Alive 2 Love | San Pedro Sula, Honduras

Dear Brothers:

It’s a great privilege to address this letter to you, and tell you about what is the current situation with the poverty in Honduras, especially in the San Pedro Sula area. With The Alive 2 Love Project we plan to help provide better living conditions for the people in areas of poverty. The city’s population is approximately 950,000 people, and it is the fastest growing city in Honduras with the biggest industrial factories, which create a lot of job opportunities for thousands of people. As the city grows, it is becoming a very developed metropolis but this growth also causes an increase in poverty, which in turn creates a greater gap between the poor and the middle and high class. The migration factor of the poor from the villages and small towns to the city is one of the biggest concerns, not only because there are less and less people interested in working in the fields but because they come to the city without any marketable skills and are often illiterate, which disqualifies them for a job at the textile factories. Then, instead of making the trip back to their villages and small towns, they find places to live and hope for something better to happen.

In Honduras, there is not a government program like Welfare or Goodwill. So people who can’t afford to live in a house because they don’t have a job or marketable skill move into areas called Bordos, which are city owned properties along small rivers. People move and settle in these places with what little they have and construct houses with cardboard, old tents and wood all along the river.

These Bordos started as a temporary place to live until the job situation or the economy got better, but now they have become the permanent residence for more than 6,000 families all around the city. Many of these people have been living in these horrible conditions for 10 to 15 years, which causes the children to be raised in the middle of extremely unhealthy conditions among piles of trash with no running water.

This is where Alive 2 Love comes in. We are currently working with one “bordo” on the northeast side of the city where there are about 150 families many of whom are missing a father. A lot of these homes consist of a mother and several kids often from different fathers. We have been doing local outreaches in the area, which not only include bringing clothes, food, and toys for kids, but also a literacy class for adults, which consists of about 8 to 12 women (single mothers or widows) who are eager to learn how to read and write. The literacy class is only the first stage for the adult program. A second stage will be teaching them a trade, to gain a marketable skill, so they can qualify for a job that will enable them to have a better life.

We also have a kids program in which a group of children come twice a week to receive lessons in reading, writing, colors, and simple math. Many of these children do not attend the closest public school because even though it is tuition free they still have to pay for materials and uniforms. A lot of families, especially those with several kids, cannot afford to send them to school.  The few children that are sent to school have to walk for over an hour to get there because they cannot afford the bus either. Some parents can only afford one uniform for the entire school year, which the students have to wear every day and the class materials but not food, which leads to an hour long walk to and from school without eating anything until they get home.  Unfortunately, it is very common for these kids to go the entire school day without anything to eat.

We believe in lasting effects that will bring about great changes in the lives of these communities, especially in the children. We believe it is absolutely necessary to send these children to school in order break the cycle of poverty and allow them to become a productive member of society. We want to not only supply a book and a pencil, but also help them get on the bus so they can arrive safely and put something in their stomach so they can get all the necessary nutrients to be focused in their classes. Last year during an outreach, a volunteer from Alive 2 Love asked a little girl what was her dream in life and much to his surprise she boldly said “To go to school”. It really touches my heart when they come to the twice-a-week classes and they get so excited to have a pencil and a sheet of paper to do their work. You can really tell they desire to be someone in this life and to have a chance to overcome their current living conditions and even help their families live better.

What we ask of you is simply to team up with us in the current work that is being done so we can provide the tools for this generation to become what God designed them to be. We might never fully understand what or who will come out of these kinds of places, maybe a great doctor, a lawyer, a teacher, a good father, an excellent athlete, or even the next president. We don’t know, but what we do know is that if we continue to neglect these children and not provide them with better options they will end up joining the gangs who are recruiting kids from 9 or 10 years old, and turning them into hit men by the time they are 13.

We know God can change their lives, and He is willing to do so and that is why it is so crucial to work partner with Alive 2 Love.

Come and join us in turning what many people consider ¨societies burden¨ into history makers, in Jesus Name! Amen!

Thank you,

William and Erin Aplicano

Alive 2 Love Contacts in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.

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