EAST TENNESSEE: Honduran girls representing Osman Hope visit diocese, five U.S. states
Episcopal News Service. September 20, 2010 [092010-07]
Vikki Meyers, Communications Director for the Diocese of East Tennessee
Honduran sixth-graders Esther and Ingrid traveled more than 1,500 miles to Knoxville, Tennessee, recently -- one stop on their journey through five U.S. states as representatives of Osman Hope.
We came "to enjoy the adventure and to thank all the people who help us," Esther said.
Osman Hope is an ecumenical, nonprofit, Christian organization that partners with local churches and community agencies to provide day care shelters and services for the poorest children in Honduras. The girls are from the San Pedro Sula, an area about 100 miles north of Tegucigalpa, the Central American nation's capital.
Ingrid and Esther are on a 16-day tour, making stops in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana, in addition to Tennessee, meeting and talking to people who have provided support to Osman Hope, which has given them shelter, nutrition and help with education.
Osman Hope operates three shelters in San Pedro Sula, in La Lima, Santa Cruz de Yojoa and Villanueva. Osman Hope also provides daily lunches and an afternoon snack to children in Riviera Hernandez. Children in the shelters range in age from 2 to 12. The shelters provide children a safe place off the streets. A safe haven is important in San Pedro Sula, the site of a recent drug cartel shooting that killed 17 people. In addition to shelter, the children are provided with nutritious meals, help with school work and supplies, and spiritual guidance.
One of the stops on the girls' adventure was the diocesan house of the Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee, where they met Bishop Charles vonRosenberg and diocesan staff.
The girls were thrilled with the bright orange Tennessee T-shirts given to them by the bishop. After asking their ages, the bishop asked the girls what they wanted to do when they leave school. "Go to university," said Ingrid and Esther. Both girls are interested in becoming marine biologists or doctors, they said.
"Given their background, we're very proud of their achievements," said Peter Borg, who serves on the Osman Hope board of directors and coordinated the girls' trip.
"Esther lives in a one-room, dirt-floor home about as big as an average size U.S. bedroom -- about 15' wide by about 17' long. Ingrid's home is slightly larger, and it has a partition so the family can sleep in a separate room," he added.
The majority of the people in Honduras live in extreme poverty, on less than $2 a day, said the Rev. Gordon L. Brewer, a member of Osman Hope's board of directors and a deacon at St. Christopher's Episcopal Church in Kingsport, Tennessee.
"Most affected are the children. It is not atypical to have several young children left to fend for themselves while their parents are trying to find work or scrape out a meager existence. It is not uncommon to find a six year old caring for children younger than they are or even for infants," said Brewer, who has traveled with groups to Honduras to work and play with the children being served by Osman Hope and to give respite to teachers in the shelters.
The Osman Hope shelters serve children up to sixth grade, so this is the girls' last year in a shelter, Borg said.
"A few kids continue in private schools after they leave the shelters. But most of the kids stay in close touch with the shelters even after they leave," he said. "In the families, there is an expectation for the older kids to come back and help out. Older boys from homes with no father figure get to be father figures to younger kids."
Ingrid and Esther attend a White Dove school which uses the "A Beka Book" Christian education system. Borg said that students at the schools are taught English from the beginning.
"When I first visited a school, I was mesmerized by the second graders speaking English. Now there are kindergartners being taught English," he said.
When asked what their favorite subjects are, Esther replied, "Math and science," and Ingrid said, "Science and computers."
Haydee Suyapa Alvarado, the White Dove teacher accompanying the girls on the trip, lived for 30 years in the United States, working in business management, before moving to Honduras.
"My husband and I planned to retire there. As we went there more and more often on vacation, I saw the kids on the streets. Education is a must in Honduras, so now I'm a teacher," she said.
In addition to thanking current supporters, Borg said the group is hoping to raise awareness of the need in Honduras and to raise funds.
"We currently have 200 kids, but we could help 2,000," he said. "Most people have no idea that the investment is so small. For $1,000 a year, a child can go to private school and to a shelter, have supplies, get two meals a day, receive medical attention and most importantly be safe and off of the streets."
Osman Hope seeks to establish a three-year commitment with donors, he added.
"We're looking for a long-term relationship," Borg said. "Children don't go to school for just one year."
For more information about Osman Hope click here.