blog

This week we have received an, admittedly somewhat late, Christmas gift from State of Art Corporate Fashion from Duiven, Netherlands.  Last Christmas, instead of giving fancy bottles of wine or other delicacies to their relations, StateofArt CorporateFashion instead sent them a Christmas card saying that their budget for delicacies would this time be donated to Homeless Child.  Many thanks !

Some of you have contacted us with questions about the current turmoil in Honduras, and for that reason we have decided to send you a small update.

In the night from Saturday to Sunday, President Mel Zelaya has been removed from power by a small military brigade; this move was supported by the National Congress, the National Supreme Court, and the Armed Forces. He was flown to Costa Rica and from there traveled to Nicaragua. An interim president was sworn in on Sunday afternoon.

Although international rejection is unanimous and strong, it seems that a majority of people and institutions in the country approve of what has happened during the weekend. There is some civil unrest in the capital,and there have been some isolated incidents in other parts of the country.

In El Progreso we are all doing fine. We have full access to food, energy and other necessities. All the children and adults with whom we work are doing well and none are hindered in their daily activities.

If there are any important changes, we will inform you again.

In the night from 27 to 28 May, Honduras was struck by a powerful earthquake, one that had a force of 7.1 magnitude.

All the children and adults who we work with are safe and the buildings in which we live and work have suffered only very minor damage.

Our town, El Progreso, was hit quite severely. Many houses show fissures in walls or roofing, some walls and roofs have collapsed and according to the latest news there are 3 or maybe 4 deaths in the region.

The bridge that links our town to the airport and the capital has collapsed and a second, stronger bridge, built with support of the Japanese government, has suffered damage to a degree that authorities decided to close it for all traffic.

Despite immense fear, we are happy that all the children and employees are fine. We hope that we will soon be able to send a news letter with better tidings, among other things about the visit of two Proniño boys to the Netherlands!

When the phone rang none of us could have guessed the news that we were about to hear.

“Ramon has died, he drowned in the river”. We put the receiver down, in disbelief, without asking any further questions. We were left in tears and loneliness.

In 2003 Ramon was one of the first boys ever welcomed in Proniño’s program. He was also the very first to embrace our board members during their reconnaissance visit. He was nine back then, and now, at fifteen, he is dead.

After six difficult but rewarding years with Proniño, Ramon decided in early 2009 that he had had enough of being pampered and that the time had come to be independent. It was hard for us to understand, fifteen is still so young and fragile, but often boys in poor nations decide that once they are fifteen, they are real men and need to fend for themselves.

Ramon left Proniño; he had no house, no job, little education, but at least he was free, or so he thought. Unfortunately, he had epilepsy, and on the day he left Proniño, he stopped taking his little tablets. A few months later, he decided to wash his clothes in the local river. He had been wearing them for ten days; no money for a second set of garments, and no place to keep them.

Ramon probably had a seizure while washing his clothes, and was taken by the roaring waters to his death. A little girl found him the next day, he had drifted ashore.

Ramon’s life didn’t last long. While he received very little, he gave us infinitely more than he ever knew. The sight of his shy smile, his juvenile enthusiasm and his belief in a better future has often given us the strength to continue when we secretly felt like giving up.

Thank you Ramon, for everything you have offered us, we wish you a good journey.

Proniño children and employees, Homeless Child volunteers.

A camouflage cowboy

How far can he go? When Manuel Zelaya, Honduras’ president, was elected in 2006, a sense of relief was palpable among the people. A businessman, chosen to be the people’s chief! Granted, there were some uncomfortable rumors about electoral fraud and the man always wore such an exotic Texan cowboy hat, but he had done so well in business, surely he would do well for his nation too?

Three years later, the nation feels fooled and abandoned. Zelaya is even richer than when he started, but his people cannot say the same. He hasn’t got many political allies left, let alone friends among the people.

Early in 2008 Zelaya decided that buying electricity was too costly for the state, and he decided to raise prices with an average 90%, from one day to another! Although there was a limit below which people didn’t have to pay anything at all, this was only for those with one bulb and a transistor radio, who have no money to survive to begin with.

After an insane year filled with laws and rules that made the man’s popularity sink to a hilarious, unfathomable – 11 % (Oh yes, in Honduras this is possible) he suddenly decided to boost his rating with an unthinkable act: the minimum wage had to be raised a stunning 55%, immediately!

At first sight, this may seem the stroke of a genius to solve the entire poverty problem, but in reality the devastating effects were felt within weeks. National companies have begun massive lay offs because they cannot afford to pay the wages and international companies are making good on their threats to move to cheaper havens nearby. Price hikes are exploding because companies are forced to increase their turnover dramatically to make some money. The 40% of the population who work in the informal economy (markets, street vendors, agriculture…) are not eligible for higher wages and increasingly unable to buy anything at all, let alone the 20% of the population who had no income anyway.

For our partners in Honduras, this is a hefty obstacle too. Should they fire employees? Even less educators per child, while they are craving attention as it is? Should they limit food supplies, while there’s hardly too much to eat anyway? Proniño needs another € 1.500 (2.000 $) and Hogar Suyapa € 2.200 (3.000 $).

Currently, we are working hard with our American partners to find the necessary funds to avoid firing anyone. Although, Zelaya himself of course will undoubtedly be fired by his people by the end of this year! What will the next president bring?

After half a year of building, the new floor on Hogar Suyapa was inaugurated October 3. there is now room for sixty children. Thanks to an extra gift from a large Dutch donor, we could even renovate the first floor. The children, mostly girls, are wildly enthusiastic and are all eager to show how well they can climb the stairs…for…. only he or she who knows how to climb stairs will be allowed to move to those marvelous brand new beds on the highest floor!

Until recently Proniño’s children moved abruptly from life in a rehabilitation center to total freedom in the permanent center. For some, that change was too swift and a middle phase was opened to help them adapt: La Esperanza (The Hope). The building was paid for with Dutch moneys and Roberto Micheletti, Honduras’ second most powerful politician, opened the premises. Catching politicians’ attention is important in Honduras too, for without the politician, money is harder to find. He did give a 2.700 dollar donation, a tremendous amount in local currency.

And the children? They are thrilled of course and can slowly adapt to their newfound liberty!