Since mid-March, the whole country has been in lockdown. A curfew was imposed in Honduras. Since then, we have been locked up in the home and so our self-made summer cards are now only coming to you as Christmas mail.
In November, two hurricanes hit Central America one after the other and destroyed large parts of Honduras: Many were forced to leave their homes immediately to seek safety. Covid-19 caused them to lose their freedom and their jobs. The hurricanes took away their belongings and livelihoods.
Because of the curfew, the children could no longer go to school and had to attend classes from home via the Internet. This circumstance led to many problems even in rich countries like Switzerland. In a poor country like Honduras, however, this was tantamount to an educational disaster. A large number of children were de facto excluded from school. It was not only the poor who were affected. Due to the lockdown, many had lost their jobs and as a result could no longer pay for the internet or school. Our projects in the education sector were also affected by the measures. We unfortunately had to send the students home.
As if that wasn't bad enough, hurricanes Eta and Iota hit Honduras in November. They were the strongest hurricanes to hit Honduras since Hurricane Mitch in 1998. The rainfall caused severe flooding and landslides throughout the country. As a result, whole swathes of land were submerged, in some cases several meters under water, destroying entire villages and plantations. As is often the case, the poorest have been hit the hardest. They not only lost their belongings, but also their livelihoods. So far we have been able to distribute several thousand meals, medicine, flip-flops, Crocs and Pampers to those affected.
Thanks to your generous donations and the great commitment of the helpers, three containers filled with clothes and mattresses were collected and shipped to Honduras within a few weeks. This will enable us to provide initial emergency aid. Thanks to your help, dear donors, we can be a ray of hope for many people at this time.
We wish you a Merry Christmas and all the best for the New Year.
Kind Regards
All the children of Yo Quiero Ser and Patricia Scarpatetti