HONDURAS: More than 1,000 hurricane victims receive help from students
Students from 2021 graduating class at San Miguel Salesian Institute launch fundraiser for hurricane victims
HONDURAS
(MissionNewswire) Honduras has been hard hit by two Category 4 hurricanes. Hurricane Eta hit on Nov. 3, and Hurricane Iota hit less than two weeks later. The torrential rains brought deadly landslides, flash flooding and destruction across Central America. More than 200 people have died, 94 of them in Honduras, according to news reports.
In response to the devastation and overwhelming need, students in the 2021 graduating class at San Miguel Salesian Institute, located in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, launched a fundraiser to support the people affected by Hurricane Eta. With COVID-19 safety measures in place, more than 1,000 people from the Francisco Morazán and Cortés departments were provided food, personal hygiene items, clothes, shoes, sheets, bedspreads, mats and bio-safety equipment.
The initiative also received the support of the Past Pupils Association from the María Auxiliadora Salesian Institute and San Miguel Institute in collaboration with Mis Manos Son Tus Manos Association. Rector Father Horacio Macal and the entire Salesian community also participated.
“Salesian students saw the need of people in these local communities and stepped up to provide support and assistance,” said Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Because Salesian missionaries live in the communities where they work, they are perfectly positioned to respond in times of crisis. The entire Salesian community has rallied behind these youth who are coming to the aid of their fellow citizens.”
In response to the overwhelming needs brought about by the two hurricanes, Salesian Missions has launched its Central American Hurricane Relief Fund. Those who want to support these efforts are urged to make a donation online at salesianmissions.org/lp/hurricane-central-america/.
The second largest country in Central America, Honduras is one of the poorest and most crime-ridden countries in the Western Hemisphere with 60 percent of its population living in poverty, according to the World Bank. Rough geographic terrain in the country has limited the development of transportation, keeping much of the rural population isolated. Poverty and food scarcity are severe in rural areas and one out of every four Hondurans struggles with chronic malnutrition. In addition, one out of every five Hondurans lacks access to adequate health care.
Salesian missionaries have been working in Honduras for more than 100 years operating schools, youth centers, and medical clinics to help support and educate poor youth and their families. In addition, thanks to an ongoing partnership between Salesian Missions and Rise Against Hunger, an international relief organization that provides food and life‐saving aid to the world’s most vulnerable, thousands of people in need, from infants to seniors, are receiving crucial medical aid and nutritious food through Salesian programs in Honduras.
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Sources:
ANS Photo (usage permissions and guidelines must be requested from ANS)
ANS – Honduras – Pupils from “San Miguel” Salesian Institute help over 1000 victims of Hurricane Eta
San Miguel Salesian Institute Facebook
Salesian Missions – Honduras
World Bank – Honduras
