Semana Santa
Due to the pandemic, Easter week was a bit special this year again and we decided to stay at the home instead of going out and possibly catching the virus.
That's why we set up three swimming pools on our football field, where the children could swim and have fun every day. When it's 40°C, there's nothing better than a great cool down.
Cooking Class
Our friends from the Karim Company organized a cooking class for our children and teenagers. Each child received an apron with their name and could participate in the cooking class like little chefs.
At the beginning there was a theoretical part in which they learned a lot about healthy food and then they put what they had learned into practice and made "healthy" sandwiches. Everyone had a lot of fun and experienced an unforgettable day.
Social Projects in San Pedro Sula
Our foundation supports four areas with social projects every month to help the "poorest" make ends meet…
Food
Together with the nuns Hermanas de la Caridad (Mother Teresa of Calcuta), we send one supply of food (rice, beans, flour, sugar, spaghetti, tomato sauce, salt, coffee, butter and cornflakes) and personal necessities (soap, shampoo, toilet paper, toothpaste) each month to 23 families (285 people) living in extreme poverty. Despite their great efforts, these families go hungry every day. All the families are extremely grateful for this support
Health
As there is no public health system in Honduras, we support people in need with medical support such as doctor consultations, specific examinations, surgeries, or much needed medicine. In this way, we save the lives of an average of 12 people every month.
We also support the El Buen Samaritano Home for the disabled, run by the Hermanas de Jesús nuns, with essential (very expensive) psychiatric and other support services every month. Unfortunately, neglect and abandonment of disabled children has increased since the outbreak of the pandemic and due to hurricanes Eta and Iota.
Education
At the beginning of the year, Honduran teenager Elder Cruz was detained by Mexican immigration authorities near Mexico's southern border with Guatemala and deported to Honduras.
But that didn't stop the 15-year-old orphan and he planned to try his luck again at the US border.
Since his mother's death more than two years ago, he had led a wandering life, eating and sleeping in various friends' homes. He says he eats once or twice a day because he doesn't make enough money to buy food.
"I can't read or write, so I can only work as a builder and earn very little," he said. "I will travel again and hope to reach the US. I want to have a better life. There is nothing to do here."
When we heard Elder's words, we knew we had to offer him a chance to learn to read and write. At first he had reservations but then he accepted our offer with joy and enthusiasm and can now complete two school years in one at the IHER (Instituto Hondureño de Educación por Radio) each weekend, in online courses.
Our foundation pays his monthly fees, the school material and the internet so that he can attend the courses.
Housing
During our container handover in the colony of Jerusalem, we met eighty-year-old Maria Antonia. Her simple house burnt down on the evening of the hurricane due to a short circuit. All that was left of her house were the walls.
We were able to give her a new bed with mattress, a wardrobe, a cupboard, and a table with chairs. We could no longer have her using curtains as doors and windows. So, our foundation gave her a wooden door and windows. Her joy and gratitude were indescribably big.
Visit of Tatta and Tat
For more than a year we had not taken in volunteers because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now Tatta and Tat (Luisa and Pauli Scarpatetti) have visited us for five weeks and supported us in all aspects.
Tat assembled all the cupboards and furniture we received with the container, fixed the roof of the Sala Cuna, built a new house for the guard and did a lot of minor repair work for us. As expected, of course, according to Swiss standards.
Tatta accompanied the children through the day. She played and sang with them and everyone had great fun when she even got into the pool with them. Santos said that Tatta is like Jesus with the disciples. Everywhere she went, everyone followed her...
Signing of the agreement with the Minister of Education of Santa Rosa de Copán
At the end of April, an agreement was signed between us and the Minister of Education, Ricardo Antonio Maldonado Erazo, in Santa Rosa de Copán.
On the one hand, the agreement assures us support for our computer and English lessons in our house, and on the other hand, it assures the mechanics school that it will receive support from the Institute Santo Domingo Savio for electrical engineering and computer training. The agreement is valid for 5 years.
The President of the Board of Trustees was accompanied by many children on this day, who found this excursion very exciting because they were able to get to know the centre of Santa Rosa and discovered the premises of the vocational training school. Because of the pandemic, we have not been on holiday to Santa Rosa de Copán for over a year. Everyone hopes that this will be possible again during the next holidays and that Santa Rosa will once again be our holiday destination.