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His name is Darwin. He was about 11, but looked more like 9. He was thin and visibly filthy, even in the dimness of the streetlights. His bare feet were much larger than they should have been from years of running around without shoes. The grin returned to his face as he began talking with Kevin again. Kevin, the former Cali boy turned social worker in the streets of Honduras, talked to the little guy in a very casual way. You could see he had done this before, as he watched the tiny child getting high off huffing glue right in front of him. He could have lunged forward and started the chase right then, but decided to pace himself and try to convince Darwin to come to the foundation willingly. Its difficult to reason with a child who is so addicted to the glue. No matter how much you talk about meals, education, a home, etc. a drug addicted child will often still choose the glue. Kevin kept talking about ProNino as I walked over to speak with the guards at the restaurant beside us. People ...

The result is that even more families are experiencing severe difficulties and therefore more children are undernourished and can’t even go to school. At the same time a lot of American contributors have had some financial setbacks, leading to a significant decrease in contributions for Hogar Suyapa. The number of children in need of permanent care has risen from 25 to 43, while the contributions have decreased considerably. Every child in the shelter still gets all the care it needs, but we sincerely hope the financial situation of Hogar Suyapa can improve swiftly. In any case, thanks to extra contributions by Energy Incentives, Homeless Child can send 2,500 Euros or about 3,500 dollars more than last year.

Every day, Proniño has to bring 56 kids to different schools in multiple shifts. Mostly there are four children on the front seat, six on the back seat and ten in the back of the pickup truck. When it rains, they get wet, as well as their clothes and their school books! If the police stop us, we need to have the gift of the gab to avoid a fine or a bribe. And it’s also just plain dangerous. A new second-hand bus for our kids in Honduras is not a luxury article, it’s a bare necessity! Do you know a company or a foundation willing to sponsor us for the purchase of a second-hand bus or van?

The conditions for support are very strict and to be eligible a person from the Netherlands needs to be on site for an extended period. José also visits the foundations they support so she can make sure that everything is running smoothly. In the mean time seven children of Proniño receive a grant which is guaranteed until the end of their education! Our wish is for even more children to benefit from a grant so they can get a decent education in order to improve their chances for the future. Check here (http://www.joinforkids.org) for more information. Here you can find three stories about the sponsored kids. Luis Enrique Canales Luis Enrique is one of the very few boys who never lived in the streets. He used to live in a very poor neighborhood, the turf of a dangerous gang, and he was witness to a murder. Because he was in danger of being killed himself, the judge placed him with us some three years ago, tens of kilometers from the neighborhood where he lived. Luis Enrique consequently didn’t have to go through a difficult period of rehabilitation and soon he was able to function among the best of the group. Now he’s going to school ...