PART 2

It is incredible to see how two young men have impacted the lives of so many people.  The director of the AFE project told me that in all the years he has been running the project and hosted volunteers he has never seen staff and children cry so much as when Tom and Casper left.  Mums, all of whom work on the city dump, were deeply moved when Tom and Casper helped put on a special event for them on Mothering Sunday, dressing up in smart clothes and serving them meals.  The normal treatment from other men is somewhat different and so their acts of kindness demonstrated their value as mums and as women and will be something they will never forget.

All the projects are always looking for people to come and serve.  Some ask for a basic understanding of Spanish while others require a deeper commandment of the language.  Please do talk to Duncan is you would like to know more about volunteer opportunities.


SCHOOL LINK ESTABLISHED

While I was at the AFE project in Honduras I witnessed the opening of a suitcase from The Amersham School.  This was not a suitcase like the ones I normally take over.  This was a suitcase packed by students from The Amersham School (photo left) with items that would teach the children of the AFE School something of their culture, language, life and school.  The suitcase was filled with books, newspapers, photos, sweets, flags, postcards, UK coins, musical instruments and many other things that the children enjoyed looking at.

The AFE School (photo right) had also packed a case full of items for The Amersham School that included sweets, newspaper, rubbish sacks, crushed tins from the dump, a plastic football, the Honduran flag and various books.  The AFE School is hopeful that the link with The Amersham School will continue and that one day students will get the opportunity to exchange places and learn more about each other’s culture.  

Read the news article or watch the video of the AFE school opening their suitcase here.


SELF SUFFICIENCY AT THE HEART

At the heart of our support for the projects in Central America is the concept of helping them become more self sufficient. This has been a challenging call for me as sometimes projects are so in need of cash to keep feeding and helping the children that they struggle to see the opportunities that could be right before their eyes.  I suppose coming in from outside is often very helpful in this respect.

We have committed ourselves to raising funds to drill a well at the Centro Integral home in order to provide the large quantity of water needed to wash, clean and cook for 24 children and staff every day.  Because of the huge increase in the price of electricity running the water pump will be expensive.  We have begun to explore the costs of placing a solar panel on the roof of the home to provide the electric for the pump and if more money could be raised we could also provide electricity for the home.

The Manuelito Project has, for the last few years, run a small scale farm on the site of the children’s homes.  The farm provides some food for the home and now the children have been allocated small plots for themselves and enjoy participating in helping to provide for the home.  I use the word ‘enjoy’ with the proviso that you understand that children in Honduras are just the same as children here and know that their enjoyment will need to be encouraged at times!

Street Kids Direct is hoping to help raise funds to expand the farm business in order to help them move towards a more self sufficient organisation.


I think this report is already too long, so will stop there.  Please be encouraged that your support is making a HUGE difference in the lives of so many children and families.  Every penny you give goes directly to these projects and they are so grateful for your partnership with them in their work.