Tuesday - November 10, 1998
Update from Honduras.com STAFF:
The San Pedro Sula airport is expected to be opened tomorrow for international operations. The Airport Manager, Carlos Flores was optimistic that all would go smoothly.
The Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA) has been working to help Honduras. They are accountable to the Christian Commission for Development.
The PCUSA is donating $100,000 for 1998, and has pledged the same amount for 1999.
The Royal Dutch Marine Corps has brought in six boats, and installed their camp precisely where the Honduras.com staff was in el Progreso. :)
We hope that most of you had an opportunity to catch NightLine this past evening. They had excellent coverage of the situation in Honduras, and plan to further explore the problems facing the country.
News from the Mayor of Roatan!
Tuesday - November 10, 1998
Update on Trujillo from Bob Morley:
Following is part of a report out of Trujillo from missionary Sharon Francis. Sharon has been there 10 years...We sent her back with a lap top computer last February, thus she is able to
get us this report. No power there so the battery in the computer will
not last too long. I hope she can set up her fax at the home of Erica
so that we can exchange faxes and pass along more info. Erica is her
full time assistant...
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So far, the people haven't received any of the aid that has come in to
Trujillo.
It has all been confiscated by the soldiers, and put into
storage. I
don't have a clue why, because people are hungry.
Somehow reading about a disaster in the newspapers, or seeing pictures
on
T.V. is not as real as actually living through the experience yourself.
It
is children that I know personally who are suffering without food to eat
or
even a glass of milk to drink. It is families that I know who no longer
have homes to live in or a change of clothes to wear. It is parents
that I
know who are reduced to begging for food for their children.
It has been just a week now since hurricane Mitch devastated our country
and the destruction is far from being cleaned up. Power lines are down
and
the poles rooted up. They estimate it will be at least two months
before
we have electricity again. A few of the homes have telephone service,
although mine is gone. Erica still has a phone line. Bridges are out
all
over Honduras, and Trujillo and its surrounding villages are pretty well
cut off.
Supplies are being flown in to Trujillo, everyday, but for some reason
they
are not reaching the people. Lineups are everywhere. I have managed to
get approximately $10. of diesel for my truck, so far, and I had to wait
2
hours to get it.
Today there is no more fuel. Propane for cooking is
nonexistent. The store shelves are nearly empty.
Yesterday we visited a neighboring village to carry a few provisions
provided by our church. Nearly 100% of the houses were destroyed. Most
of
the people were living together under one roof. What we carried was so
little compared to what they need. I felt so helpless. Later we
carried
used clothing to one of the local churches, shelter for people from
another
village destroyed by flooding. I talked to some of the children, and
they
told me about the river that came and washed away their houses. We
aren't
able to get to San Francisco, one of the villages where we have worked
for
several years, but we have heard that it was hit very hard. Fortunately
the people evacuated beforehand and no lives were lost.
I'm sure that before this is over, I will have much more to tell, but in
the meantime, I ask that you pray for these people in their time of
need.
These are real people with real needs.
Erica and family and I are fine. Erica's new house is strong, so it
became
shelter for 6 families during the storm. Some of the tin lifted on the
roof of my house, but it stayed on. I spend much of the nights of the
storm claiming the promises of Psalm 91. The church I attend across the
road from my house lost about 1/4 of the roof.
Although I don't want you to worry, I do ask that you pray. The
situation
here is critical. Because of the shortage of supplies, people are
beginning
to steal, and as a result we have a 9:00 p.m. military enforced curfew.
Please pray for God's protection as we try to help where we can.
With much love and thanks for your prayers,
Sharon
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Sharon Francis - Christian Ministries to C.A.
From Honduras.com STAFF:
One point of interest in all the tragedy surrounding Hurricane Mitch's impact
on Honduras is the schooling of Honduran youth. Apparently, there has been no
final decision on whether or not Honduran school is "out for the year".
It is something that has not been decided upon by the government,
but the private schools have launched a campaign saying they are ready for classes.
It does get complicated, because public schools appear to be out for the year.
The current consensus is that children who were passing their classes (in the public schools),
have automatically passed for their school year; however, the ones that were failing are not
so lucky. The Honduran school year runs from February to November, so Honduran youth would be missing out on one month of the
typical school year. American schools in Honduras, however, will have to finish their school year in July in order to catch up,
as they do not adhere to the same calendar system as the Honduran schools.
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