Covid-19 has now apparently peaked in the major cities of Honduras, and most people have been able to return to work at some level. However, the economy of Honduras has suffered enormously, causing widespread economic distress. Government aid is now reaching large parts of the population. Nevertheless, the work of the Society in providing food for those in desperate need has continued. The only change is that we have gone into a “search and rescue” phase. That is, we have been searching out people who have completely fallen through the cracks, and we are getting food to them.
One of our directors, Luis Vega, has practically turned his house into a packing warehouse for food parcels. Many local Christian volunteers have helped with preparing and delivering these food packages. This work has continued unabated.
Some people have fallen through the cracks because they live in a rural area that, for one reason or another, has been completely ignored by the government. For example, just 45 minutes from Siguatepeque lies the little community of El Rosario. It borders three different government districts, all of which claim that one of the other districts is responsible for this community. Most of the people in the area work on coffee farms. With the funds they earn from the coffee they usually are able to plant corn and sustain themselves and their animals for the rest of the year. However, this year’s coffee farming was poor, and the price of coffee was low. So the people of El Rosario were unable to plant corn and other food crops to carry them through the year. Also, because of the pandemic, these people could not find other work on local farms. The situation had become desperate.
A pastor from the local area contacted the Society and brought the situation to our attention. So Luis and a minister from Siguatepeque immediately loaded up a truck with food parcels and drove them to the community. With considerable excitement, most of the women from the community met them at the church building to receive their sacks of food. For most of them, this was the first time in 5 months that they had real food again, beyond meager scraps of corn and wild plants.
Some other people who have fallen through the cracks are families who are in quarantine because one or more members of their family have Covid. In Honduras, a Covid quarantine is very strictly enforced. When a family is under quarantine, there is no way to work or even leave the house. However, the government doesn’t make any special provision to provide food for such families. So, as soon as we learn of a need, we have been supplying these families with food parcels until they are able to work again.
At other times, God directly lays situations into our laps. Gabriel and Melissa are a young teenage couple (she is 15 years old) who live in Meambar. This is a tiny community about 2-½ hours up in the mountains near Siguatepeque. When they arrived at the rural health clinic for the birth of their baby, the doctors sent them to the hospital in Comayagua because of concerns about the positioning of the baby. (Comayagua lies another 30 miles away from Siguatepeque.) But upon their arrival at the hospital, Gabriel and Melissa were told they needed to wait another
10-14 days for delivery of their baby. By that point, they had already spent the last of their money and had no way to get back to their village.
Thankfully, at the hospital, they ran into Luis Vega. When he heard their story, he offered to take them back with him to Siguatepeque, where he knew of a Christian family with whom they could stay until the birth of their child. The Society provided the food for them while they stayed there. In the end, Melissa delivered a healthy and beautiful baby girl. Last week, Luis was able to drive them back to their home in Meambar and leave a supply of food with them. All of us could clearly see God’s provisions in so many ways through this whole episode.
We continue to remain in touch with local pastors throughout our region of Honduras so we can be aware of places where there are extreme needs and be able to immediately bring relief.
Julie Nyhoff de Valladares
The Society of the Good Shepherd, P. O. Box 122, Amberson, PA 17210 • (717) 349-7033
Click on the following link if you would care to make a donation to the work in Honduras: Honduras Donations