Desperate Lives Bind Us

A few of you have asked, "Why did I receive an email about Honduras?"...because you generously sponsor at least one child in the region of Central America. The region is comprised of Mexico, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic and Honduras. And even though you may not have a child in Honduras, we hope you enjoy learning about living conditions and issues that are similar to your own sponsored child.

And we encourage you to post any questions you might have. I'm positive that someone else probably has the same question! We'll do our best to answer your question and share what we know about the children and their communities.

And about today's posting...it's written and posted on behalf of Children International writer Damon Guinn, who is experiencing his first trip to Honduras. On to today's post...

I never knew what it felt like to be truly powerless until I looked deep into the eyes of a dying child.

There are many children who are close to death here in Honduras. They may not die today or tomorrow, but there is little doubt that their fates are sealed if help doesn’t arrive in time. This week, my colleagues and I will visit a number of children struggling to survive on the fringe of San Pedro Sula.

We’ll meet two sponsored children in the El Milagro (The Miracle) community who were recently hit by drunk drivers and suffered massive trauma and brain damage as a result. Their stories are not at all uncommon here. Angy, 7, and Milton, 14, are among several sponsored children whose lives are in jeopardy.

Then we’ll go to Las Minas (The Mines), where we’ll come face to face with an 11-year-old named Franklin. Chronic malnutrition and a necrotic ear infection have forced Franklin to abandon school.

You may ask what can sponsorship do for children so close to the edge? All I can say is, if you could be here and see what I’m seeing, the answer would be obvious.

In every one of the six sponsorship areas we visit over the next three days, we’ll encounter compassionate field workers who help create a vital connection between children desperate for help and a concerned community of supporters like you.

One such field worker is Dr. Mariela Castillo Pires, the Children International doctor in Las Minas, who first informed us about a little boy named Darwin when a group from Children International visited Honduras in 2005.

Darwin (right), you may recall, was living a wretched life because he was born with a rare rectal malformation. His exposed intestine and crude homemade colostomy bag caused him endless agony and dejection. When Dr. Castillo Pires intervened, he received corrective surgery and psychological support. He now lives like any other young boy his age, prompting one of our staff members to say, “It’s unbelievable…you can’t even tell he had a problem!”

Today we’re on the road to Copán Ruinas to see the difference special donations are making in the children’s lives. Be sure and check back tomorrow morning for more photos and an update.