"If ADRA was not here, all these children would be working every day, either as beggars in the city or as day laborers during harvest and planting times. No child in this community would be in school, and all of them would be hungry," says Maria.
Ten years ago, private donors like you made it possible for ADRA to build a small feeding center outside of Danli, Honduras. Today, that center has become a small school; there, Maria cooks each day for 60 children under the age of 12, who receive a hot meal from ADRA. For most children who attend, it is their only meal each day.
Honduras is a beautiful country, yet 50 percent of the population lives on less than $2 a day. In other words, 50 percent of the population lives in poverty. And life is even more difficult for the 28 percent of the population who are unemployed. ADRA has been working in Honduras for more than 30 years, primarily in the areas of agriculture production and nutrition.
"When the center was first built, I was homeless," Maria shares. "I lived on the street with my children. ADRA gave me a chance and hired me as the cook. I never went to school, and I watched as the ADRA workers began to teach the children their letters and numbers when they came to eat. In the beginning, the children could hardly pay attention. After two years, they were coming early before the meal and staying late to learn. Now this place is a real school, and these children have the hope of living better lives than their parents."
One of the largest challenges for this community is the lack of clean water. While Maria has learned to boil the water for the children at the school, she must walk a long distance down an eroding small path through jungle vines to a small stream. At the age of 65, she makes the journey to the stream with a bucket in each hand twice a day for herself and twice a day for the school. This year, ADRA plans to drill a well and install a pump to provide clean, healthy water for the school and the entire community.
A local doctor has partnered with the program and is providing medical checkups three times a year for the children at the school, and he is seeing far less disease.
Once homeless, Maria and her children now find safety and purpose at the feeding center. The work isn't easy, but she finds joy in her work as she watches the children she feeds grow healthier each day.
