages I couldnt help but be amazed by the beautiful landscape; lush greenery, majestic mountains, colorful people, simple homes, grazing animals, tropical flowers, and a warm, humid climate. Its incredible to think that in a country so fertile, there are so many people struggling to survive. As in most of the countries we serve, the main purpose of these orphanages is to provide the basic needs and a quality education to children whose families are not able to do so. Food For The Poor is very active in Honduras and is working continuously with housing, water wells, food distribution, animal husbandry, agriculture, tilapia production, vocational training, and education. It is a country full of potential.

My agenda was packed for the week. We are constantly increasing our Angels of Hope program so one of the tasks was to visit three new potential Angels of Hope homes and discuss their candidacy for the program. We are also looking to develop our support more into the direction of sustainable projects.
We evaluated many of the homes for agricultural and animal husbandry projects and will soon have agricultural engineers working with each home individually to develop small plots of vegetables, herbs, fruit trees, and ornamental flowers. For the homes that are lucky enough to own larger pieces of land we will move forward with some chicken coops, goats, and maybe a tilapia pond. I am excited about these new projects and how they will benefit the homes.

Through our regular distirbution of goods we are able to provide the basic food items needed, but this fresh produce will provide an improved level of nutrition and maybe cut down on some of their monthly expenses.

The young ladies at Hogar Amor y Vida received a workshop on jewelry making. They proudly gifted me this set of orange jewelry when I visited. The home cares for 35 HIV infected children. All but 2 of these children have lost both their mother and father. You would never know by meeting the children and sensing the hope and happiness in this home, truly a wonderful place.

I was blessed by a large donation of brand new children's clothing. A generous FFP donor sent me four large boxes of new children's clothes. I have been distributing some of them on each trip and I also send a box down to Haiti to be taken to one of our housing villages. This trip I took two suitcases of the remaining clothes and distributed them to three of our most needy homes. The clothes were beautiful and brand new. The children and the staff were very excited and appreciative. The girls were already picking which dresses they would wear to church this week. It is so nice to receive items like this. I know that the donor will never understand how wonderful their generosity really was and how is affects the spirit in these orphanages.

I met in a child in Hogar Emanuel that had a shocking story. As I was walking with the home director a small boy came up to us and reached up to hold both of our hands. He walked around with us for the remainder of the visit. The director told me the story of how he came to live at the orphanage. The young boy was actually about six years old. I assumed he was 2 or 3 given his physical size and demeanor. She said that he was found by social services severly mistreated and abused. He was grossly malnourished and suffered from a variety of illnesses. Apparently he had been found physically tied to a chair in his home. He was completely neglected for nearly his entire life and treated like a chained animal. Fortunately the child received barely enough food to at least keep him alive until his life would change for the better.

After being removed from his home he was evaluated at a government run orphanage. He was found to be deaf and mute. Since Hogar Emanuel already has several hearing impared children in their care, the boy was sent to their orphanage to reside. After two weeks of attending classes at the hearing impared school the teacher approached the home director. The child is not deaf. He was just so severly neglected that in 6 years he had never learned to speak. He was not potty trained. He cannot eat by himself. He was not used to being around other people. He hid in the corner when approached or showed affection. He is at a 2 year old level developmentally.

It was an amazing story. Incredible that this boy who has suffered so much, after only 4 months, is now babbling jibberish and has learned 6 words so far. He is now playing with other children and approaching strangers to affectionately hold their hand. He has been cured of intestinal parasites and other illnesses. He is healthy and putting on more and more weight. He will be given the opportunity of a quality education and a loving home. These orphanages are doing the work of God. I am so proud to be able to be a part of their work.

Dominican Republic 12/2007 - Tropical Storm Olga

Based on what I had heard before leaving the United States on December 10th, I expected my trip to the DR to be pretty routine. Amongst the items on my list of things to do: distribute Christmas funds to the childrens homes, gather an update report and photographs on a kitchen renovation project, update the rosters of new children and others who have been lucky enough to return home with family, and attend meetings regarding further support that we are trying to receive for the homes.

I had heard nothing of Tropical Storm Olga bearing down on the island of Hispañola. As soon as I arrived I was quickly informed about the local buzz. The country was still struggling to get back on its feet after Tropical Storm Noel blasted them with 5 consecutive days of wind and beating rains. It seemed that everyone was especially nervous about the strength with which Olga would hit.

The city of Sanitago got the worst of the storm. Not only are they already dealing with low elevation and a large river, but the dam that monitors the water flow on that river was nearing a bursting point and had to be opened. The entire city was severly flooded. Thousands of homes were lost and sadly, many lives as well. We sat and watched the evening news in horror as it showed the water rushing over entire homes and throwing an SUV onto a second story balcony.

Unless you have traveled outside of our borders, it is very hard to imagine the poverty and living conditions of many of the people that we serve. Homes are merely shacks made of scrap pieces of metal and wood. Roofs are constructed of plastic, palm, and tin. Lives are balancing on invented shelters and makeshift comforts. One single thunderstorm can be devastating to someone living in these conditions, much less any level of Tropical Storm. One strong flow of water will destroy an entire home in seconds. The news was full of stories of mothers losing small children in the current. Lives swept away at a moment's notice.

Once the rain let up, we checked up on our Angels of Hope sponsored homes. Aside from leaking roofs and water creeping in under the doors, the homes were unaffected by the storm. It was exam week and school was closed for two days. The kids were having a great time, but the administrators were feeling a little stressed given the end of the term and the storm throwing their schedules off.

I spent some time talking to a couple of young boys in one of the homes. We were talking about Christmas and whether they would be going home to stay with their parents or other relatives for the holiday. Many of these children do have living relatives, just that they are not economically stable enough to care for the children full time. It was interesting to hear the boys' responses.

One said that the home administrators do not allow them to leave for Christmas because its not safe for them at home. Everyone would be drinking and shooting firearms and fireworks. Its better for them to stay at the home for Christmas where they are safe with their "real" family. Another boy said that he was not excited about going home to see his family because he has six siblings, and all of them live at home with his mother. If she did not want him and abandon him at the orphanage, he did not want her either.

It was so sad to hear these 12 year old boys speak about the realities of their lives. Neglected or mistreated by their own families, these boys find comfort in one another and the orphanage that has come to represent family and home to them.

To brighten their day, I happened to be delivering packages of letters from their sponsors and the boys each received a letter and a Christmas card. It may seem like a simple gesture from the sponsor, but to these children it means the world. They eyes lit up as they each ran to a different corner to read their letters. Quickly they all gathered back together around me to tell me what their letters said and compare the translations to the original English letter. They were comparing letters and teasing each other regarding comments on needing to work harder in school or how handsome the boy is in his photograph.

The trip was a mix of emotions: of shock over the storm and its consequences, of affection and joy from interacting with the children, and of satisfaction over the administrators' responses to receiving checks for the AOH Christmas Funds.

It was, however, far from the routine trip I expected.

Guatemala 11-07

Mid-November I was in Guatemala again. This time I went on my own for personal reasons and ended up staying a few extra days to take advantage of the fact that I was already there and get some work done. When I am working in the field I spend a lot of time visiting the different homes and meeting with their administrators. Sometimes I have the opportunity to spend time with the children and hang out for awhile, but usually I am running around all day long and we do not have much time to play.

I gather the photographs and letters necessary to maintain our sponsorship program and to cultivate the relationships between the children and their sponsors. I also speak to the home administrators about the support we are providing and if there are any other needs that we might be able to address.

I like to spend time getting to know each home and understanding their biggest struggles. This allows us to customize projects and support to meet their most desperate needs. We do not send cash directly to the homes. We send support in the form of staple food items, goods, furniture, clothing, school supplies, cleaning products, personal hyigene items, etc. on a regular basis. So understanding each individual home and their needs helps us to complete that support with projects and specific donations.

The situations of the children in our supported orphanages throughout Latin America and the Caribbean are different than our stereotypical idea of Orphan Annie. Most of these children are not orphans in the sense that both of their parents are deceased. The homes that we support play the role of foster home, nutritional rehabilitation center, long term child care, as well as orphanage. Most of the children are brought to live in the homes merely because their families are suffering from extreme poverty and are unable to maintain them. Many are from very poor families who do not have access to proper nutrition, health care, or education. These children come to the homes and are not only taken care of, but also receive the opportunity for a quality education. Some children are the victims of mistreatment and abuse, while others are temporarily residing in the homes until the courts determine custody and guardian issues.

The children are amazing and beautiful. Its so difficult to hear their stories and hear them talk about what they have all been through. We are so truly blessed here in the United States. So much of what we have we take for granted. These children talk about getting their first pair of shoes the way our children talk about getting their Playstation 2 or their new Ipod. There are 12 year old children in first grade classrooms because it is the first time they have ever been to school. Its just amazing and inspirational to spend time with them and learn more about them.