Projects included the Sewing Academy, which is giving new skills to the women of the tribe. Connie Frisbee Houde initiated this program, and we were fortunate to find that one of our friends in La Laguna, Aracely Garcia, was a trained seamstress. Aracely taught 11 women in the first class, and now these women are teaching 34 others in seven of their home villages. To enable this, NY/HELP bought foot-powered sewing machines last December. Aracely is supervising the program, visiting each village to teach and assist.
NYHELP has been working with the local schools since our inception 30 years ago. Judy Toner has been instrumental in helping provide supplies to the primary schools in the tribe, A Centro Básico (middle school) for grades 7-9 was constructed in Mataderos several years ago. This served students who lived on the mountain, but students from the valley 1000 feet below had trouble getting to this school. So we are working to build a second Centro Básico in the lower villages. (7th Grade is already being taught there in someone's house!)
This year, Scott Reinhart, a retired middle school principal, gave teacher-training sessions to help improve the teachers' skills (many had no training in how to teach). He found the teachers responded enthusiastically to this program -- showing that teachers all over are the same -- they want to do a better job!
Much work was also done on the Clinic, which had rotting doors and leaks in the roof. Using doors built by students at CEVER, our church-affiliated vocational school in Yoro, the doors were replaced; and new skylights installed to eliminate most leaks. Keith Lyons worked on this project, assisted by our Honduran coordinator Joel Ramirez, NY/HELPers and local community members.
Your support of NY/HELP, by prayers, donations, or participation in a trip, has made this a success.
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