In 1989, NY/HELP Honduras began with strong
support from churches in New York State.
Twenty-five years later, NY/HELP
is still going strong. In the clinic,
Mirtila Garcia is our full-time nurse, providing year-round care to the people
of the indigenous Mataderos tribe. And during
the year, our part-time coordinator, Yovany Munguía, and “community organizer,”
Jorge “Joel” Ramirez, worked on community projects with members of the 12 rural
Indian villages. These included a
concrete floor for one of the new primary schools and the scholarship program
for middle school students (both boys and girls) who often cannot afford to continue
their education. In doing this, they helped
many community members to develop leadership skills. Yovany and Joel were also instrumental in
planning projects for our two NY/HELP
mission trips in 2014.
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In May, NY/HELPers, led by David Makepeace of
Honeoye UCC, labored alongside people living in communities down in the far
valley to build latrines at several schools and a house for an elderly
widow. They sponsored a soccer
tournament, which was interrupted briefly by a bull who wanted to play as
well. And in August, Dr Gordon Comstock
of Arcade worked in the medical clinic, assisted by nurse-practitioner Ruth
Shatzel of Buffalo (Ruth was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Honduras many years
ago). Since the clinic now has solar
power, David Woodruff of Copenhagen, one of our NY/HELPers, spent time computerizing the pharmacy, assisted by a young
woman from La Laguna. Judy Toner, from
Salamanca, spearheaded a program to provide materials so communities could
build kindergartens, and another to support the use of diapers in infants. Others in the August group taught a sewing
class, or worked with three schools desiring school gardens. NY/HELP
bought the wire for the fences (necessary to keep stray livestock out) and we worked
together with parents and students at each school to prepare the gardens. This work has continued after we NY/HELPers returned to the States.
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After our return, Yovany and Joel helped expand our reach by
participating in a conference of non-profit organizations working in Honduras.
The planned January 2015 was abruptly cancelled by sudden
illnesses in several family members. Many
of the participants in that trip are planning to use their airline credit to go
in June. But complicating our program,
our coordinator Yovany suddenly left to look for another job. Fortunately, Joel stepped up to become our
local coordinator, and Mirtila stayed as clinic nurse. With their help, NY/HELP has continued to provide scholarships to the middle school
for 2015, and medicines for the clinic.
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This work would not be possible without YOUR prayers and
support. MUCHAS GRACIAS!
Gordon F Comstock, MD
