Olga with her youngest daughter, Iris, and Iris’ son Jafeth.
Olga is a sponsored elder who is the mother of 10 grown children. She has 46 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. That’s a lot of names to remember and a lot of love to spread around. She experienced many challenges throughout her life in Honduras, but she remains positive and an inspiration to many.
Julia learned the art of making bread from her mother-in-law. It’s a family tradition that has long been part of her husband’s family, and Julia is happy to keep it going. But for this Honduran family, baking bread isn’t just about keeping a tradition alive. It’s about moving the family forward in life.
Rosa and her 15-year old daughter, Dayani.
By Elizabeth Alex, community outreach and media relations director
Down syndrome is a diagnosis no mother hopes to hear.
For parents living in the poorest barrios of Honduras, it is sometimes just too much to bear.
“The doctor told me it would be different and difficult to raise her,” Rosa said about Dayani, her 15-year-old daughter with Down syndrome. “There are no schools and no help for children with special needs.”
Sister Dinora (left) and Sister Marta share their stories of compassion and commitment.
As an interpreter, I know the cardinal rules: don’t show emotion, use proper pronouns, don’t say “he said” or “she said,” always use “I.” It’s hard to remember when you’re interpreting on the spot, but important to keep the conversation directed to the right people.
One of the first rules they teach you is not to get caught up in the emotion of what you’re interpreting.
I broke that rule for the first time recently.
Massachusetts sponsor David Scarpello has gone on three Unbound awareness trips to Honduras since 2007. On his latest visit earlier this year, he decided to take his 13-year-old son, Nick. From his own previous experience, David knew the awareness trip could be a good learning tool.
“I wanted [Nick] to have an appreciation and better understanding of what growing up in poverty is,” David said. “I hoped it would give him a greater appreciation of what he has and the advantages he has growing up in the United States.”
Unbound awareness trips offer travelers the opportunity to meet the people they sponsor and see first-hand the impact our program has on individuals and communities. David started sponsoring in 2001, but it was the letter he received in 2007 from his sponsored friend Reyna that gave him the final push he needed to go on his first trip.
Fernando and his mother, Maria.
by Alexandra Stonestreet, project manager for Unbound
In recent years, Honduras has become known for corruption, gang violence and drug trafficking. It holds the unfortunate distinction of being home to some of the worst statistics imaginable. Amid the poverty and mounting violence, a bright spot emerges.
His name is Fernando.
Unbound works in a bunch of beautiful places, and Antioquia, Colombia is certainly one of them.
The Unbound family is just as bright and colorful as our logo. We’ve put together a bunch of photos to show you just how colorful our communities around the world can be.
Sponsored children from Casa Hogar in Honduras learn the game duck, duck, goose from their sponsors on an awareness trip.
Christy Minor has been an Unbound sponsor for two years. She and her daughter, Anna, recently participated in an Unbound Awareness Trip to Honduras and shared their experience with us.
My 11-year-old daughter, Anna, and I traveled to Honduras with an Unbound Awareness Trip to meet our sponsored child, Jaeli, and her mother, Lorenza. It was wonderful to meet the little girl whom we had come to know through letters for the past two years. We knew a few things about her family and her life, but we were completely unprepared to learn what a huge difference our sponsorship makes in their daily lives.
Sponsor Diane Palmer’s reaches the peak of Mt. Kilimanjaro on January 22, 2011.
Join us as we celebrate Geography Awareness Week with National Geographic and friends. This year’s theme “focuses on how geography enables us all to be intrepid explorers in our own way.”
Today we take a closer look at Honduras and the work we do in Central America.