LMI needs your help during the COVID-19 Outbreak! 

Here’s how to get involved: 

1. Pray for us! 

While this can be a frightening time for people living anywhere, individuals living in the developing world are particularly vulnerable – not only to the virus, but also to secondary results of virus prevention: food insecurity, lack of available medicine or care for other severe illnesses, and separation from family and loved ones. Please pray for our students and staff, their families, and their communities during this time. 

2. Donate to LMI during this COVID-19 crisis 

Right now, Honduras is on national home quarantine. As that lifts, there will certainly be wide-spread need for food and support. We will help support our students, their families, and the communities near us through our Benevolence Fund, and we will also fund Community Projects that graduates will be able to organize and lead in the months that follow. To give to LMI and support our efforts, click here. 

3. Sponsor a Student in Cohort 11 

While the world responds quickly to this crisis, we are also cognizant of the 22 young women who were recently accepted to Cohort 11. They are excited to join us on campus in July and begin learning – and, even during this time of crisis, we are in need of sponsors to partner with each of those students to scholarship their education and mentor them during their time at The Leadership Center. Monthly sponsorship commitments vary; our need is to raise $300/month for each student. To get involved as as a student sponsor, email Hannah.bryant@lmihonduras.org  

4. Stay Tuned for Family Resources 

We also want to create opportunities for families and kids here in the US during this season of homeschooling to learn more about Honduras and what is happening there. We are planning to put together some resources, and will keep you updated as we do! 

Thank you so much for your partnership with us! Now, more than ever, we rely on the greater LMI family to continue our meaningful work in Honduras. May God’s grace and peace accompany you during this time! 

Dear friends, family, and partners of Leadership Mission International: 

The spread of COVID-19 has certainly weighted the shoulders of our nation in these past weeks, and we are joined by nations across the globe. News articles and media reports stream data that can be very frightening and leave many people feeling powerless or confused about how best to respond. 

The first two cases of the disease were identified in Honduras on Wed, March 11. Both were travelers coming from Europe who had carried it with them on the plane. By Friday, there were 6 confirmed cases in the country and the government declared a national emergency. By Monday, the whole country was in mandatory home quarantine, with all public transportation and grocery stores shut down. While containing the virus has been challenging and lethal even in the US, we know that a reliable and well-funded, widely available health system is one of the many parts of US life that can be easily taken for granted. 

In Honduras, infrastructure to care well for the elderly or individuals with compromised immune systems is not widely available, particularly in rural areas. Public transportation is the only means that most of society has for getting from home to work, the grocery store, the bank, or other routine places. Communities live in close quarters. And for much of the population, taking time off of work also means there will not be food at home. The government’s rapid response was reflective of their awareness that, should the virus take hold in Honduras, it will be quite difficult to stop.   

For these reasons, Leadership Mission International takes very seriously our call to respond wisely and effectively to the spread of COVID-19 in Honduras. We deeply value the communal aspect of life at The Leadership Center and want to support our students to pursue educational excellence while maintaining health and safety as our highest priority.  

First and foremost, we are honoring local government orders. Because public busses shut down so quickly, we have received permission for students and staff to stay on campus in quarantine. We have carefully reviewed the CDC and World Health Organization’s recommendations, and we are responding as follows: 

• As of March 12, visitors and short-term teams are restricted from campus until further notice. This includes other NGO’s and visitors that are in Honduras, as well as visitors and teams coming from other countries. 

• Graduation for Cohort 9, originally scheduled for March 28th, was postponed and will be rescheduled. 

• LMI has been stocked with extra food, medicine, and cleaning supplies. 

• All campus staff and students have been instructed on safe handwashing and cleaning practices. They’ve also been instructed about symptoms of COVID-19, and all are in quarantine on campus (including the cooking staff). 

• Workers who live in the nearby communities have been sent home for at least the next two weeks.  

Our on-campus team, led by Mizraim, has done an amazing job shifting quickly and making decisions effectively to respond to this international health crisis. We have food, money, and medical supplies in place for the coming months – including beans and corn for tortillas provided by a neighboring farmer who is also the father of one of our students. 

We have adjusted on campus curriculum for next quarter and will continue classes with our 1st year students, who are safer on campus at TLC than they are returning to their homes. Our teachers have the option to leave, and yet are committed to staying because they remain committed to our mission and the safety of each other and our students – and they feel safest remaining at TLC. At this point, we do still plan to bring a new cohort of 22 students in July, and we are hiring staff reflective of that. 

The spread of this virus remains a very fast-moving narrative and the situation today is likely to be very different than tomorrow.  We will continue to do our very best to make decisions in the best interest of our students and staff.  Thank you for your cooperation to ensure we are providing the healthiest and safest environment possible.   We will continue to keep you posted with any necessary changes.

As we watch the progress that the Honduran (and global) community makes on containing COVID-19, we are hopeful and prayerful. Thank you for partnering with us in prayer and in hope during this time! For those of you who would like to get involved during this crisis, please do! Your donations will go a long way to continue to support our mission of developing leaders that will elevate their country and change the world.  

May the peace of Christ dwell with and among you….

In Him,

Hannah Bryant