Newsletter June 2019

Social project

In addition to the care of the children and young people in the children's home "Yo Quiero Ser..." and the projects in Santa Rosa de Copán (see newsletter March), the foundation has other social projects in which it supports those in need.

For example, there is the social project called “Food”: 20 families in the slums of San Pedro Sula are supported by receiving a monthly delivery of essential goods. In addition to basic food also hygiene articles, matches, etc. are given to cover at least part of their basic needs. Thanks to contacts with the "Nuns of Calcutta", an order of sisters who teach religion in the slums, the families most in need can be identified. These are, for example, large families where the father works but his salary is not sufficient to support his family. On the other hand, anyone who has the opportunity to earn money and does not take advantage of it, or who is involved in illegal activities, has no access to the support from the Foundation.

In addition, there is a home run by nuns for abandoned disabled children and adults: "El Buen Samaritano". Although the home has access to sufficient food and the patients can be cared for in the public hospitals, they are completely lacking in medication. "Yo Quiero Ser..." has the possibility to provide them with psychotropic drugs and other medicines. There are 58 disabled children and adults living in the home who cannot live in their familiar environment because of their physical and mental disabilities or because their families have abandoned them. 

The DINAF (Dirección de Niñez, Adolescencia y Familia) is also in active contact with the Foundation through a doctor. If a case becomes known in a hospital where a family cannot afford treatment for a child, the Foundation can help out. For example, there is a girl who was shot by her drunk father and has been paraplegic ever since. The girl's mother took care of the girl in the beginning, but she has since died in a miscarriage. "Yo Quiero Ser..." regularly sends the necessary means and is in contact with the child. Meanwhile the girl even writes letters and lately she has asked to get some sweets - despite the terrible circumstances it is a normal child’s need...

In other cases, for example, computer tomography (CT) is paid for. The costs for a CT corresponds to about a monthly minimum wage, which can understandably not be paid by a large majority. In contrast to Switzerland, Honduras does not have compulsory health or accident insurance. However, those who work are affiliated to the "Seguro Social", which means that by paying a certain percentage of the salary, the hospital, doctor and possibly operation costs are covered. However, given the high unemployment rate, only a certain proportion of the population benefits from this cover.

Political unrest

In June 2019, the government decided that schools and hospitals should be privatized immediately. This would have had unimaginable consequences for the vast majority of Hondurans. Teachers and doctors fought back and protested on the streets for days. The public schools were closed at this time for a total of eight weeks and the pupils could not go to school during this time. The riots even caused a fire in the neighbourhood of the American embassy in Tegucigalpa. At the latest now the international media became attentive to the political unrest in Honduras so that practically every country advised against entering the country.

The fact that Gerard and Theresa van Kesteren wanted to visit the children's home during this time was of course unfavourable. They were already in Miami when the situation spiralled out of control to such an extent that they had to refrain from travelling to Honduras. Unfortunately, this visit fell victim to the political unrest... The children are impatiently waiting for the announcement of their next visit.

Fortunately, the government gave in after a certain time and reversed the decision to privatize the schools and hospitals. Gradually, everyday life returned to the streets of Honduras - until the government announced its next idea.

An unfulfilled prophecy

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is the term used to describe damage caused to a child by its mother consuming alcohol during pregnancy. The disorders can be very different and can be of varying severity. Often it is a mixture of physical and mental limitations.

In the case of a boy who came to a children's home in 2009, these consequences are clearly visible and noticeable. The boy is the youngest of three siblings who were all with us in the children's home. In 2008, the hospital staff became aware of him when his mother complained that the boy was hardly gaining weight. The boy was 3 years old at that time and weighed just 5.5kg at 67cm! The mother was deprived of all three children because she could not feed them, and they were obviously neglected. They then went to a state children's home, from where the children were taken to the "Yo Quiero Ser..." in 2008, or in the case of the youngest in 2009. It was prophesied at birth that the boy would not get older than 14 days due to his severe damage from the FAS.

Today the boy is 14 years old, lives in the "Yo Quiero Ser..." and attends a school for special needs children with well trained teachers. He speaks few words but understands a lot of what is said to him. He can walk, eat and drink independently and shows adequate emotions. His spine is relatively severely deformed due to progressive scoliosis, but an operation scheduled for 2009 had to be cancelled. So it looks as if the doctors' prophecy will not be fulfilled. The boy enjoys the advantages of the children's home like everyone else and lives a happy life within his possibilities.

Dengue fever

The climate in Honduras harbours the risk of some diseases, such as dengue fever. Dengue fever is transmitted by mosquito bites, which are not uncommon in this climate. The symptoms are often non-specific and resemble those of a severe flu with high fever. In severe cases or repeated infection, however, complications such as internal bleeding or even death can occur. The time between infection and the appearance of the first symptoms (incubation period) is 14 days. The symptoms usually subside after 3 to 7 days. According to estimates by the WHO (World Health Organization), approximately 22,000 people die of dengue fever every year - mainly children are among the victims.

San Pedro Sula was hit by a dengue epidemic in June/July 2019. The number of infections increased drastically. The local newspaper, La Prensa, published the number of Dengue deaths so far this year: 106 people!

Unfortunately, the epidemic did not stop at the door step of the children's home. So far, 5 of the children have been infected with the dengue virus. Fortunately, all cases were so harmless that no one had to be hospitalized. Rilana, a volunteer, had the misfortune to fall ill twice during her stay. But she too could be treated in the children's home and is well again.

In order to protect herself from the mosquito bites, it is important to minimize water accumulation inside and outside, to keep the sanitary facilities and washing sinks clean. The mosquitoes lay their larvae in the still pools of water, where they reproduce rapidly. During the dengue epidemic, the city used pesticides that were sprayed by large tankers in the area to minimize the population of mosquitoes. Also in schools, churches and other public institutions "repellent", i.e. insect repellent sprays for application on the skin, were distributed. 

Power outage

Power outages are not uncommon in Honduras, as in many countries in this region. However, in the month of June, they have occurred unpleasantly often. It happened that the power went out in the morning and only came back after dark. The operation of the children's home has some noticeable effects:

  • The pump that carries the water to the upper floor of the building breaks down, leaving no water in all the rooms on the upper floor. The toilets are out of order for this time.
  • The washing machine and the dryer, which are in continuous operation to wash the laundry of our little ones, fail and the mountains of dirty laundry pile up within the shortest time into the immeasurable.
  • The large cold storage and the freezer, which keep all food fresh in the kitchen, fail and within a few hours there is a risk that the food spoils and we have to dispose it. Of course, this is always associated with high costs and frustrates enormously.
  • All ventilators fail, which leads to large heat accumulations - especially in this hot and dry month a very unpleasant affair.

We are therefore generally happy when everything works as planned and the busy operation of the children's home can take its usual course.