Newsletter - February, 2019
| February, 2019 Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me." Matt. 25:40 Published by the Society of the Good Shepherd, P. O. Box 122, Amberson, PA 17210. (717) 349-7033 |
Camalotales is a rural community situated in the central mountainous region of Honduras. To find it, you have to turn off the main road and drive about 20 minutes down bumpy, unpaved roads. But what happens if you have no vehicle, and you have a medical emergency? Perhaps your baby is due or your child is sick—and you’re having to walk. To begin with, for the typical resident in Comalotales, the walk to the nearest health clinic is at least an hour away. On top of that, the health center is always overcrowded, so it will be hours before a doctor or nurse is able to help. This picture is all too common for the people of Camalotales. For this reason, the community leaders looked into various ways to make health care more accessible for their rural community. A few years ago, they converted two classrooms of the local schoolhouse into a makeshift health clinic that is open a few days a week with only a nurse. In addition, there is one doctor who comes to the community every so often to see patients and make house calls on those who are bed ridden and not able to walk to the schoolhouse. Although this “schoolhouse clinic” was an improvement over the situation that existed for decades, it was still clearly inadequate.
For that reason, Dago Cortes, one of the community leaders, kept persevering to try to get a health clinic built in their community. He asked the Honduran government for assistance, but they were unable to help. He then learned about the work of the Society of the Good Shepherd, and he approached us to see if we would be willing to build a health center for the Camalotales community.
When we received the request, one of our directors in the U.S., Kevin Brechbill, volunteered to take a group down to help build such a health center. In turn, one of the community families decided to donate part of their land, on which the clinic could be built. Seeing their example, the rest of the community pooled together their money to buy the rest of the land needed. The various donors of the Society in the United States contributed the needed funds to pay for constructing the building.
In February of this year, Kevin Brechbill led a group of young people down to begin constructing the new health center. They were able to get most of the walls constructed during their time in Honduras. They worked alongside a small Honduran work crew who will be able to complete the building. Impressed by the love and sacrifice they witnessed on the part of the Christians who came down, the Camalotales community asked one of our Honduran directors, Luis Vega, to come out and share the Gospel with them.
When the health center opens, it will not only serve the Camalotales community, but five other surrounding communities as well. The goal is to open the center with one full time doctor and one or two full time nurses. In time, the community hopes to also have a maternity care center, a diabetic clinic, and additional staff.
We, the people of Honduras, are thankful to each one of the crew members who gave of their time; sacrificed comforts; and worked hard to mix cement, lay cinder blocks, paint, and more! We are thankful to each donor, because what you have given will continue to have an impact beyond the walls of the health center. Each of you have played such an important role in blessing an entire community and in giving hope to those in Camalotales—who already had a big heart and big dreams. Becky Vega
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
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