Missions to Honduras continue to be success
Special to The Daily Mountain Eagle
Published July 05, 2003 9:29 PM CDT
Fear. Just a four-letter word, yet it dwells in the hearts and
minds of all of us. Fear is something we learn to live with and
try to conquer. And those of us who live in the U.S.A. have more
freedom from fear than most countries.
In the mountainous and coastal regions of Honduras, villagers
live in fear most of their lives. Girls between the ages of eight
and sixteen live with the fear of being kidnapped and held as
sex slaves only to be discarded after they are no longer wanted.
Parents fear for their daughters lives due to the drug gangs and
bandits who kidnap their daughters at gunpoint and force them
away from the only life they know.
The Alabama Honduras Medical and Educational Network (AHMEN)
has once again begun their spring and summer by setting up teams
to go to Honduras in response to the many needs the people of
the country face. Beginning in May and usually ending in August,
these teams of doctors, dentists, pharmacists, carpenters, soil-conservationists,
nurses, and others respond to the call of mission work through
the Volunteers in Mission of the United Methodist Church.
These interdenominational groups of volunteers work directly
through the Mission Cruzada del Evangelio de Honduras and its
president, Roberto "Danny" Isbell, a native Honduran.
With the assistance of the director of Mision Cruzada del Evangelio,
who is known by all volunteers as Sister Eleanor, AHMEN has been
able to branch out into various villages in Honduras.
What started six years ago from one group of doctors and nurses
in Jasper has grown into eight groups of volunteers throughout
Alabama. What started as a medical mission has grown into more.
What began in two or three villages has grown to such a degree
that other villages are requesting assistance. Such are those
in which volunteers are flown into a village via helicopter.
A girls' dormitory has been built that will house up to 40 girls.
A pastor's hotel is being built in order for the pastors from
the villages to attend conferences. A sewing school has been set
up and now has over 60 young women learning a trade, with two
more sewing schools in the process of being established in two
more areas. Lou Altman volunteered to oversee the La Ceiba sewing
school and has been working diligently toward obtaining materials
and supplies for it. A woodworking school has been set up to teach
boys and girls how to make items for use in the home and for sale
to the public. Soil testing has been done to see what type vegetable
crops can be planted in order for these people to acquire adequate
food. Water filtration systems have been installed because the
drinking water is less than desirable. At least 50 percent of
all the people in Honduras have malaria. And with the assistance
of others, more projects can become effective. The people of Walker
County and surrounding counties are the ones responsible for the
success of these projects through their generous gifts and donations.
Ken Key of Missions Unlimited has been the primary supporter
of the girls' dorm in La Ceiba, Honduras. Through his contacts
within Walker County and the surrounding counties, he has acquired
assistance to get the project going and continues to promote the
girls' dorm. Key has grown very fond of this project and has gotten
to know the girls that now live in the dorm.
Most of these girls come from large families with at least five
or more brothers and sisters. They live in dried mud bricked housing
with grass thatched roofs and dirt floors. Glassless windows are
cut out of the walls in order to get the best cool breezes circulating
throughout the house. Cooking is done outside the house. Washing
of their clothes is done in a river. There is usually enough room
inside the house for a rough-hewn wood table to eat on and then,
maybe, curtained areas for sleeping.
Most of the schools in which the girls and boys attend only go
through the sixth grade. The first through the third grades are
taught in the morning and the fourth through the sixth grades
are taught in the afternoon, usually by the same teacher. The
girls' dorm offers each girl the chance of obtaining a higher
education as well as college.
However, the problem with housing 40 girls is food, clothing
and school supplies. It takes at least $110 a month per girl to
supply these needs, which is why there are only 10 girls living
in the dorm at the present time. Other girls have applied and
have been put on a waiting list to see if sponsors can be found
to help with the support and care of these girls.
Key has detailed descriptions on what the girls need and has
complied a list of items that he has been trying to obtain through
donations. Once a girl comes to live at the girls' dorm, they
may not see their parents or any of their family for months, sometimes
only once a year.
"My mother heard about the program from a friend,"
said nine-year-old Manula. "My mother's friend talked to
Sister Eleanor and she got someone to come get us. My village
is named Mazapan in the jungle. It took two days to get here (La
Ceiba girls' dormitory). My mother tries to come to see me once
a month."
"I came from the jungle village of Ocotales between the
mountains," said 13-year-old Alba. "My mother heard
about the girls' dormitory from a pastor that came to our village.
My mother wrote a letter to Sister Eleanor and a nurse in out
village brought me here. It took two days to get here. I have
not seen any of my family since I got here."
All their stories are similar. They come from villages surrounded
by danger. Some of the girls had sisters that were stolen by bandits
or drug gangs. As soon as parents hear of the girls' dormitory,
they contact Sister Eleanor.
"It's very hard to turn down these families' needs,"
said Sister Eleanor. "These are my people and I know of the
dangers and the situations these families face. I thank my Lord,
Jesus Christ, every day for Dr. Tom and Dr. Jerry and all the
volunteers that come with them to help us. The people from Alabama
have been sent by God and all I have to do is look around to see
what He has placed upon their hearts to do. The girls' dormitory
became a reality with the help of Brother Ken. The pastors hotel
is the work of others from Alabama. I could go on and name all
of them, but it would take a lot of time. God knows the names
and they will be rewarded."
There are still many needs in Honduras. AHMEN cannot possibly
assist them all. But it has made a start. With the help of others,
the people of Honduras will be able to learn a trade, get an education
and make a start for better a lifestyle for themselves as well
as their children.
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