Starting The New Year Off On The Right Foot Giving Away Food and Toys

Yesterday the ministry received a huge 40 foot container filled to the brim with food, toys and clothing.


This was one of the first houses where we stopped to share gifts with the children. This house is located just feet from the main highway (Pan Americana that runs all the way from Mexico to Chile.

We had a couple of police go with us to give away the items as there have been a lot of robberies lately in the south.

Further down the road we found a stick and mud house with these kids inside. These children were really happy with their presents, but they were camera shy.


After all the kids received their toys we asked to take a photo. They couldn't stop smiling.


The entire family smiled look at mom's face.


I got into the car and brother and sister sat down together to play. I had to snap another quick photo.


A few blocks further up the raod we found another "house" and decided to stop and help them also.




As it worked out there were 3 small children, mom, dad and grandma all living in this "house". We donated them several cans of vegetables and toys for each child. Everyone was happy.




We happen to know this man who is the caregiver for his younger brother who is terminally ill, so we stopped and gave him some food. He was literally running to the house with the cans and running back for more. He was grateful and kept saying, “God bless you! God bless you!”


This lady lives in her adobe home with all these children and she just happened to be taking care of a friend who had been severly beaten by her boyfriend. The food and the toys were greatly appreciated.


In Alianza we stopped to help this woman and her family. She is blessed with an arm full of used clothing and a bunch of cans of food.


Look at the house in the background and you will see where the next family lives in the town of Alianza, Valle.


We loaded the adults up with arms full of clothing for the children and for themselves and then we gave them food donated by a canning company in the United States.




Everyone was happy but someone was REALLY happy!

This woman lives with all of these children. We gave all 7 of them toys as well as cans of food.





When we arrived this older lady was sitting on the porch.

In Alianza, Valle these two ladies live with yet another older sister. All three received food.

When we arrived at this home between Cubulero and Alianza, Valle there was no one to be seen... but within a few seconds the father and children along with a friend were out front and receiving their food, clothing and toy gifts.



This little old man in Alianza was sitting in his underwear when we pulled up to give him and his old friend some food. We were told that he sometimes has to beg for food.

This woman was washing clothes out back when we arrived, she came out quickly and received her food gift and each of the children. Look at the child size flip flops she is wearing... ouch on the heels...

June 16 2009 Cubulero Alianza Eye Brigade

It was a wonderful but very HOT day in Cubulero, a small village known mostly for curiles. Curiles are these ugly little clam things that they eat raw with only vinegar poured over them. Now I could understand the excitement if it was a town known for Chocolate Truffles or Cherry Cheesecake, but these ugly things I can’t get past the smell or the view to even give them a try. UGH!!!








Victor Montoya performs all the eye exams.








I love taking photos of old folks with all their character and wrinkles. Today was a wonderful day full of those kinds of patients. Today we saw 142 people and of the 142 there were 35 over the age of 70. And there was one 93 year old.

All about Meriam continued

Yesterday I wrote a little in my blog about Meriam and her family. Today I want to include some photos of her house from the outside, where you can get a prospective of what I am speaking of.

The roof is a zinc roof, but has tile on top to keep the house from being so hot under the Honduran sun. The clothes line is the barbed wire fence outside.


Meriam walks 330 feet to get water from a water pipe at a neighbors home and she must pay 65 lempira a month for this privilege. That is almost a day of her husband's average daily wage.

Below is a photo of the well where Meriam gets water for her family. It is my understanding that water only arrives to this pipe 2 or 3 days per week.

Meriam's dream is to have water connected to her house where she doesn't have to walk so far. The connection costs 3500 lempira or $185 and neither she or her family can afford this cost which is equivalent to almost 2 months of her husband's wages.

Below you can see a snapshot of Meriam's kitchen. Behind Meriam's shoulder you can see her stove which is made from mud mixed with cement. Meriam cooks with wood. The families provision consists of fish, small crabs, rice, corn tortillas and beans when they can afford them.

Meriam goes to the nearest large town 3 times per year.

Meriam says she is the only person in the house who has shoes. The kids go to school without shoes and her shoes are dress shoes so she only uses them for special events.

If your heart is touched by Meriam's story and you want to help Meriam and her family, a check can be written to:
SMART Medical Teams
PO Box 444
Spring Hill, Kansas 66083

Meriam and 3 of her 4 children in the photo below.

Meriam Zulema Reyes and her family in Playa Grande

The last several weeks have been a whirlwind of activity.

Among other things, I have been working physically and brainstorming with an international food agency trying to develop an ongoing food program for the poor. I like to give, but I hate it when people think that they deserve handouts for sitting at home and doing nothing. Below is one of the homes where I interviewed the people and they seem to be good candidates for the "WORK FOR FOOD PROGRAM" which I hope to be implementing soon with the help of the international food agency. This program will have the people doing specified work assigned to them by a local leader, under my supervision on a weekly basis. The pilot program will be 3 months and we will then reevaluate to see how it is functioning.


To the left meet Meriam Zulema Reyes who was born in 1978. She is the mother in this home. She carries water from 330 feet away for the family to bathe and drink.

The father, Wilmer Javier "Chino" Banegas was born in 1980 and he and Meriam are the proud parents of 4 children. "Chino" is a local fisherman, but he doesn't have his own boat. When the tide is high, he might earn as much as 300 lempira per day, but the tide is high in cycles every 6 days and during low tide he can only wait for the high tide to come again. The low tide days he occupies himself with clamming and hunting for "curiles" which are small clams which the family can eat.

Figuring that "Chino" can only work half time he makes a total average of $7.91 per day and then he has to pay 25% of that to the man from whom he rents the boat. In the end he makes about $5.93 per day. Meriam washes clothes for others to augment their meager income.






Melyn Johana to the left in her pink blouse is the oldest child she is 8 years old and currently is enrolled in school.


After Melyn comes Neily Joslin who is 6 years old. Neily is shown below all smiles and posing in her white flowered shirt for the camera.





Four years later Wilmer Javier was born. He is now in his terrible twos and full of energy. Today when I arrived he was in his Tommy shirt, recently received in a package of clothing sent to flood victims. If you don't count the dirt, he is a strikingly cute young man.

Last but not least is Edras Alexander at the ripe old age of 1 year old. Unfortunately Edras was asleep and I didn't get a photo of him. You can see the lump in the hammock below and that is where Edras is sleeping.

The family of 7 have two twin beds and 2 hammocks. They have no electricity and they have no running water.


On the left side of the photo, you can see Meriam's brother Jose Catalino who is 18 years old. He lives with Meriam and her husband and helps with the fishing.

Meriam owns a piece of land (given to her by the government) that is 7 meters by 22 meters, but her house is pieces of plastic and wood with a little metal and palm leaves thrown in for good measure. All of the other children behind are curious neighbors who came to visit.

I am hoping to find a person or a church group who will donate cement for the floor of Meriam's house. I need about $150.00 to complete this project. I am not speaking of a think slab, I am speaking of covering the floor with cement, where the children have a better chance of survival. To make this slab, we must by iron to place inside the cement where it will not crack.

I also would like to find a church group who will help buy cement blocks where we can help Meriam and "Chino" build walls either one by one or all at once. If you know of a church group that would be interested in a Thanksgiving project or a Christmas project let me know. In future news, I will be letting you know about other families, one by one.