Bringing Relief to Honduras - Mil Gracias!

Families carrying the food donations back to whatever
is left of their homes.


Location of a home that was swept away by the rising
creek. Nothing was left except for a wheel that belong
to a wheelchair that belonged to a 9 year old little girl.












Manos Team distributing food baskets to families in
the colonia de Acasias.




































Manos de Dios Team Trip to Danli, Honduras



September 3-7, 2010


Three members from the Manos Team (Cesareo Guadarrama, Fr. Allan Conkling and Patricia Perea) just got back from Danli, Honduras. We wanted to evaluate the situation in Danli after the flood that displaced hundreds of families. We visited several neighborhoods and talked directly with the families affected. It did not take us long to realize that the pictures that we had seen only showed a glimpse of the reality of what these people are living.





Unfortunately, Honduras does not have an entity like FEMA that would provide relief by means of alternative housing or rebuilding efforts. There are some talks of some non-profit organizatios like Food for the Poor that might donate some houses, but nothing has materialized yet. Many families are staying in shelters, others are staying with family members and many others have returned to their homes even though tehre is very little left and they are at risk of more flooding.








One of the first things that we did was purchased food in large quantities. We made food and toiletries baskets for the flood victims. Specifically, we bought the following items: 250 lbs rice, 250 lbs beans, 250 lbs flour, 250 0lbs sugar, 300 lbs coffee, spaghetti, pasta sauce, bar soup, detergent, toilet paper, mats and blankets.




We took the baskets of food to Acacias, a small neighborhood with approximately 50 families. This is one of the areas that was hit the hardest.









We visited with the principal of the Instituto Pedro Nufio, which is the school that we have partnered with since 2002 for our scholarship program. When we learned that there had been 15 of the students' families that lost their homes, we decided to make a donation to the school to help these families with clothing, food, books, school supplies and anthing else needed.









A family of seven with a handicap child used to live in the location shown in the picture below. You can see the wheels of the little girl's wheelchair. We are donating this family a new wheelchair.









In terms of next steps, we are looking to buy property to relocate some families away from the flood prone creek. We are trying to partner with Anglidesh, a non-profit organization from the Episcopal Church in Honduras. We are hoping that they will donate the construction materials to build two-room houses.







The Manos Team would like to thank you for your prompt response and generous contributions. We can assure you that your kind heart is making a big difference in some very unfortunate families in Danli, Honduras.











Very greateful,



The Manos Team

Tragic flood in Danli, Honduras

Dear Manos Team & Friends

Our friends in Danli are in need of our help. Yesterday afternoon they had four hours of non-stop heavy rain and it devastated the area of Danli including Nueva Esperanza. They have not determined the number of of missing or dead individuals, but as you can see from the pictures several neighborhoods were affected.

I talked to our lay pastor Victor, and he said that the community is in desperate need of clothing, food, blankets, sleeping mats and shelter.

We have been working in this area in Honduras for the past 10 years and some of the people on these pictures we have known for many years. For instance, Nahum is an active member of our church and his house was destroyed. The house was in great need of repairs and after the flood they lost the little that they had.

I am hoping that we can help by raising some funds and sending it directly as soon as possible. If you want to contribute to the fund, please send your check to St. Francis by the lake (see information below). As you can imagine, timing is critical as we would like to send the money as soon as we can. The church in Danli Manos de Dios is taking a key role in helping the community. Any amount that you can send would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much for your help!

Patricia

St Francis by the Lake Episcopal Church

P.O. Box 2031

Canyon Lake, Texas 78133

re: Honduras Flood Relief (** very important)

Dear Manos Team and friends,

Our friends in Danli are in need of our help. Yesterday afternoon they had 4 hours non-stop of heavy rain and it devastated the area of Danli including Nueva Esperanza. They have not determined the number of missing or dead individuals, but as you can see from the pictures, the whole neighborhood was affected.

I talked to Victor (our lay pastor) this afternoon and he said that the community is in desperate need of clothing, food, blankets, sleeping mats and shelter. Apparently, they have set up a shelter in the Church of Cristo Rey and they are trying to set up a second shelter in Manos de Dios Church.

We have been working in this area in Honduras for the past 10 years and some of the people on these pictures we have known them for years. For instance, Nahum is an active member of our church and his house in destroyed. Nahum lived in this house with his six younger siblings. The house was already in need of repair and after the flood he has lost the little that he had.

I am hoping that we can help by raising some money and sending it to them as soon as possible. If you want to contribute to the fund, please send your check to St Francis by the Lake (see information below). As you can imagine, timing is critical and we would like to send the money as soon as we can. Our church in Nueva Esperanza is taking a key role helping the community. Any amount that you can send will be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much for your help.

St Francis by the Lake Episcopal Church

Back-up Bob's gardens are starting to show some green....

Hola all!
I wasn't sure of the email addresses for everyone who helped so much with the beginning of the Manos de Dios garden. If you can pass these pics along to others who helped so much that would be great. Victor will be teaching the students how to "gently" pull those pesky little weeds out of the beds allowing the veggies to flourish. Almost everything came "up!" That's really very special. The students and other community members will enjoy the fruits of their labor as the garden progresses.
Thanks.
Back-up Bob Grafe

We added 8 new scholarships ...Talking about changing lives in Honduras

The scholarship program is one of my favorite aspects of our mission. It is one of the most rewarding experiences to know that we are giving an opportunity to a student to continue with his or her education when there might have not been the case otherwise. This year we were able to add 8 new scholarship recipients for a total of 26 kids. In addition, we have 3 of our past graduates attending college. Jessica and Ludy are going to Universidad del Zamorano majoring in Agronomy and Erika is studying Industrial Engineering at the Universidad Politecnico. We wish all three the best this school year.

We spent a day interviewing the scholarship candidates and their parents. This year we had Henry, Kevin, Caitlin, Patricia along with Victor and his wife who is a teacher sitting through most of the interviews. As you can imagine, it is not an easy task trying to decide who the best candidates are for the few scholarships that we have.

The next day, we went to see the houses of the kids that were selected to give them the good news. Amanda was able to capture in film some of these experiences. We will share some of these clips with you at a later time because they are pretty amazing. Amanda, thanks for your enthusiasm and for appreciating every little slice of life.

Padre Alejandro and Victor are planning to have a retreat with the scholarship kids before classes start. Last year was the first time that we had the retreat and it was a very successful event. It really helped the kids bond and feel like part of the group.

We have a nice group of new kids joining the program including Karla, Alexis, Manrique, Stephany, Kathia, David, Eduardo and Helen Gabriela.

David really captured my heart. His father died this past December and the family is really going through some difficult times. Please keep these kids in your prayers. We need them to do well in their first year.

El Rey Did it Again...Soccer anyone?

We were fortunate enough to have Ray Thompsett, a.k.a. "El Rey" coming with us again this trip. This is his third trip with the Manos team. We are not sure if he really likes doing mission work or if he just likes to spend his birthdays with us. Rey, hope you had a great Honduran birthday (again)!.

This year Ray had his most acclaimed soccer clinic for the kids in the neighborhood. He had about 40 kids showing up to play FUTBOL. As you know, Honduran kids are totally passionate about the game and they would show up anytime, anywhere where there is a soccer ball. Ray had the challenge of having kids with a wide range of ages (including adults). Not matter what, Ray handled everything beautifully and was able to have a very successful training session and two 20-minute period game. The kids had a blast!

We had our very own Manos de Dios groupy Gerlain acting as the official referee during the game. Gerlain is the kind of kid that walks around holding his official FIFA rules and regulations booklet that he likes to read in his spare time. He actually did a great job.

I will also like to thank David Santos and Daniel Bonilla for coming all the way from Tegucigalpa to help with the futbol clinic. They both love futbol so they really enjoyed helping out with the kids. I really enjoyed watching the whole scene during the game. The kids were having a great time playing; Gerlain was playing the part of his life as a referee; the adult futbol players were cheering the kids and keeping track of the time because they couldn't wait to get on with their own game; and Ray doing what he does best, just absorbing it all.

Ray, we love having you in our team. I hope that your "dad" Chitt gets to come next time. He really needs to come to keep you in line.

Building a Music Room

This year the construction team was extremely efficient. We were able to get most of the materials before we arrived so it took the team no time to get going with their project. The main assignment was to build a music storage room (next to the sacristy). The team worked diligently until they got it done. Now we will be able to store the music equipment all in one place and be able to keep better inventory of the instruments. The team was formed by old pro Cesareo Guadarrama, the California boys (Jim Kasterko and Mike Jelf), Ray Thompsett or better known as "El Rey" and the new kid on the block Dwain Glass. Dwain was amazing, he did not mess around. He knew what he had to do and just did it. I think that it took Dwain about 5 minutes to figure out what mission work is all about. Dwain and Mike, welcome aboard!

We also have a very important team member helping the construction team. Jorge Lenin is one of the scholarship kids that graduated in Nov 08. He is a wonderful young man and he worked with the construction team side by side. We all have to learn a lot from Lenin; his ethics, his professionalism, his determination, his kindness. He is planning to work for a year and then go to college next year. I can't wait to see what Lenin is going to do with his life. We love you Lenin.

Tish, you are going to love the music storage room. For the first time, I felt that the music at Manos de Dios is really taking a life on its own. Marvin is doing very well directing the choir and trying to raise some young musicians.

Cesareo, thanks for bringing your wonderful plumbing skills (among other things) to Honduras. He was able to fix the water lines so now ALL the building has water.

Donna, we missed you this trip but you need to know that your dream of building a church and a vocational center came true. It is all up and running and it looks beautiful. Thanks for all your help and commitment throughout the years.

Empowering the Women in Nueva Esperanza

I was fortunate enough to have met Ema Rosero-Nordalm a few months ago at planning meeting at the Bishop Jones Center. When she was telling me about her 3 Generation of Women workshop that she had been teaching in different parts of the world, I knew that I had to find the way to get her to come with us to Honduras. As it turned out, she made my job very easy because she agreed to come almost immediately. Ema was a true blessing to our team. Ema worked with the women in the community everyday for two hours. Her workshops were designed to empower and strengthen women by teaching them how to take action in their lives and act as mentors for people around them. Ema was able to connect in deep ways with the women and will continue to mentor them "long distance". Ema, thanks for all your efforts and for your incredible commitment to the women. I want to thank Beryl too for being flexible (and wearing different hats) and helping Ema throughout the process.