The construction of the new classroom for the community school has begun!


There can be no foundation without digging

A week before I was scheduled to fly down to Honduras I was told a city owned backhoe the community hoped could help dig the footer for the new classroom was broken (Not an uncommon occurrence). We needed to have the footers dug before José and I arrived on site so we could estimate the work and materials needed to complete the job. Undeterred with the lack of motorized mechanical equipment, a mostly woman and child workforce from the community went into action with shovels and pickaxes to dig the footer. Not apparent in this photo are the footers for the vertical concrete columns which require a much deeper and wider footer. The amount of digging was no trivial task. Also, it might not be readily apparent from the picture, but they are digging into what was once the trash dump, with layers of dirt and old trash. In four days they had removed most of the dirt needed to create the footers. They organized themselves into 4 teams to share the work amongst the community. When José and I drove to Danli a couple Thursdays ago, there were nine people digging and breaking up concrete; grandpas, moms, dads and kids. I just continue to grow in my respect for this community. It reminds me of our first trip to the community last year, we heard many stating they wanted a better opportunity, and now they are working to help provide a better opportunity for the upcoming generation in their community.


Then create a strong foundation

The gentleman on the left is the mason, we hired him as no one within the community was available to serve as the mason. The rest of the workers that will pour the footers and build the concrete block walls will be people from the community.
 The man with the full brimmed hat is Felipe. While we were in Honduras he was in a different town working to support his family. Now back in the community he is working as a construction volunteer, as many others are.
 The person next to him in the blue shirt is Alex. Alex is 10 years old and the sole source of income for his mother and two younger brothers. Talking with his mom when we got there, we learned the amount of money received for recyclers had gone down, and Alex was now making about $16 for two weeks of work recycling. We met Alex in our January trip this year, and we were determined to get him out of the recycling work. We believe we now have enough work in the community for Alex, so we have hired him to work for us. Our hope for him is to learn new skills, to provide for his family, and for him to understand there is a God in heaven who knows him.
 Next to Alex also in a blue shirt is Mynor. After arriving in Danli, we saw Mynor digging by himself. We asked who he was and learned a bit of his story. Mynor is almost completely deaf and also cannot speak. They did not know the details for his condition. Mynor is also the sole source of income for his family, he has three sisters and a mother who is blind. Throughout the day he continued to work hard, all the while smiling as he did. And then I was told he was from Guatemala, and his family fled Guatemala when his father was murdered. (I read these words in disbelief, but I saw and heard this with my own eyes and ears). We don’t have long term work for him now, but I couldn’t help but hire him to work on the classroom. He seems to be doing great with this work.
 And the man next to Mynor is Santos. Santos was digging the footer the day we arrived in Danli. He came back the next day to dig. Seeing his work ethic and knowledge of construction, we hired him to work with the mason. He came back the following day to finish up digging the footers. At the end of the day I handed him the wages for a days work and he refused the money. He said he was there to build the classroom for his granddaughter. How can you not but have deep respect for someone like that; and this man lives in severe poverty?
 

 

 

The construction of the new classroom for the community school has begun!


There can be no foundation without digging

A week before I was scheduled to fly down to Honduras I was told a city owned backhoe the community hoped could help dig the footer for the new classroom was broken (Not an uncommon occurrence). We needed to have the footers dug before José and I arrived on site so we could estimate the work and materials needed to complete the job. Undeterred with the lack of motorized mechanical equipment, a mostly woman and child workforce from the community went into action with shovels and pickaxes to dig the footer. Not apparent in this photo are the footers for the vertical concrete columns which require a much deeper and wider footer. The amount of digging was no trivial task. Also, it might not be readily apparent from the picture, but they are digging into what was once the trash dump, with layers of dirt and old trash. In four days they had removed most of the dirt needed to create the footers. They organized themselves into 4 teams to share the work amongst the community. When José and I drove to Danli a couple Thursdays ago, there were nine people digging and breaking up concrete; grandpas, moms, dads and kids. I just continue to grow in my respect for this community. It reminds me of our first trip to the community last year, we heard many stating they wanted a better opportunity, and now they are working to help provide a better opportunity for the upcoming generation in their community.


Then create a strong foundation

The gentleman on the left is the mason, we hired him as no one within the community was available to serve as the mason. The rest of the workers that will pour the footers and build the concrete block walls will be people from the community.
 The man with the full brimmed hat is Felipe. While we were in Honduras he was in a different town working to support his family. Now back in the community he is working as a construction volunteer, as many others are.
 The person next to him in the blue shirt is Alex. Alex is 10 years old and the sole source of income for his mother and two younger brothers. Talking with his mom when we got there, we learned the amount of money received for recyclers had gone down, and Alex was now making about $16 for two weeks of work recycling. We met Alex in our January trip this year, and we were determined to get him out of the recycling work. We believe we now have enough work in the community for Alex, so we have hired him to work for us. Our hope for him is to learn new skills, to provide for his family, and for him to understand there is a God in heaven who knows him.
 Next to Alex also in a blue shirt is Mynor. After arriving in Danli, we saw Mynor digging by himself. We asked who he was and learned a bit of his story. Mynor is almost completely deaf and also cannot speak. They did not know the details for his condition. Mynor is also the sole source of income for his family, he has three sisters and a mother who is blind. Throughout the day he continued to work hard, all the while smiling as he did. And then I was told he was from Guatemala, and his family fled Guatemala when his father was murdered. (I read these words in disbelief, but I saw and heard this with my own eyes and ears). We don’t have long term work for him now, but I couldn’t help but hire him to work on the classroom. He seems to be doing great with this work.
 And the man next to Mynor is Santos. Santos was digging the footer the day we arrived in Danli. He came back the next day to dig. Seeing his work ethic and knowledge of construction, we hired him to work with the mason. He came back the following day to finish up digging the footers. At the end of the day I handed him the wages for a days work and he refused the money. He said he was there to build the classroom for his granddaughter. How can you not but have deep respect for someone like that; and this man lives in severe poverty?