Dear Friends,
Our best wishes to you and your loved ones in this new year! May we continue to find comfort and courage in God's Word amidst these challenging times.
Year 2020 was full of unexpected and unplanned events that forever marked our lives. Yet, throughout these events we saw God's love and faithfulness through every one of our partners who came alongside us to aid the most destitute families across Honduras. Our sincere THANKS to you, our dear friends, for your ongoing and generous support this past year. May God's goodness and favor be with with you in this new year! (Psa. 23:6)
We have begun the second phase of our relief program which is the construction of houses, the rehabilitation of community water systems, road repair work, and on-going food provisions and medical care to the families affected by the natural disasters of last year. The following is a summary of our activities in the past month.
PAG's staff has evaluated the damages in 50 water systems that supply water to the rural communities in western Honduras. Together with the contribution from the municipalities and the labor from each local community, all 50 community water systems will be repaired in the next two months to supply more than 4,000 families with clean water.
Many truck loads of pipe are being shipped to Honduras (as pipes are no longer being manufactured in the country) to repair essential community water systems
Several thousands of farm families in western Honduras have lost their house, as well as their crops, after the storms of last year. In coordination with the municipalities, PAG has begun the reconstruction of houses and the beneficiary families contribute with hand labor and the local materials. The photo on the right is one of the houses being constructed in Belen Gualcho in western Honduras.
PAG works in mountainous rural areas where crops are grown and where farm to market roads are extremely important for commerce. These roads are the lifeline for many rural communities to have access to health services as well. PAG has opened several hundred kilometres of roads, especially in western Honduras, and now we are helping to repair them to restore transportation of crops from the fields to the markets.
Thanks to our generous partners, Gleanings for the Hungry, we received a container with forty thousand pounds of dehydrated vegetables and oatmeal for the families living in provisional shelters and those affected by the two hurricanes in Honduras. This storable food is perfect for emergencies since it only requires preparation on site to feed hungry families. Our staff from our community health program in central Honduras have begun distributing these bags and teaching the local families how to prepare delicious and nutritious recipes with them.
A second container will be coming from Californing in February which will continue to help families to get back on their feet.
Families can use local produce like squash and carrots and add the Gleanings dry mix for a savory stew.
PAG's community health program in central Honduras continues to provide medical care to hundreds of families living in remote communities in central Honduras with the support of 3 medical doctors, 2 professional nurses, 2 dentists, and PAG's own network of health volunteers.
More than 774 individuals living in remote communities in Comayagua and Santa Barbara county have received medical care in the past two months.
