The Covid-19 Pandemic and Hurricanes Eta and Iota have created great challenges across Honduras. Take a look at what Cirse Nataly Cruz Rivera has done to support her community through these devastating times.
Since the curfews begun in Honduras on March 27,2020 until Jan 2, 2021, with the support of donations mostly from the Network of Rehabilitation Workers of the Americas, my team and I have carried out 15 rounds food deliveries. We have prepared and delivered 565 parcels of food and 2,950 cooked meals in 19 different communities within a 50 km radius of Puerto Cortes, Cortés, Honduras.
I am very pleased to let you know that today was a very successful day; we gave away 50 bags of food to 50 different families and we hope these foods will last for a week to each family.
We hope to continue next weekend with the Los Cruces that is the name of the other community and we will deliver 60 bags of food in that community.
Our experience shows us that these food parcels do make a difference to the people. Several recipients are moved to tears. Even though we know it will not solve the ongoing problem, it will bring some relief to these communities and the people will realize that we care about them.
Project Alpha is the most recently project that we are working on now is based on helping people who lost everything and after 11⁄2 months of living in shelters, have returned to their houses.
Three dentists from Clínica Dental Alientodent Dental Clinic located in San Pedro Sula have approached me to volunteer their services to offer a one-day Dental Brigade to a community affected by the Hurricanes. The dentists knew I was working with the communities. Today was the Dental Brigade and we served 45 children with application of flour between 3 and 14 years old; 23 people from 8- 69 years old; and dental cleaning to 42 people from 12-43 years old doing a total of 110 people who were served in the community of El Seis, Cortés.
The dentists wanted to help with dental care because they know many of these people do not have access to dental care in their communities and, for most of them, dental care is too expensive. Our contacts in the community helped us secure the local facility, publicize the brigade, and organize the patients. Together with the dentists, we discussed all aspects of the brigade including training volunteers to assist, COVID precautions, and necessary requirements.