The funds for the kids has been dwindling lately.  It means that soon there wont be enough money to purchase food for the children (which doesnt mean they wont get fed, it just means they wont eat good food and will probably get by on tortillas and salt as they have in the past).  The money helps pay for good food for the kids like meat, vegetables, beans, a little flavour and variety added in as well.  It also helps pay for purified water among other things (without the purified water the kids drink water from the river which is full of dirt and bugs).

School starts in the next couple of weeks so there are LOTS of school supplies needed.  If you are able to donate money to go directly towards school supplies please let me know or put it as a reference when transferring money.  All donations are appreciated very much and even small amounts can make a big difference.  Thank you.

I will be flying to New Zealand the 8th of Jan (CST) and arriving Sunday the 10th (NZT).  I will be in NZ for 2 weeks until the 26th Jan.

The kids had a fun Christmas with a couple of Christmas parties put on by different groups, lots of Tamales (a maíz-based food wrapped in banana leaves) which are very much loved by Hondurans and very common at Christmas time.

School will be starting up in February and the kids will need school supplies.  If anyone is able to donate some money towards school supplies please do so – it will be a great help.

Brayan with his new passport

Today we went to San Pedro to try and get a passport for Brayan for the second time.  Thank God that this time they let us get one, and we were able to come home with the passport (amazing how fast it is when they are willing to give you one).  We also went to a supermarket in the city and were able to find some dried apricots! and some other yummy things that you can’t get here.  Oh I have been missing dried apricots.

I received some cards in the mail from a whole bunch of lovely people in Kumeu!  Thank you very much for sending them.  I appreciate all the well-wishing and felt very loved.  It’s easy to feel disconnected over here so I truly appreciated the connection and wish I could express the warm feelings that came with the cards.  So thank you very much!

There’s a snake in the courtyard.  Its the first one i’ve seen this year – it’s very exciting!  Its just a little one, but beautiful.

Cute little snake

Brayan on stage with Guillermo Anderson

Today we watched Guillermo Anderson (a well-known Honduran singer) play some songs for the kids in the park.  We climbed up the back of the mini-stadium-style concrete seating to find a little shade, and sung and clapped along with the energetic songs.

At one point, Guillermo asked for a volunteer from the audience to go on stage and do the actions (a pawing and roaring lion).  Brayan jumped up and was the only child keen to be picked, which he was, so he climbed over everyone to get down to the stage and pawed and roared for us all.

This was in a break from the Project Honduras Conference.  Some of the speakers had some very interesting stories to tell.  The one that stands out the most was by a woman with a child who has down-syndrome.  After discovering the lack of facilities for children with these types of needs (unfortunately, parents of children with down-syndrome are often ashamed of their kids and tend to hide them away), she started an organisation to help others like her daughter.  It was a simple story, but somehow very moving, and was the only speaker to get a standing applause.  The organisation is called Integrar, its based in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, and it could really do with some help.  Visit their website here.

Carol from Canada is back in Honduras to attend the Project Honduras “Conference on Honduras”.  You can read her blog here, its much more interesting than this one!

Right now in Copán Ruinas, a large group of locals are protesting against the government situation. Everyone is coming out of their homes to stand in the doorways and watch with solemn smiles of encouragement, the march of the indigenous Maya.

Brothers that can hear me, Join the Fight!

Because of the rebels, we're in disgrace

You can now make donations with your credit (or debit) card online using PayPal.  To make a donation, go to the donations page, and click on the button to donate in either NZD or USD.

Rafaél and twin brother Gabriel

Thanks for all the donations for Rafaél. We were able to give Rafaél’s mum L4,000 for the travel and medical fee’s.  This will go a very long way to helping him get done what he needs to have done.