Our work in Honduras

Hope for a Family program expands possibilities in Honduras

CFCA has worked in Honduras since 1982 and offers Hope for a Family sponsorship through four projects: Santa Rosa, Santa Barbara, Suyapa and Ocotepeque. Through livelihood initiatives and supplying basic necessities to improve quality of life, CFCA works to give hope to families by helping them create a path out of poverty.

Honduras is one of the least economically developed countries in Latin America. The rugged terrain isolates communities in rural areas. With CFCA's support, more sponsored children are deciding to continue their education and more families are increasing their income-generating potential.

Education opens doors to a professional future

Challenges such as economic limitations, lack of support from or absence of parents, lack of public transportation and poor nutrition lead Honduran students to drop out of school.

The Hope for a Family program provides supplemental support with educational expenses, relieving some of the financial pressure and allowing children to continue their education. The program also provides opportunities for sponsored children to learn from positive role models.

Some CFCA projects in Honduras hold graduation celebrations to recognize graduates for their hard work and perseverance. These celebrations reinforce bonds among students in the program and promote the value of education. In return, students are inspired to give back through continued involvement with the CFCA community.

The CFCA sponsorship and scholarship programs helped Juan Rene perservere through difficult financial and emotional challenges, including the illness and death of his mother. He graduated from a prestigious agricultural school in Honduras and is now an engineer in agricultural administration.

"I am very happy to have been directly part of CFCA," Juan Rene said. "The day is not far when I will return something as someone who is prepared in society."

Read more of Juan Rene's story.

Bringing the community together

Small groups are playing a greater role in the CFCA sponsorship program in Honduras. The concept, which involves groups of mothers, fathers or caregivers of sponsored children working together in small communities, leads to more group ownership of the Hope for a Family program.

Members receive skills training and learn problem solving, budgeting and finance. The groups have helped families become more self-sufficient through livelihood initiatives. They improve community bonds by fostering cooperation and trust.

Groups of mothers have organized community cleanup activities and a group of Honduran fathers restored a major access road to their town. Some mothers groups share responsibility for the children’s education. Support from the group encourages members to develop their talents.

Maria, the grandmother of three CFCA sponsored children, shares her knowledge of herbal remedies - knowledge she learned from her parents - with her neighbors free of charge. Her neighbors often prefer going to her for a quick diagnosis and affordable treatment before visiting a doctor or hospital, which may be far away. Maria attributes her success to CFCA and the mothers group she belongs to.

They [CFCA] had given me the opportunity to grow and organize myself in the self-help group," she said. "When my fellow members need help and look for me, I help them."

Improving health and the environment

Residents of Cipresal, Honduras, unpack ceramic toilet basins for
their new latrines. The CFCA Healthy Communities Fund helped
provide materials to build 19 latrines in Cipresal. Click the photo
to see more about the latrine construction.

Sponsorship support from the CFCA Hope for a Family program helps families obtain health care to meet their individual needs.

But some health and hygiene issues impact entire communities. Sponsorship funds cannot be stretched to address problems of this magnitude. In these cases, CFCA projects in Honduras have tapped the CFCA Healthy Communities Fund.

The CFCA Healthy Communities Fund has been used to construct eco-stoves in sponsored children's homes to reduce respiratory diseases caused by smoke inhalation, to educate and screen mothers of sponsored children for cervical cancer, and to build latrines.

The Ocotepeque project recently used the CFCA Healthy Communities Fund to build latrines for families in Cipresal. The fund provided the materials and families provided the labor.

Today, the families enjoy better health, security and comfort. The community also learned teamwork, responsibility and care for the environment.