Full Circle

 
Our Honduran journey began in San Isidro. It was there that I first stumbled through Spanish, encountered the appetite of tropical mosquitoes, flailed at grass with a machete, got to know Honduran staff, came to truly appreciate hot showers, and watched my beautiful wife cook with a gas stove on a box on a bucket. There we acclimated to a new culture, climate, and way of life. With San Isidro as our base, we explored the surrounding area, praying for guidance in how to choose a village that we would call home. Our lives were changed in San Isidro. Most of HTH's Honduran staff live in San Isidro, and their children are being raised there. For this reason, and so many more this community is close to our hearts.

San Isidro has a great group of parents that are truly concerned for their kids. Some of those parents are on HTH staff and approached the Community Development department to ask if the Society of Parents of Families (Honduran PTO equivalent) from San Isidro could solicit help to replace their school's structure. Yes, was the answer.

The roof of the San Isidro school is now nearly 40 years old. Made of asbestos, it has begun to deteriorate from age and climate. Pinholes, cracks, and even large holes now pepper the entire structure. Pigeons pass in easily and defecate on the partial drop cieling. When it rains, water drips into the classrooms, ruining school supplies, soaking children, and encouraging mold growth that affects the children's health. Needless to say, the very fact that the thing is made of highly-carcinogenic asbestos is reason enough to change it, especially in buildings that daily house nearly 200 children. The nightmares of lungs the world over are populated with roofs like this.

Bad birdy.

The good news is that the community is very committed to improving their children's learning conditions. They have decided as a group to not stand passively by and wait for the roof to cave-in. Instead they kicked off this project and are contributing roofing material and all of the non-qualified manual labor. The National Education Board is chipping in some of the c-channels for the roof supports, and the municipality is providing a qualified welder and electrician to supervise the construction. This collaborative effort rings up to nearly $4500. Many of the folks leading the charge in this effort are church members, and we are thrilled to see them connect their faith to action in this way. This type of collaborative effort is what really makes a difference in a community. It provides hope and fosters a love of education.

When we went to perform our "pre-visit" for the project. I was struck by the enthusiasm of the community members and their passion to see this happen, even at significant personal expense. A couple of former students were even there, ready and willing to volunteer, actually eager to help the next generation of school kids. Not every village responds so positively to education. They have a great group of teachers, and what seems to be a great program. A larger than average proportion of kids from this school continue on to a high school education.

This is the first time that we have ever called out to our readers to get involved in a project that is not in Las Lomitas, but we really wanted to honor this community's efforts and passion for their children. This project has been waiting for sponsorship since October of 2013, and the community has been very patient. If you are interested in sponsoring this project (even partially with a smaller donation), please check out the project page HERE. Thank you so much for considering partnering with San Isidro. Your donation will make a difference.