The Mattsons
dinner together during a recent visit to the states |
About Honduras
Fast Facts:
- Size: A little larger than Tennessee.
- Government: democratic constitutional republic.
- Climate: subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains.
- Population: 7.8 Million
- Capital City: Tegucigalpa (pop. 1.6 million)
- Average Income: $135/month
- Religion: Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant 3%
- HIV prevalence is 1.8 per cent, the second highest in Latin America. Each day, nine children lose one of their parents to AIDS. Half of all new reported cases occur among females.
- Children are vulnerable to violence, sexual exploitation and trafficking. Young people also fall victim to sex tourism and child labour.
- The average number of years of schooling stands at only 4.3 in rural areas and 7 in urban areas. The main causes of these low numbers lie in inadequate teachers’ competencies, scarcity of teaching materials, poor physical learning environments and limited interaction between schools and communities.
- Economy: The second poorest country in the western hemisphere, has an extraordinarily unequal distribution of income and high un- and underemployment. The economy relies heavily on a narrow range of exports, notably apparel, bananas, and coffee.
- Employment: about 36% are un- or underemployed.
The Mission
Bruce, is leading this North County Christ the King Church trip, taking with him three other men from Whatcom County. They will be working on repairs to a church building that also houses a feeding center for children from the barrios. During this 3 week stint, there will be several men of Honduras who will be assisting him. Three of these young men will be in an apprenticeship under Bruce's mentoring, to gain new skills in construction. Upon completion of the apprenticeship a certificate will be presented to them; something they can not only proudly display but use as a valuable tool to open doors for employment. Pretty exciting!
As Bruce lives and works in Honduras he will be sending me updates and pictures that I will share here. We will learn together in greater detail the specifics of this call to follow Jesus into one of the poorest countries in the world.
For more information about the Mission of Seeds of Righteousness please refer to their webpage: SOR Missions. You can also "like" them on Facebook! SOR on Facebook
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