Elijah Omendi - Kenya, Africa

I invite you to meet Elijah, one of our orphans in Kenya...

click here

Please help ensure Elijah is able

to continue living in the orphanage and stays in school.

Medical Care to the Poor of Honduras

Over the course of six days this spring Bless the Children and members of the Church of the Epiphany served more than 600 poor children and community members in areas of Honduras where no medical care is available.

 

Bless the Children has had a presence in Honduras for over 15 years, with many ongoing programs on the ground.

 

Please visit our website www.blessthechildreninc.org to learn more about our work to help children and get involved! 

 

"Shantytown" Clinic - Monte de Olivo

Our first clinic during this year's Bless the Children - Church of the Epiphany Mission Trip was delivered in Monte de Olivo, otherwise known as "Shantytown".  It is a place of the most severe, heartbreaking poverty.  For those who have never witnessed true poverty this place will stop you in your tracks.  Your eyes will fill with tears.  There is no escaping what you see here.  It is a scene that will change your life and give you a perspective on human resilience you won't find easily in America.

The approximately fifty families in Monte de Olivo live in homes constructed of cardboard, scrap metal and wood...and pretty much anything the families come across that could serve to build a wall.  The floors are dirt and when the rains come they turn to mud.  When it rains in Honduras it downpours and this rain can last for days on end.

The families who live here do not have electricity.  There is no water system or well, making personal hygiene and staying hydrated almost impossible.  Since there is no running water there are no toilets which leads to serious health concerns in the area.  Just outside Shantytown is a palm plantation with a running creek by its edge.  Because there are no toilets both are used which creates a serious problem when the rains come.

But the people are gracious and welcoming; their children run with faces smiling wide when visitors come.  They welcome all as family and when it is time to go you will want to stay.  In life there are always lessons to learn, and the poor have much to teach about humanity and kindness.   

The site of our clinic where we served approximately 100 people...

Everyone in the pharmacy worked quick as lightening to serve all the needs of this community which has no access to medical care.  There are so many needs...from arthritis, heart trouble and high blood pressure, parasites, malnutrition to skin fungus, rashes and infected wounds... 

Thank you to everyone who made this clinic possible for the children and their families.  It was an amazing day.  How blessed I was personally that this clinic was on my birthday.  It is the best one I have had yet!

Please make a donation today to help these families with their basic needs and to help their children go to school.

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A common sight in Honduras are beautiful highlights in the children's hair...but these striking color variations are a sign of advanced malnutrion.

Your donation will also help provide food to poor children.

Check back frequently...more updates coming soon!

Letters from our Students

The students of the Bless the Children - John Grove High School

share their appreciation!



Fuerzas Vivas, El Progreso, Yoro

04/03/2011

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen of Bless the Children,

We welcome you very warmly, wishing you many blessings on behalf of our God.

This is to thank you.  Thank you for your help that we can now begin to live our dream and have a bright future.  Thank you for your help in rebuilding the school.  It is beginning to look very beautiful.

We wish you success and that God may give you much prosperity in your daily lives and homes.  We hope Mr. John Grove is in the glory of our Lord and we thank the group of friends of Mr. John Grove who have been helping us.

Please help us to build a basketball court at the John Grove School … We love you!

On behalf of the John Grove School to Bless the Children

From the girls of the John Grove School

Thank you!

Fuerzas Vivas, El Progreso, Yoro

04/03/2011

On behalf of the boys of John Grove School

Hello, how are you Ladies and Gentleman of Bless the Children?  We hope you are in very, very good health and may you have very much success in your daily work.

This is to thank you.  Thank you for all the help you have given us and to respectfully ask you for a basketball court to be able to have fun at recess time.  We thank you very much and wish that God may bless you all and thank you for listening thoughtfully.

Jose Dario Lemus

Merlin Calderon

Darlin Gomes

Evey Consecion

Wilfred Nataren

Ector Lopez

Elias Dubon

Thank you!

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Bless the Children - John Grove High School Renovations - Part 2

High in the Mico Quemado Mountains of Honduras a great deal of teamwork is providing the miracle of education to children beyond the 6th grade.  Like many Central American countries, Honduras only provides education to its children through the 6th grade.  

According to UNICEF only 58.8% of Honduran children enrolled in first grade will continue past grade six; and only 6 out of 10 Honduran teenagers are enrolled in secondary school.

In response to this situation Bless the Children and our dear friend John Grove established the first-ever opportunity in this mountain region to help children continue their education.  On his passing many have come on board to ensure the dream would never die.  Your help is needed.

Along with members of the Church of the Epiphany in Richmond, VA and the McCroskie Threshold Foundation we have recently made many improvements to the school.  We hope you enjoy this second installment outlining those improvements!

(condition of walls prior to renovations)

Vince is measuring just right to cut the perfect replacement!

The men make a plan!



Throughout the process our students worked hand in hand with Epiphany volunteers who took the greatest care to help them learn useful skills.  Many new friendships were made and the kids were thrilled to be involved and learning.

Preparing for the new door!

Attaching the new walls!

And after several days of non-stop productivity the students and volunteers had much to be proud of!  The Bless the Children - John Grove High School has had a remarkable facelift!  Thank you to all who have made this possible.  The children are so proud of their "new" school!

We are excited to let you know that the students have put the final touches on this extraordinary project!  While in Honduras we bought paint yet time ran out so the students took it on themselves to finish the job...we are looking forward to sharing photos with you soon!

Please make a donation to help us continue providing the children of the Mico Qumado Mountains an education.  Together we can help them have the tools to escape poverty.  Thank you for sharing your love with these children. 

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Bless the Children - John Grove High School Renovations - Part 1

The Bless the Children - John Grove High School is located high in the
Mico Quemado Mountains of Northern Honduras, Central America.  (top left)

(School, top right)

In early March, 2011 Bless the Children took a medical and construction team to the Mico Quemado Mountains composed of members from the Church of the Epiphany in Richmond, VA.  The medical team delivered clinics at four elementary schools in the mountains helping hundreds of poor children and their families.  (A total of 6 clinics were delivered...blog post to come soon on this!)

The construction team was very eager to get right to work to make improvements on the high school and so much was accomplished.  In just a few short days, working side-by-side with the students, they completely broke up and removed the old cement floor!  We hired a professional mason to lay the new one and he did a fabulous job.  In part 2 of this blog you will see that walls of decayed wood were torn out and replaced and a lovely, new door was installed.  As well, new paint was purchased that the students applied after our trip to beautify the school.

The beginning of the construction adventure!

The original floor of the school is shown here.  It was not level so the teacher and students had such a difficult time properly utilizing the space.  When the property was first purchased in 2006 a small house was on the land and while the floors suited that arrangement we needed to make the floor just right for our classroom setting!

The team jumped in with lots of energy and enthusiasm for the very big job of taking up the old floor.  It was truly a site to behold!  Vince, Joe and Will were unstoppable!

Our students were on the team and worked hard to help break up the floor and remove all the concrete and debris.

The buckets of concrete and dirt were much, much heavier than they appear!

Everyone was so happy when step one of the floor project was completed!

Then came time to haul the sand from the bottom of the hill for the NEW concrete preparation!

Our teacher, Oscar, jumped in to help the students mix the concrete! (in yellow shirt)

And even the Honduran Air Force was on board with making this project a success!

Our students really got into this hands-on learning experience!

Next to lend his energy to the project was a professional mason!

And here it is...the new floor!  It is amazing what can be accomplished in such a short time when good people come together with love in their hearts for children.  It is an honor to work with all of you!

With all our hearts we thank every member of the Church of the Epiphany and those who went to Honduras and worked so hard to make the needed improvements to the school.  We thank you too for befriending the children and working with them, teaching them skills during the improvements that will last throughout their lives.  Your interest in their education and their welfare will have such far-reaching effects.

We are also deeply grateful for the support of so many of John Grove's friends for doing all they can to keep the school in operation for the children.  The McCroskie Threshold Foundation (MTF), the Air Commando Association and members of the 20th SOS (Special Operations Squadron) have kept the dream alive.  MTF, your donation made it possible for the construction supplies to be purchased.  The children, the community and everyone with Bless the Children is so very grateful for your long-term support of this school.

The John Grove High School has been a program of Bless the Children since 2006.   Our best friend and humanitarian aid partner, John Grove, was instrumental in the founding of this school.  While talking with his good friend, Karen Hubbard, founder of Bless the Children, he learned there was no education available beyond the 6th grade for the children of the Mico Quemado Mountains he said, "To help these people out of the cycle they are in, generations of poverty, an education is necessary.  It is my plan to help with this effort..."   To the heartache of all who knew and loved him, John passed away in December of 2008.  This school is a tribute to our combined love for children and exemplifies the fact that dreams of the heart never die.

Please help us to continue the education of these students.

As a team we can provide them the opportunity of a lifetime!

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Coming soon...in part 2 of this blog we'll share the removal and replacement of the walls and the installation of the new door - another amazing project!