We've heard that the average first pregnancy for a girl in Honduras is at 15.3 years of age.  Just looking at statistics from one major hospital in the country, they said that half the babies born there were born to teenagers.  It's the teenagers that are having babies here.  In fact, many believe that a woman should be done having children by the time she is in her early-20's.  These girl-mothers usually do not complete high school and are unable to find good work to support themselves and a child.  If they cannot find work then they are dependent on the grandmother to raise the child or they need to find another man to support themselves.

Where are the men?  Usually the men (or boys) aren't held responsible for the fathering of a child.  "Married" often just means "we live together," a status which changes all too frequently.  If they walk out the door then they are usually walking out on all responsibility for caring for their children.

The above lifestyle often results in "families" with a mom, several children by different men, and the latest boyfriend/step-father.  Sometimes the new "husband" doesn't want the children, who are sent to live with grandparents.  Sometimes he is abusive, resulting in another teenage mother. 

Another huge factor in broken families is illegal immigration to the US.  There are so many families where dad or mom went off to the US years ago.  Sometimes they're still sending back money; sometimes they go unheard from.  The country depends on the money sent back though, for it the largest source on income for Honduras.

The children who come in our door at Casa de Esperanza will often be from a situation like that above.  Most will have been abandoned or removed from abusive situations.  Our goal is to teach them what a good family is.  We want to show them that there is a better way than getting pregnant, or getting someone else pregnant at 15-years-old.  We want to show them what a good marriage is like.  (Recently a student told us that we, Jason and Sarah, had the only happy marriage they had ever seen.)  We need to offer hope to marriages and families in Honduras, starting with the few young lives that we will be privileged to care for. 

As we've begun construction on the first home for children, we've discovered that we need a work truck.  In Honduras everything is built with cement, meaning truckload upon truckload of sand and rocks.  Also, we have many groups coming this year to help build, which means more people to transport.  We've come to the conclusion that a larger work vehicle will be a good long-term investment for Give Hope 2 Kids.

We wanted to give you the opportunity to help with this truck if you are interested.  The truck we purchased is an ISUZU NKR, which cost $17,000.  This is an expense that we had not budgeted on previously.  We already have one youth group that is planning to raise some of the funds, but we will need more to help cover the cost.  If you are interested in giving towards this project, construction, or general expenses, you can donate online at our website or mail a check to our office address.