June 11, 2012

... moves at a more deliberate pace than most of us sense. Many of you who have visited the community in Talanga, immediately experience a pervasive sense of peace. In the same fashion as the other schools of El Hogar, the farm school focuses on generating a spirit of love and compassion embraced by all members of that community. It is an intentionally peaceful community, but a hard working community at the same time.

Teaching boys advanced farming techniques, soil conservation, and property management provides a significant advantage in a country that is still primarily rural. Their experience of living in a Christian community instills a commitment to serve others as well as themselves. Working with Episcopal Relief and Development, our students extend their talents to the very villages from which they come to provide relief and comfort.

The poverty that inflicts the lives of the boys at the farm has less of an edge than what we experience in Tegucigalpa. A home visit in Tegus can leave one anxious, even frightened, as you travel through tangled neighborhoods searching for the "home." A home visit for a farm school student can often lead down dusty roads to simple towns where doors have no locks and livestock are managed in cooperative parcels. This experience can leave even the most ardent urbanite among us longing for the simplicity of the rural farm. Nevertheless, the cupboards of these homes are bare and the existence is day-by-day.

When we traveled to the home of Denis Javier this past winter, it took almost three hours to cover the 40 kilometers of dirt roads to his home. So remote was his village that the utility poles stopped several miles before we arrived at his home. For the funeral vigil, a neighbor ran a wire from his generator to power a simple light bulb that dangled above the mourners. How Denis or his family came to know of the farm school remains a mystery to me. But the reality that this desperately poor family, a full day's journey from Talanga, had heard of our school and had a child admitted to our program is a testimony to the achievements of the Escuela Agricola. The good news of our program, of our commitment, reaches the people in need.

As is the case with all our schools, our reputation for loyalty and perseverance is spoken with pride in many communities. The tireless efforts of Director Yony Aguilera and the staff at the farm not only build lives, but sustain and nurture entire communities. So we offer our thanks to all of you; for those who know the children by name and offer prayers and support for their well being. Think of them daily.

 - Matt Engleby, Executive Director El Hogar Projects

A most amazing thing happened to me on the first day of my arrival at El Hogar. As Claudia, the director and I were getting reacquainted she suddenly looked at me and said, "Didn't you sponsor Mario Andino?" "Yes, I did for twelve years. He graduated from St. Mary's Technical Institute five years ago," I responded. She grabbed me by the hand and started walking quickly across the grounds saying, "He's here right now! Let's find him." As we approached I recognized him immediately. What a joyous reunion! We hugged and started speaking haltingly in both Spanish and English. I came to find out that Mario was at the University studying electrical engineering and he just happened to be visiting El Hogar that day. He had no idea that I was coming to visit. I had not seen him in many years. A while later he reached in his backpack and took out a photo - it was one I had sent him over fourteen years ago.

He, at age eight, was sitting on a picnic table at El Hogar with me and several of his friends. Here he was all these years later still carrying that picture of us in his backpack. We can never underestimate what we mean to these children, what unconditional love we represent to them."

- Bunny Frey, Former Board Member

Click here to read about some of our 38 unsponsored children.

Click here to read interesting statistics and information about our sponsorship program and our sponsors.

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When I went to Honduras, I expected to help others and never thought about what I was going to get out of it. From my experience I realized that I gained so much more than what I gave. Most importantly I learned that I can be happy no matter what life brings to me. I visited El Hogar, and upon my arrival, I was amazed by how beautiful the center was and how we were welcomed by the children and the staff. Children surrounded us with the anticipation of making a new friend to play with. The first night was definitely overwhelming, but I felt satisfied and happy at the end because we were able to bring joy to the kids. The whole week consisted of painting the classroom, helping to expand the cafeteria, sitting with the kids in the classroom, and endless amount of exciting play with the kids. Through orientation and conversations with the children, I was able to see that even though these children had dealt with hard challenges in their lives, they were still able to find that happiness and joy that every child should have. Learning about the children's background and what situations they came from, it was surprising to me to see the radiant smiles on their faces and the sound of laughter early in the morning each day. I met one child who told me that his mother had gotten killed, and told that he had forgiven the person who took his mother away. I was moved by the strength that he had to be able to forgive such a tragic event in his young life.

Throughout my time in El Hogar I found myself having this feeling of admiration towards the kids. As the trip came to an end, I was really sad and I did not want to come home, but I felt that I was coming home with a new perspective. I came back with a firm sense of what I want to do in the future. I know now that I want to be a teacher or a youth worker in an organization like El Hogar, so that I can continue to grow from similar experiences. This trip was life changing and although that may sound cliché, that is truly what it was.

Extreme poverty seems insurmountable, unstoppable. It's growing with uncomfortable momentum. As those of us fortunate enough to have safe homes to live in, view images of poverty on the evening news, it can feel distant, like it doesn't belong to us.

But poverty belongs to all of us. And it belongs to girl named Daniela who lives in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

I met her in March last year when I traveled to El Hogar.   I did not go to El Hogar with the intention of spending time in the infirmary. But that's where I met Daniela. She was wheezing, coughing, struggling for breath at a group assembly one morning. I recognized the short, shallow breaths, the uncomfortable posture.

I looked at her and saw my own daughters, all of whom have asthma. I thought about our numerous Emergency Room visits, the nebulizer treatments at 3 am. I thought about rubbing my little girls' backs as their wheezing vibrated in my fingertips.

Daniela had only been at El Hogar for a few weeks when I met her. Having spent most of her life living in prison with her mother who was serving time on drug charges, Daniela's asthma had gone unchecked her whole life.

She saw a doctor at El Hogar that day and got an inhaler, steroids and antibiotics. But, unlike my children, she didn't get to go home to a mother who would rub her back. She rested alone in the infirmary.

So I stayed with her that day. We talked. She tried, unsuccessfully, to teach me to knit. We made animals out of clay. And I rubbed her back, acutely aware of the familiar vibrations in her lungs.

Her shy smile and reluctant giggles got under my skin and she wiggled her way into my heart. When I came home and told my family about Daniela, about growing up in a prison, that she had asthma just like them, that she didn't even know how old she was because no one remembered when she was born, my kids were silent for a few minutes.

One of my girls ran upstairs and brought down a twenty-dollar bill from her savings. She asked if she could sponsor Daniela. I explained that it cost more than $20 to sponsor a child at El Hogar, to pay for their housing, education, healthcare, food and clothing. Pretty soon all my kids were offering me money, and together we agreed that our family would commit to supporting her at El Hogar.

By sponsoring her, we are playing a small part in breaking the cycle of poverty that traps so many children. She is getting an excellent education, and will learn a trade. She is safe and healthy, and has a bright future. Most importantly, she is valued and loved by her teachers, her dorm mates -- and by my family.

I left a piece of my heart with Daniela. In exchange, I took home the responsibility for a poverty that I once thought did not belong to me. The reality is, we all share in the responsibility for poverty, in Honduras and in the world.

- Julie Dalton, Service team volunteer