Rotarians Helped Hondurans After Mitch
Posted by Tony Gilmore
This is a story from Rotary World that might be of interest since three
of Capital City's members are soon to be off on a Rotary mission to Honduras.
When Hurricane Mitch ravaged Central America in 1998, Honduran
Rotarians transformed disaster into opportunity by providing
sustainable relief and development projects. Members of the Rotary Club
of Tegucigalpa acted quickly to provide a solution for displaced
families. Working together with Honduran institutions and international
aid organizations, Rotarians helped create Nueva Esperanza, a community
for poor families that fled when mudslides engulfed their homes, many
of which were just shanties on a hillside.
"We knew we wanted to do something sustainable for people after Mitch," says club member David Beyl. "But there were so many needs. We couldn't do everything, so we looked for responsible counterparts to partner with."
The community includes 201 concrete houses, a library, computer center, primary school, and shops for its 1,000 residents, and is served by a nearby health clinic. The Tegucigalpa club partnered with the Rotary Club of Hingham and Hull, Massachusetts, USA, to secure a Matching Grant from The Rotary Foundation in 2000 to help construct 40 low-cost homes in Nueva Esperanza.
The club also worked with the Rotary clubs of Manteca, California, USA, and Marcala, La Paz, Honduras, to obtain a US$470,000 Health, Hunger and Humanity Grant. The 3-H grant has funded computers for Nueva Esperanza's computer center, books and audiovisual equipment for its library, and medical equipment for the nearby health clinic. Another organization that proved invaluable to Honduran families affected by the storm is the Uniendo America Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded by Rotarians to provide microcredit or small, low-interest loans to people too poor to qualify for traditional loans.
Uniendo America Board President Julio Villalta, of the Rotary Club of Real de Minas-Tegucigalpa, says that program staff also advise participants on how to start a business. Like many microcredit programs, participants are required to make a small payment every 15 days, with a portion going into the recipient's savings account. Often, it is the first savings account the family has ever had.
"We knew we wanted to do something sustainable for people after Mitch," says club member David Beyl. "But there were so many needs. We couldn't do everything, so we looked for responsible counterparts to partner with."
The community includes 201 concrete houses, a library, computer center, primary school, and shops for its 1,000 residents, and is served by a nearby health clinic. The Tegucigalpa club partnered with the Rotary Club of Hingham and Hull, Massachusetts, USA, to secure a Matching Grant from The Rotary Foundation in 2000 to help construct 40 low-cost homes in Nueva Esperanza.
The club also worked with the Rotary clubs of Manteca, California, USA, and Marcala, La Paz, Honduras, to obtain a US$470,000 Health, Hunger and Humanity Grant. The 3-H grant has funded computers for Nueva Esperanza's computer center, books and audiovisual equipment for its library, and medical equipment for the nearby health clinic. Another organization that proved invaluable to Honduran families affected by the storm is the Uniendo America Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded by Rotarians to provide microcredit or small, low-interest loans to people too poor to qualify for traditional loans.
Uniendo America Board President Julio Villalta, of the Rotary Club of Real de Minas-Tegucigalpa, says that program staff also advise participants on how to start a business. Like many microcredit programs, participants are required to make a small payment every 15 days, with a portion going into the recipient's savings account. Often, it is the first savings account the family has ever had.